The study of the victim is key in violent crime analysis. By examining who the victim is, we can begin to unravel and eliminate an often perplexing web of misguided leads. A thorough understanding of the victim can often lead the investigation toward a probable suspect, rather than an endless pool of less likely possibilities. Victimology will assist the investigator in evaluating why this victim was targeted, which often leads to a motive and the offender.
In this webinar we will give you the tools to conduct a thorough victim profile which will assist in directing your investigation to explore all aspects of the crime.
This webinar will be instructed by Gregory M. Cooper, Founder & Executive Director of Cold Case Foundation and former FBI Profiler, and Dana Boss, Cold Case Foundation Analyst and Crime Analyst for Reedley P.D., with a brief introduction by Dean Jackson, Deputy Executive Director of Cold Case Foundation.
Gregory M. Cooper
Cooper has worked as an FBI Profiler, Law Enforcement Administrator, Police Training/Instructor, University/College Professor, and an International and Domestic Threat Assessment Advisor. He is an expert in Criminal Profiling, Prescriptive Interviewing and Interrogation, Investigations, and Multi-Agency Investigative Task Force consultation. Cooper has given Expert Witness testimony based on his work in serial crimes and cases involving homicide, sexual assault, kidnapping, terrorism, political corruption, white collar crime, product tampering, abduction, arson, and bombing.
Publications
Cooper is an accomplished author and co-authored the Crime Classification Manual, a landmark book classifying homicide, arson, and sexual assault. [Lexington Press, 1992]
Predators - Cooper’s eye-opening look into the mind and methods of a range of criminals from pedophiles to rape-bind-torture masterminds. The levels of criminal activity, with associated motivations, triggers, and identification, are a must read in this day where cybercrime meets violent crime. [Prometheus Books, 2007] He is the co-author of Analyzing Criminal Behavior I and II, [IQ Press, 2002] and Who Killed King Tut? [Prometheus Press, 2004] Cooper’s work as an expert witness in crime scene analysis was highlighted in the New York Times best seller, Mind Hunter.
Journal of Forensic Nursing (2006); Interviewing The Incarcerated Offender
Convicted of Sexually assaulting the Elderly.
More Cases and Counting
With over 40 years of expertise in the law enforcement, legal, corporate, and educational communities, Cooper has consulted internationally with law enforcement agencies on topics including homicides, rapes, kidnapping, product tampering, extortion, political corruption, arson and bombing, workplace violence, stalking and false allegations. He has provided a myriad of specific services including information procurement for probable cause on search warrants, investigative strategy, interview/interrogation techniques, prosecution strategy, threat assessments, communication content analyses, criminal investigative analyses (profiles of unknown offenders) and major case management.
He is an international speaker, trainer, and consultant in crime analysis, crisis management, negligent security matters, management science, criminal profiling, prescriptive interviewing, police management, and violent crime investigations.
Cooper is routinely called as an expert witness in criminal behavior analysis and police procedure and civil rights issues. His expert testimony behaviorally linked multiple homicides from separate jurisdictions contributing to the conviction of a serial killer, featured in a New York Times bestseller, Mind Hunter [Douglas, Olshaker, Simon & Schuster, 1995].
Career Path... Where it Leads
Cooper started as a Police Officer in Provo, Utah. He then served as Police Chief in Delta, Utah. From Delta, he entered the Federal Bureau of Investigation, serving in various investigative and supervisory positions in Seattle, Washington and Los Angeles, California. He then returned to Quantico as a Criminal Profiler in the Behavioral Science Unit, FBI Academy.
While assigned to the FBI Academy and Critical Incident Response Group, he served in several positions within the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. He was also Manager of the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP). He then became Acting Unit Chief of the Behavioral Profiling Unit and was also an FBI National Academy Instructor of Criminal Psychology, Criminal Investigative Analysis and Analytical Aspects of Criminal Behavior.
Cooper returned to Provo, Utah, to become the Police Chief and Civil Defense Director. He also served as a venue member of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Command staff. He then continued his federal experience as Assistant Federal Security Director for Law Enforcement with the US Department of Homeland Security. Cooper served as the Manager of the Investigative Support Services Division of Motorola, Inc. where he oversaw the development and implementation of intuitive-based investigative software applications for violent crime, crime analysis, and major case investigations. Cooper has taught at the Utah Police Academy, University of Virginia, Boston College and adjunct faculty member at Utah Valley University, Salt Lake Community College and provided curriculum and training for the federally mandated Operation Lady Justice Cold Case Investigators. He has provided onsite support and training worldwide to law enforcement agencies in crime analysis, investigations, and criminal behavior. He also served as Chairman of the Board of the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force and was a board member of both the Utah Council on Victims and the Massachusetts State Police Behavioral Science Unit. Additionally, he is a member of several professional associations including the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Dana Boss
Dana has over 15 years of law enforcement experience, with 9 years of experience working as an analyst. She has worked a variety of assignments ranging from records management, property and evidence, as well as patrol. This experience provides a unique view when analyzing cases with the ability to look at them through the lens of an investor and analyst. She has partnered with local, state, and federal agencies working on a variety of criminal cases. She is a Certified Crime and Intelligence Analyst, completing the certification program through CSU, Sacramento and the California Department of Justice in 2013. She is the Past President of the Central Valley Crime and Intelligence Analysts Association and the California Crime and Intelligence Analysts Association.
Dana has been working as an analyst with Cold Case Foundation since 2020. She currently works for the Reedley Police Department in the California as a Criminal Intelligence Analyst.
Awards & Accolades
In 2019 she was recognized by the Reedley Chamber of Commerce as the Public Safety Professional of the Year. She was recognized for her work in Crime Analysis with the Chief’s Award from the Reedley Police Department in 2018 and also received the Tactical Bulletin of the Year Award in the International Association of Crime Analysts yearly bulletin contest. In 2013 she was recognized as the Reedley Police Department’s Professional Staff Member of the Year, and received an official commendation for her work on a robbery series.
Dean L. Jackson
Dean has more than 30 years of experience working in both the non-profit world and Law Enforcement. He has an extensive list of credentials and thousands of hours of experience in Cold Case Homicide Investigation, Critical Incident Stress Management, Death Notification and Cold Case Management. Dean has debriefed first responders after numerous critical incidents including fatal accidents, suicides, officer-involved shootings, homicides, sexual assaults, equivocal deaths and officer deaths. He has personally performed hundreds of Death Notifications.
Dean is currently the Deputy Executive Director of the Cold Case Foundation, Lead Consultant at the Jackson Consulting Group, a member of the Utah Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team, an accredited instructor for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, and a frequent guest lecturer/trainer at universities, law enforcement and fire agencies, victim assistant units, and state Peace Officer Standards Training (POST) and provided curriculum and training for the federally mandated Operation Lady Justice Cold Case Investigators. Dean recently completed his first book: Death Notifications, Delivering an Offensive Message in the least Offensive Manner.
