Continuing Education Training & Workshops

2012 Organized Crime Symposium:

Technology, Trafficking, and Terrorism

Click here for a POST certified training form for this conference.

POST and TCI approved for 24 hours, CEUs will also be available (10$ filing fee)

(Additional speakers in blue below)

Register Here

Printable poster and flyer

When: May 8th, 9th, and 10th (Tuesday through Thursday)

Where: MTSU campus, Business and Aerospace Building (BAS), State Farm Room

Cost: Free and open to the public

Who: State/Local/Federal law enforcement, Social Services, Not-for-Profit Agencies, Education, Healthcare, Criminal Justice System, Faith-Based Organizations

The 2012 Organized Crime Symposium will address the national and international pressing issues of:

• the current use of technology by law enforcement as well as organized gangs and cartels,

• human trafficking of children and women, primarily for sex, in the most rural Tennessee counties to high volume national movement on Tennessee's impressive interstate system,

• and the terrorism connection from cyber terrorism to increased cartel terrorism and their effect and presence in Tennessee.

This year's symposium will highlight the increase of crimes in these areas as well as their interrelationships. Attendees will be able take this information and apply it to their local department investigations, programming initiatives, and services.

Additionally, this year we will host a break-out session exclusively for law enforcement personnel on Wednesday afternoon on the process and procedures for prosecuting human trafficking cases, presented by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and POST approved. You must indicate interest on your registration form. (Breakout session in BAS) There will be a concurrent session addressing victims' assistance for all other attendees.

Tentative schedule:

Tuesday, May 8th

8 am – Noon: Commissioner Bill Gibbons, TN Dept of Safety and Homeland Security "Technology, Terrorism, and Trafficking on the state level."   Panel Presenters: Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), Interdiction Plus Unit, and the Office of Homeland Security

Commissioner Bill Gibbons (bio, page 2 of program) will open the 2012 Organized Crime Symposium with an introduction of how the department is implementing technology and responding to the threats of trafficking and terrorism. The Commissioner's panelists represent several areas of his department. He will lead a panel discussion followed by an audience Q&A.

First Panelists: Christopher Osbourn and Sergeant Marty Pollock will present TITAN (Tennessee's Integrated Traffic Analysis Network): an overview of what TITAN is (Tennessee Highway Patrol's electronic crash reporting system), the technology behind it, how this technology is helping THP and local law enforcement report traffic incidents faster and more accurately, and how the information gathered from TITAN is helping the THP deploy resources on a data driven-basis.

Second Panelist: Sergeant Greg Roberts will give an overview of the Tennessee Highway Patrol's Interdiction Plus Unit. Sgt. Roberts will discuss how the interdiction program works, partnerships, and how it is stopping gun, drugs, and human trafficking across Tennessee.

Third Panelist: Steve Hewitt, Security Supervisory Intelligence Officer for the Office of Homeland Security and Co-Director of Tennessee Fusion Center. Mr. Hewitt will provide an overview of the Tennessee Fusion Center, which was named by US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano as Fusion Center of the Year in 2011. He will explain how the Tennessee Fusion Center is a team effort of local, state, and federal law enforcement in cooperation with the citizens of the State of Tennessee for the timely receipt, analysis, and dissemination of terrorism information and criminal activity. Mr. Hewitt will explain how the use of technology supports the mission of the Tennessee Fusion Center.

1 pm – 5 pm: Michael Walker, California Central Coast Gang Investigators Association "Use of Technology by Gangs and Law Enforcement."

Wednesday, May 9th

8 am – Noon: ASAC Margie Quin, TBI "Human Sex Trafficking – A Statewide Study."

Panelists representing: End Slavery, Magdalene House, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

1 pm – 5 pm: ASAC Margie Quin, Special Agent Jason Wilkerson, and Criminal Analyst Amy Allen (POST approved): Specialized TBI training for law enforcement only on the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases.

1 pm – 5 pm: Victims' assistance for community awareness and social service agencies: Rachel Pierce, FBI, Sherry Holley, Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference, and Amy Walters, Street GRACE (Atlanta organization for sex trafficking awareness and victims' assistance).

View the trailer for The Candy Shop: A Fairytale About the Sexual Exploitation of Children. This 30 minute movie will be shown during this session.

Thursday, May 10th

8 am to Noon: Dr. Gregg Etter, Associate Professor, University of Central Missouri; Director, Sedgwick County Law Enforcement Training (Retired): "The Mexican Drug Wars: Technology, Narco-terrorism, and Asymmetric Warfare."

Dr. Etter will bring evidence and discussion on the most recent terrorist groups activities along the Mexican border.  This will include photographs of recent intelligence documenting Mexican cartels' artillery and latest terror tactics.

1 pm – 5 pm: Special Agent Haidy Grigsby, TBI "Pulling it all together: Technology, Trafficking, and Terrorism in Tennessee."

Hotel Information

A block of rooms has been reserved for your convenience at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites, located at 165 Chaffin Place, Murfreesboro, TN.

RESERVE YOUR ROOM HERE

Note: the $77 federal rate this link will provide is only good through Monday, May 7 through Friday, May 11 and may only be used for conference attendees. Attendees are responsible for their own hotel costs. Please call 1-615-849-9000 for more information. The block of rooms will be released on April 16, so book early!


This project was supported by Grant No. 2010-DD-BX-K025 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the SMART Office, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not represent the official position or policies of the United States Department of Justice.

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