TechBeat, December 2018

• NCJ Number: 252522
• Date Published: December 2018
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2014-IJ-CX-K404
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description; Instructional Material (Programmed)

Annotation

Feature articles in this issue describe a virtual training program for school resource officers (SROs) and school administrators in collaborating with first responders for school security, along with a new webinar series on services to special victim populations, such as sexual assault victims.

Abstract

"Gaining the 'Edge' on Virtual Training for Schools and First Responders" describes a free virtual training platform funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate. The training platform is entitled the "Enhanced Dynamic Geo-Social Environment" (EDGE). EDGE provides a setting where school SROs, teachers, and administrators, along with law enforcement officers and other first responders, control avatars and role play to scenarios designed by their own trainers to fit their community, their policies, and their procedures. "New NIJ FTCoE Webinar Series Helps Agencies Help the Most Vulnerable" describes a new webinar series developed by the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ's) Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE). As of December 2018, the FTCoE had hosted two webinars in this series. They are entitled, "Providing Gender Inclusive Care to Victims of Sexual Assault" and "Responding to Sexual Assault Victims of Color," with both being accessible through this article. Additional webinars in this series are planned on elderly victims and victims on college and university campuses. Articles in the "TECHShorts" section of this issue address animal cruelty as a "gateway" crime and body-worn cameras in law enforcement agencies. The section on "Public Safety Technology in the News" profiles state money for personal alarm systems for school teachers, a new alcohol interlock to prevent drunk driving, and body cameras implemented in a county jail.