Abstract
Technology advances have changed the way the average
American communicates, plans his or her day, shops, drives, and does many other
things. Technology has changed the way criminals, specifically gang members,
live their lives as well. As gangs evolve, many adopt more of a business model.
How does that affect the way law enforcement should investigate them?
You will get an overview of criminal communications options,
actions, and interactions followed by a discussion of how law enforcement –
mostly gang cops – can and do respond. Ideas on how to engage, assist, or even
thwart the detection of such activity will be provided. The use of metaphors to explain how
technology functions often helps the not-so-literate grasp the concepts we will
discuss – an impromptu brainstorming session on how that works will likely
occur.
Presenter Bio
Carter F. Smith usually presents to groups that are wearing
or sitting on badges. In his day job he is an Assistant Professor of Criminal
Justice & Homeland Security in the Department of Public Management and
Criminal Justice at the Internationally-renowned Austin Peay State
University. During his more than
twenty-two year career with the U.S. Army, he used a variety of lengthy titles
to describe his jobs with the Criminal Investigations Command (CID). He has provided training on many
gang-related topics to the TN, GA, FL, OK, and Northwest Gang Investigator’s
Associations, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Justice.
His research and investigative interests include
military-trained gang members, technology use by gang members, and the
intersection of criminal street gangs, organized crime, and terrorism. He’s got a Ph.D from Northcentral University,
a Juris Doctorate from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, a Bachelor’s
degree from Austin Peay State University. He’s been interviewed by a bunch of news
outlets, has published a bunch on gangs, and was on two segments of the History
Channel’s Gangland series.
