Crime Records Services Staff

November 19, 2020

I would like to thank you and your organization for facilitating four (4) virtual Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) training events by hosting Webex Seminars on September 25 & 27, 2020, and on October 9 & 10, 2020. As you know, HB 3106 ("Molly Jane's Law") went into effect on September 1, 2019, mandating that all Texas law enforcement agencies enter their sexual assault cases into the Vi CAP Database -- a national database for behavioral and investigative case information. The purpose of the training was to educate local, state, and tribal law enforcement personnel on the use of ViCAP. Since September 2019, ViCAP has attempted to host hands-on training in the Houston area. However, Tropical Storm Imelda and the COVID-19 pandemic have foiled all our efforts. In July, personnel from your Incident Based Reporting (IBR) Bureau stepped up to solve our training dilemma. Specifically, Brian Isaac, IBR Manager, and Maggie Walker, IBR Training Supervisor, contacted ViCAP Crime Analyst Rick Blankenship and offered to host the training via Webex. Once the dates were set, the entire JBR Team (from Michelle Farris, Assistant Chief, and Luz Dove, Deputy Administrator, to each of the IBR team members: Jennifer Bushee, Elizabeth Carroll, Laurie Connally, Alejandra Martinez, and Brandon Rans) assisted in all aspects of ensuring the training was a success - from registration, invitations, moderating, and post-training documentation. The assistance of the entire team was invaluable, so thank you again and kudos to the staff.