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Organized Crime

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By Leischen Stelter

Across the nation there has been a dramatic rise in gang-controlled sex trafficking rings. Gangs are turning to sex trafficking because it’s highly profitable and less risky. Here’s how police can identify and help victims and build cases to prosecute sex traffickers. 

Police throughout the country, particularly in Florida, have been noticing a spike in the use of a new drug that users are calling “flakka.” Use of the drug is a concern as well as are the crimes that people under the influence are committing. AMU criminal justice student, Keith Graves, who has taught thousands of officers and businesses about drug investigation, shares information about the signs of intoxication and how police should pursue investigations.

By Dr. Kelli Frakes

Intelligence-led policing (ILP) has been embraced by law enforcement as an effective tool, but intelligence-led practices remain limited in corrections, despite the fact that there is a wealth of information in correctional facilities. Dr. Kelli Frakes discusses why agencies need to identify the best methods to share information among agencies.

One might assume the greatest sources of stress for corrections officers are the threat of physical violence and hardships from working in an understaffed environment, right? As it turns out, those things are not causing officers the most stress. Instead, it is issues with prison administration and inconsistent leadership practices. AMU professor Michael Pittaro writes how prison administrators need to move away from punitive and authoritative styles of leadership and adopt a transformational leadership approach. Read how this style of leadership could help boost morale, improve job satisfaction, and even improve workplace safety. 

At a dark time in U.S. history, the trans-Atlantic slave trade was at its peak, with more than 12 million people shipped to various nations only to endure punishing labor on farms and in factories, building railroads, and more. “Slavery was abolished 150 years ago and yet there are more people in slavery today than in any other time in our history,” said American Public University System (APUS) professor Michael Pittaro. Today, there are an estimated 21 million victims worldwide and only a small percentage of these victims are reported to authorities.

Human trafficking is a local issue. Read more about why community stakeholders and citizens gathered in West Virginia to learn how to recognize and fight human trafficking at the local level.

Throughout my 20-year career in corrections, I learned about the various causes of and responses to prisoner suicides, but very little (if any) attention was paid to the issue of correctional officer suicides. However, research finds that corrections officers have a suicide rate that is twice as high as the rate of police officers and the general population. Agencies must equip their EAPs to better address mental health and trauma as well as educate officers (and their families!) about indicators of suicide in officers.