NHIA News & Announcements

I am the executive director of a newly formed non-profit that is giving grants to law enforcement for advanced DNA testing on cold case homicides and other violent crimes.  The non-profit was founded by a concerned citizen who gave initial seed money to get the program off the ground. Recently we added to our revenue stream to keep the program active and sustainable. We recruited board members from victims’ families, media/marketing, and the scientific community to sit on our Board of Directors at Season of Justice.

Our areas of concentration are cold case homicides that have suspect DNA, but no matches in CODIS or a state DNA database.  We will also fund grants asking to process evidence for DNA that has not been processed or had poor results when processing was attempted.  Season of Justice will provide funds directly to a third-party lab, of the agency’s choice, for tests and research related to genealogy DNA or any other DNA testing not performed by the agency’s lab.  Season of Justice is taking applications for these grants at www.seasonofjustice.org .  The application is short, and the board meets monthly to vote on what cases to accept and fund.    Our grants have averaged $5,000 to $7,000 for each case. At no time during the process does Season of Justice want any access to any test results.

As an introduction, I am a retired Sgt. from Indianapolis Metro Police Department (Indiana) where my last assignment was to run a 17 county Crime Stoppers program for Central Indiana.  Our founder was a board member of that local Crime Stoppers program and asked me to become the executive director of Season of Justice.  Prior to Crime Stoppers I was assigned to various units as a detective and supervisor, those included homicide, narcotics, uniformed late tactical shift, and a general undercover detective.

If you have any law enforcement professionals that are searching for funding for a specific case, please feel free to forward my information to them.  Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give our program in connecting with your agency or other law enforcement partners.

Respectfully,

Steve
Steven DuBois
Executive Director

Season of Justice
Steve@seasonofjustice.org

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Plans for the 2021 NHIA conference are in the works! Stay tuned for more information. We will post news as we get it and as it changes.  We are holding meetings with the Board and the Orlando Marriot Lake Mary to make sure the conference can continue as safely as possible with everything going on.  Please check back often.

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The following are some resources for LEO’s to help them cope not only with regular daily work stressors, but now with the added worry dealing with the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is help out there.  It is okay to not be okay.

1st Help

1st Help offers quick access to resources based on a range of topics, including mental health for L.E. Officers go to the website, answer a few questions, and then access a database of information. Additionally, they will ship free resource cards to any individual or department that would like to hand them out.

 

Armor Up

Armor up is connected to the Safe Call Now 24 hour hotline, and also offers prevention, training and education related to trauma.

 

Bulletproof

Bulletproof offers anonymous and confidential access to health, wellness initiatives, support, information and resources.  Their 24 hour confidential support line can be reached at 800-273-8255.

 

Copline

Copline offers 24/7 trained peer support and referrals for continued assistance.  Their 24 hour confidential support line is 800-COPLINE (800-267-5463).

 

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

The Lifeline provides a 24-hour, free, confidential support for  people in distress.  To access it call 800-273-TALK (800-273-8255).

 

Safe Call Now

Safe Call Now is a confidential 24-hour crisis referral service for public safety and emergency services personnel.  Their 24-hour confidential support line is 206-459-3020.

 

VALOR Officer Safety App

The VALOR Officer Safety App promotes mental health and physical preparation for officers. Available via the Apple APP or Google Play.

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The spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 has forced many people into self-isolation. But many others don’t have that luxury. This information can help keep everyone who remains on the job informed about the coronavirus, as well as offer guidance on how to stay healthy and deal with the emotional impacts of the outbreak.

https://pages.e2ma.net/pages/1807892/21544

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The ABMDI has previously been approved the National Homicide Investigator’s Association for up to 38* Continuing Education Units (CEUs)!

*CEUs are subject to change, please check back closer to the time of the conference.

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