government - to serve and protect

Detailed Description:

Many victims of identity theft state that they do not receive adequate support and assistance from police departments. Police officers are aware of this type of crime, but know little about how to protect the general public and serve the victims, especially when criminals use electronic methods to commit this fraud. In some instances, officers and administrative staff are skeptical and unwilling to assist victims - largely because they do not really understand the personal nature of the crime and how to investigate it. Even those detectives who specialize in criminal fraud feel that the training they've been given is no match for the technical expertise of the criminals. They are frustrated at their inability to collect the evidence needed for a solid conviction.

The state law enforcement agency submits a request for proposal for training in identity theft investigation and a local research and educational firm wins the bid. The diversity of the training population and the need for a flexible training environment are important considerations to the developers. The trainees will want to study real cases, not hypothetical situations, and they will need access to a large variety of cases representative of the many ways in which identity theft can occur. The educational firm decides to compile a library of cases, indexed by characteristics such as method of theft, investigative procedures, consequences, legal processes, and outcomes. Each case will provide a full treatment of the actual events, including: the victim's point of view, perspectives from psychologists, and profilers, demonstrations of technologies from experts, explanations of consequences from retailers and financial institutions, and discussions of evidence, legal aspects, and record-keeping requirements. Students will be given tools to develop their own action plans and resource kits for use in their on-the-job activities. They will also have access to experts in the field via synchronous or asynchronous communications.

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will be able to conduct a more professional and thorough investigation of identity theft complaints by enhancing the following skills:

Problem solving abilities for resolving identity theft complaints
Communications skills for working effectively with victims
Analytical skills to identify the critical tasks required for prosecution of identity theft complaints
Identify the many considerations and facets of identity theft
Cite examples of identity theft cases and evidence collection procedures
List resources useful to victims of identity theft
Recommend an Individual Action Plan (IAP) to implement when working with victims