More than 200 law enforcement personnel attended NW3C's Outreach event in Chantilly, VA on January 11 and 12. To packed rooms on both days at the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy, Lieutenant Chuck Cohen presented on "Online Social Media and Criminal Investigations." Attendees learned how social media networking sites function, how the users of these sites act and interact, what information is available on these sites and how it can be integrated into criminal investigations and intelligence analysis.
The feedback for this program was overwhelmingly positive. "I learned more about social media in this one day than I ever could over the course of my career," one attendee said.
Nancy Kolb, Senior Program Manager, Community Safety Initiatives, International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), spoke on the Impact of Social Media on Law Enforcement. She oversees a diverse portfolio of federally funded grant projects, including IACP's Center for Social Media.
Special guests at the January 11 session included Mike Dry, Deputy Criminal Chief, representing the U.S. Attorney General Neil MacBride's Office; Casey Lingan, Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney, representing the Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney's Office; and J. Patrick McCreary, Associate Director, National Policy Office of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice.
On Thursday, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli spoke to the attendees, extending his appreciation for their commitment and service to the community. He also thanked them for attending the outreach to increase their skills and abilities in this rapidly developing social media arena. "Your contributions to the safety of the Commonwealth, using those skills and upping those skills, is much appreciated," Attorney General Cuccinelli said.
The Fairfax Criminal Justice Academy proved to be an excellent location for these events and the staff was very accommodating to our needs. They also expressed an interest in hosting our training classes in the future.
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