TECHBeat, February 2019

• NCJ Number: 252751
• Date Published: February 2019
• 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; Grants and Funding
• Award: A proposal to operate the National Criminal Justice Technology Resource Center.

Annotation

Feature articles in this issue address strategies for preventing and countering cyberbullying of children and youth; the importance of various types of physical evidence in the investigation of sexual assaults; and a training program for school resource officers that assists them in interacting effectively with persons experiencing mental health crises.

Abstract

"Cyberbullying and Law Enforcement" provides an overview of a 2018 webinar designed to promote strategies for addressing and preventing cyberbullying. Presenters from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) discuss Internet safety, the effects of social media and cyberbullying on a youth's brain, and the impact of "sexting" and "sextortion" on youth. "FTCoE In-Brief Series Looks at Physical Evidence and Sexual Assault" presents an overview and online access to the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence's (FTCoE's) three-part In-Brief series of reports on the importance of various types of physical evidence in sexual assault investigations. "Training Helps Lincoln School Resource Officers Learn About Adolescent Mental Health" describes a program established by Lincoln (Nebraska) public schools. The program, called Behavioral Threat Assessment (BETA), was recently adapted for training recently hired middle-school SROs (school resource officers). The training, which takes 4 days, focuses on responding to mental health crises, directed violence, dealing with substance addiction, and options for getting help for mental heath issues. An article in the "TECHShorts" section of this issue of TECHBeat presents data for 2016 on the prevalence and nature of identity theft against persons age 16 or older. An overview of the latest issue of the NIJ Journal (February 22, 2019) is also provided, along with three summaries of "Public Safety Technology in the News."