- OJJDP Provides Training for New ICAC Task Force Commanders
- OJJDP Sponsors Virtual Training for Superintendents of Juvenile Correctional Facilities
- Police Chiefs Association Holds Annual Conference
- OJJDP Observes National Bullying Prevention Month
OJJDP Provides Training for New ICAC Task Force Commanders
On September 21–23, 2020, OJJDP held a virtual orientation for new commanders of Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces. OJJDP’s ICAC task force program helps state and local law enforcement agencies develop an effective response to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and Internet crimes against children.
OJJDP staff members led sessions on the history, goals, and activities of the ICAC task force program and OJJDP grant requirements. The OJJDP-supported National Center for Missing & Exploited Children discussed resources available to law enforcement, including its CyberTipline, technical assistance, and Child Victim Identification Program. The event also featured information about additional OJJDP-funded training resources, the ICAC task force program website, Affiliate Database, and legal issues in ICAC cases. The orientation concluded with a panel discussion led by experienced ICAC task force commanders.
OJJDP Sponsors Virtual Training for Superintendents of Juvenile Correctional Facilities
On August 25–28, 2020, the Council of Juvenile Justice Administrators (CJJA) offered the third in a series of OJJDP-funded trainings for administrators of state and local secure juvenile justice facilities.
During the training, OJJDP Administrator Caren Harp offered introductory remarks, and Deputy Administrator Chyrl Jones and Associate Administrator TeNeane Bradford led a session on key provisions of the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018. The training included presentations and workshops on a range of other topics, including the National Prison Rape Elimination Act Resource Center, youth readiness for reentry, emergency planning in juvenile justice facilities, conditions of confinement, staff wellness, the engagement and empowerment of families, the reduction of racial and ethnic disparities, and positive youth development.
CJJA has provided previous trainings in San Diego, CA, and Boston, MA. For 6 months after each training, participants continue to learn and exchange information through a webinar series and monthly conference calls. As part of the followup process, administrators develop an action plan to address an emerging issue or challenge facing their facility.
Police Chiefs Association Holds Annual Conference
The International Association of Chiefs of Police held its virtual Conference and Exposition on October 21–23, 2020. Thousands of public safety professionals attend this training each year to learn new techniques, advance their knowledge, network with their peers, and equip their departments for ongoing success. OJJDP Deputy Administrator Chyrl Jones and Senior Policy Advisor Scott Pestridge attended the event.
The conference offered more than 175 educational workshops on law enforcement topics, including officer safety and wellness; the hiring, training, and retention of law enforcement staff; community-police engagement; hate crimes and hate speech; mass casualty incidents; cybercrime; missing and murdered vulnerable populations; rural policing; and gang violence.
IACP is the world’s largest professional association for police leaders, with more than 31,000 members in more than 165 countries.
OJJDP Observes National Bullying Prevention Month
National Bullying Prevention Month is a campaign to raise awareness about the prevalence and consequences of bullying and highlight approaches communities can adopt to stop this harmful behavior. Bullying happens on the playground, on the school bus, in school hallways, and increasingly, online. Cyberbullying takes place over digital devices (cell phones, computers, and tablets) and involves the dissemination of negative, harmful, false, or private information about others.
Earlier this year, OJJDP presented the webinar “Understanding and Combating Cyberbullying and Digital/Online Hate.” The webinar provides an overview of how cyberbullying and online hate groups affect our nation's youth. It discusses sextortion (the threatened dissemination of sexual or explicit images online), the distribution of child sexual abuse imagery, and the grooming process by which hate groups recruit youth through online platforms. The training also offers Internet safety strategies for parents, teachers, and community youth workers to help build protective factors for vulnerable youth.
Access OJJDP’s Model Programs Guide for evaluations of bullying prevention programs, a literature review on the topic of bullying, and a School-Based Bullying Prevention Implementation Guide (I-Guide). For additional information on bullying and strategies to address the problem, visit StopBullying.gov.