Trainings Offered

Sex Trafficking

Title of Workshop

Sex Trafficking: The Sex Trafficking Offender Prevention (STOP) screening measure for juveniles involved in the criminal justice system. 

This training will provide a contextual background, using the Risk-Need Responsivity (RNR) principle, to explore the four intervention phases of the sex trafficking process -- investigation, prosecution, evaluation, and treatment. Additionally, a summary of the findings of approximately 50 adult male traffickers and the common themes seen will be presented. Using this data, the STOP screening measure, created from the data in the male trafficking cases, will be introduced to potentially identify juvenile offenders who may present with similar criminogenic traits. A strength-based intervention protocol to address these traits will also be introduced. 

Sex trafficking is the process of one individual compelling another through the use of force, fraud, or coercion to engage in commercial sex acts for the economic benefit of the trafficker.[1] Colorado Revised Statute classifies human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude , and most ancillary offenses, as sexual offenses.[2] This presentation will provide a contextual background, using the Risk-Need Responsivity (RNR) principle, to explore the four intervention phases of the sex trafficking process -- investigation, prosecution, evaluation, and treatment. 

To better understand the difference between general sex offending and sex trafficking and the need for a specific protocol for sex trafficking offenders, the following will be explored:

· Information about the High Risk Victim (HRV) identification tool that the FBI’s Innocence Lost Task Force uses to identify possible victims of sex trafficking.

· Education about the legal components and prosecution of sex trafficking .

· Data from prior sex trafficking evaluations, which outline seemingly common traits and risk factors seen in offenders involved in sex trafficking. 

· Utilization of the data to create a juvenile screening tool to help identify seemingly common traits that might be predictive of being influence into the world of trafficking.

· Strength-based model of treatment to address and mitigate the risk factors for engaging in criminogenic behavior. 

· Proposal for a sex trafficking-specific evaluation protocol that follows the risk-needs responsivity principle. 

Domestic Violence/Sex Offense Crossover Cases

Title of Presentation: Crossover domestic violence/sex offender cases: Does current policy, prosecution, and assessment adequately address the crossover risk and implement Risk Need Responsivity (RNR)?

The term “intimate partner violence” (IPV) describes physical violence, sexual violence, stalking and psychological aggression by a current or former intimate partner. Intimate partner-sexual violence (IPSV) is a separate phenomenon that has become a serious, often un-addressed problem that affects millions of Americans. The prevalence of offenders who have both domestic violence and sex offense charges is seemingly on the rise, though mostly likely under-identified. In one study (Davies & Simon, 2009), 68% of the sex offenders in the study reported having a current or prior domestic violence conviction; 77% of sex offenders admitted to engaging in non-consensual sex with an intimate partner; 69% of sex offenders admitted to having sex with a partner while she was asleep/unconscious; and 32% of sex offenders stated they had sadistic rape fantasies. 

Most professionals who work with domestic violence offenders argue that sexual contact can never be consensual when there is IPV in a relationship. Unfortunately, these crossover cases are often being conceptualized, assessed, and treated as separate issues, rather than linked issues requiring a distinctive lens that utilizes the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) Principle. 

Presenters will discuss how this translates into needed policy change and what can/is being done in this regard. Utilizing the risk assessments and evidenced-based data available, this presentation will offer a possible evaluation protocol that includes risk assessments, psychological assessments, and case conceptualization that caters to both populations and differentiates the risk for sex offending and domestic violence. Specifically, the presentation will offer data from evaluations of crossover offenders to evaluate whether they are presenting as more of a domestic violence or sex offense risk. The importance of utilizing the Violence Risk Scale-Sex Offense Version (VRS-SO) created by Mark Olver, Ph.D. with these cases will be discussed. Additionally, this presentation will educate professionals about the process of gathering the information necessary (e.g., collateral interviews, prior police reports, treatment records, prior evaluations, etc.) to appropriately assess these cases. A video interview of a cross-over client will be shown, followed by an interactive group exercise to determine risk factors and create recommendations for treatment and supervision. 

Teens and Technology

Technology – Changing Times

Course Description

This course will describe the current state of online high risk sexual and non-sexual behaviors with youth in Larimer County and elsewhere. The course will update parents, teachers, and other professionals about the following topics: different sites being accessed by teenagers; what the legal system is doing about sexting; what parents can do to prevent their child from being charged for high risk online behavior; and warning signs/risk factors for youth engaging in concerning/problematic/illegal online behavior. 

Course Objectives

1. To educate parents and professionals about the current legal recourse for engaging in certain online sexual behaviors.

2. To help parents and professionals learn preventative strategies to avoid youth engaging in this behavior.

3. To address the risk factors associated with high risk online behavior.

Content Outline

This course will outline the various aspects of online high risk sexual and non-sexual behaviors with youth. Participants will hear from two experts who work in this field. They include one of the Larimer county District Attorney’s, Nikki Weesner, and a criminal psychologist, Dr. Brenna Tindall, who specializes in this area.

Supporting Materials

Castro, M. (2013, January 18). Why would someone create a fake online personality? Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-would-someone-create-a-fake-online-personality/

Collins, M.E. (2014). Losing sight of ourselves: A theoretical analysis of reality television in the United States. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/15327

Crimmins, D.M., & Seigfreid-Spellar, K.C. (2014). Peer attachment, sexual experiences, and risky online behaviors as predictors of sexting behaviors among undergraduate students. Computers in Human Behavior, 32, 268-275.

Daversa, M.T., & Knight, R.A. (2007). A structural examination of the predictors of sexual coercion against children in adolescent sexual offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34, 1313-1333.

Elliot, I.A., Beech, A.R., Mandeveille-Norden, R., & Hayes, E. (2009). Psychological Profiles of Internet Sexual Offenders: Comparisons with contact sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 21, 76-92.

Gonsalvez, V. (2010). Exploring online sexually explicit material: What is the relationship to sexual coercion? (Unpublished Master’s thesis). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/psychdiss/19

Livingstone Obe, S., & Mason, J. (2015). Sexual rights and sexual risks among youth online: A review of existing knowledge regarding children and young people’s developing sexuality in relation to new media environments. Report commissioned for European NGO Alliance for Child Safety Online.

Reitz, E., Van de Bongardt, D., Baams, L., Doornward, S., Dalenberg, W., Dubas, J., van Aken, M., Overbeek, G., ter Bogt, T., van der Eijnden, R., Vanwesenbeeck, I., Kunnen, S., Timmerman, G., van Geert, P., & /dekovic, M. (2015). Project STARS: (Studies on trajectories of adolescent relationships and sexuality): A longitudinal, multi-domain study on sexual development of Dutch adolescents. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 12, 613-626.

Smallbone, S.W., & Dadds, M.R. (2000). Attachment and coercive behavior. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 12, 13-15. 

Smallbone, S.W., Dadds, M.R. (2010). Further evidence for a relationship between attachment insecurity and coercive sexual behavior in nonoffenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16, 22-35. 

Stanley, N., Barter, C., Wood, M., Aghtaie, N., Larkins, C., Lanau, A., Overlien, C. Pornography, sexual coercion and abuse and sexting in young people’s intimate relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1-26.

Sutton, R. (n.d.). 16 scary statistics of online dating. Retrieved from https://www.phactual.com/16-scary-statistics-of-online-dating/

Whittle, H. C., Hamilton-Giachritsis, C., Beech, A., & Collings, G. (2013). A Review of young people’s vulnerabilities to online grooming. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 18, 62-70. 

Vicarious Trauma/Cumulative Career Traumatic Stress

 

•PART I: General education/information about stress and vicarious trauma

•GENERAL STRESS

•PRE-TRAUMA RISK FACTORS

•PHASES OF TRAUMA

•DIFFERENT TYPES of TRAUMA RESPONSE

•WHAT CAN CAUSE THE STRESS – TYPES OF STRESSORS

•CUMULATIVE CAREER TRAUMATIC STRESS

•VICARIOUS TRAUMA

  

•PART I: General education/information about stress and vicarious trauma

•WHY THIS TOPIC

•WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH TELL US

•WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS OR MAIN ISSUES

•SURVEY RESULTS

•POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS?

Catfishing

Title of Presentation: Juvenile Internet Offenders – The Catfish Phenomenon.

There seems to be a growing number of juvenile sex offenders in the state of Colorado who are committing internet-related offenses. These include downloading child pornography, requesting naked photographs from peers or strangers, and “catfishing.” The act of catfishing, as it relates to internet offending, is creating a fake profile or Avatar on a social networking site and requesting naked photographs from females, namely females under the age of 18. In some of these cases, the offenders are coercing, threatening, and offering to pay the females for the photographs. The victims in these cases are both known to the offenders and strangers they have trolled on social networking sites. At this time, there are no risk assessment measures related to juvenile internet offenses. It is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate risk levels in these juveniles who are engaging in this type of behavior. This presentation will present the available research about general juvenile internet offenders, as well as explore the recent trend of catfishing in our culture. A survey of the research on this topic elucidates common variables associated with juvenile internet offenders, particularly those engaging in coercive behavior vis-à-vis trolling for naked photographs from minors. Some of these variables include parental rejection, parental attachment issues (particularly with a male parent), history of impulsive and aggressive behaviors, computer savviness/confidence, prolonged exposure to pornography, anxiety as it relates to social interactions, emotional abuse history, and under-assertiveness. This presentation will present a hypothesis about some possible typologies present with these types of juvenile offenders. Additionally, there will be some informal data collected from treatment providers and supervising officers regarding the likelihood of internet offenders on their caseloads reporting a contact offense victim on a sexual history polygraph or through the course of treatment. 

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