September 3, 4, and 5, 2025, in beautiful Snowmass, Colorado. Top speakers from around the country arrive in Snowmass Colorado to provide First Class training and networking.
Beyond the Cloak of Darkness:
The Impact of Pornography
Senior Special Agent (Retired) Russell Strand
Strand Squared Solutions and Effective Detective
Pornography has been a part of human existence since the conception of cave drawings. From caves walls and artistic renderings to photographs - silent talkies to technicolor - on-line to virtual reality – all mediums beckon from the shadows shaping our culture deep within the core of who we are – or who we pretend to be. While capturing the images of humans involved in sexual acts is a historical consistent, the most resent onslaught of the internet has permanently and dramatically changed the sexual landscape. Contemporary humans live in a sexual paradox silently swimming in a pornographic culture.
In 2017 alone, Pornhub got 28.5 billion visits. That’s almost 1,000 visits a second, or 78.1 million a day - way more than the population of the entire United Kingdom. That number has since jumped to 33.5 billion site visits in 2018. Currently, the porn industry’s net worth is about $97 billion. This money is enough to feed at-least 4.8 billion people a day. Every year, Hollywood releases roughly 600 movies and makes $10 billion in profit. And how much porn does the industry make? 13,000 films and close to $15 billion in profit. The porn industry makes more money than Major League Baseball, The NFL and The NBA combined.
In 2015, the average age a person first viewed hardcore pornographic images was 11 years old. Some sources say that this number is now closer to 8 years old. This coupled with a lack of comprehensive sexual education in schools has shifted sexual behaviors and norms. Porn is becoming the primary sex educator. Consider that, some sources cite up to, 88% of all porn includes an act of violence - mostly violence against women and girls.
This presentation will examine the influence of pornography on the neurobiology of the developing and already developed brain. It will seek to articulate that excessive porn use impacts an individual’s sexuality and body image taking into consideration that the onslaught of hardcore images shape and inform ones’ sexual identity and practice.
One major question often asked about porn is whether there is a correlation of causation between porn and interpersonal violence. There are over 100 studies showing that pornography use is both correlated with and is the cause (shown through experimental studies) of a wide range of violent behaviors. Over 50 studies show a strong connection between pornography and sexual violence.
The presenter will specifically focus on aspects of pornography that may lead to victimization such as the mainstreaming and national increase of choking and strangulation, BDSM (but without the typical and learned BDSM safety precautions), revenge porn, child rape/torture and sex trafficking. We will also explore how sex industry workers experience the porn industry while uncovering some of the attitudes of producers.
This presentation will be beneficial to any professional working to understand and change the culture regarding interpersonal violence in any form. There will also be discussions on possible solutions, promising practices and methodologies that can be utilized to begin the shift from a toxic sexual landscape to a possible healthy sexual reality. This presentation will include exploring the impact porn is having on the criminal justice system while exploring new tools of investigation which may assist in a more successful prosecution.
Learning Objectives:
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Examine the influence that pornography has had on the overall culture
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Articulate the neurobiology of porn use
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Examine how pornography has influenced the cultural acceptance of interpersonal violence
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Uncover a clear correlation between porn use and hands on violence
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Recognize that porn is a vast and public display of human sex trafficking, rape (both child and adult) and torture
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Look at the motivations of producers
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Describe possible solutions, strategies and tools
The Hunter & The Hunted
Understanding Offender Behavior
Senior Special Agent (Retired) Russell Strand
Strand Squared Solutions and Effective Detective
We can learn a great deal from successful people who hunt animals by examining the way in which they master their skill. The most successful understand and can predict the behavior and the environment of their prey. A good hunter will mask their smell, blend into the background and replicate a “safe” environment to lower defenses thus increasing the chances of hitting their mark.
Sex Offenders are hunters who hunt people. Successful sex offenders can “blend into” society with great success. They master the culture, the language and the interests of those that they are hunting. They maintain public personas that are flawless, detailed and designed to lower suspicion. Sex Offenders ply their trade in secret and are talented in the art of deception. They have a great capacity to fool, not only their victims, but also their families, their friends, mental health and criminal justice professionals. Sex offenders are extremely cunning and extremely effective in their criminal activity.
This presentation will explore many societal myths that enable the sex offender to operate successfully among us all without suspicion and detection. We will discuss how they deceive, why they do what they do, and how we can peer through the fog and identify them and their horrific acts.
Participants will be presented up-to-date research, case studies, and strategies on understanding sex offenders from a criminal justice viewpoint. This session will take what we've been taught about typical offender typologies and compare what we think we know with empirical research and current state of knowledge.
This contrast and comparison will facilitate a better understanding of all professionals who work with adult and child victims of sex offenders and of the sex offenders themselves. We are not as safe as we think. What we don’t know will hurt us… and those we try to protect.
Objectives:
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Understand the prevalence of sexual violence and identify common sex offender behaviors and motives for their crimes
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Determine the danger sex offenders pose to our society by understanding the true nature of their crimes
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Explore why Sex Offenders are able to thrive in our current culture
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Explore strategies to reduce the risk sex offenders pose to our communities
Human Centric Interview (HCI)
Senior Special Agent (Retired) Russell Strand
Strand Squared Solutions and Effective Detective
“To live in the body of a survivor is to never be able to leave the scene of the crime.” – Blythe Baird
The goal of the HCI training is to develop the knowledge and essential skills required to conduct and document interviews with humans who may have experienced trauma and/or victimization.
Development of various types of interviews & interrogations, child forensic interviews, and trauma informed interviews have all paved the way in which we seek to understand the human experience of victims, suspects, and witnesses of crime and tragedy. As we continue to learn about human behavior, memory, impact of trauma, neurodiversity, intersectionality, etc. we need to continue to apply advances in our knowledge and forge ahead to improve our practices.
It’s not just trauma or a traumatic experience we need to understand - it’s so much more - many other factors can affect ability and motivation to recall. We need to seek understanding and connection through an intersectional lens to better comprehend behavior and recall including past experiences, neurodiversity, complex trauma, non-linear memory, polychronic time, environment, and genetics to name just a few. We must connect with and understand the human in front of us as a human being facing what can sometimes be an inhuman system – we must be authentically human most of all.
In this engaging workshop, participants will delve into the art of human-centric interviews, focusing on understanding the human experience through the lens of trauma-responsive care, trauma memory, body.ology of trauma (how trauma impacts the body, mind, and spirit), relaxation techniques, authentic human connection, and healing-inspired practices. This workshop is designed for multidisciplinary professionals across the criminal justice seeking to deepen their understanding of human experiences through empathetic and compassionate human interactions.
The goal is to prioritize the needs, values, and experiences of people by providing a healing centered opportunity to deliver their experience in their own words. HCI emphasizes that working with humans who are in pain requires that we respond with empathy, err on the side of compassion and connect with our hearts.
Our goal is to ensure that every interview is conducted with the utmost respect for the victim’s well-being while also meeting the legal and investigative requirements of the criminal justice process.
Objectives:
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Explore the principles of being human-centric in interviews and interactions
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Understand the impact of trauma and other factors on memory and how to approach trauma-responsive care
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Learn relaxation techniques to create a safe and calming environment for interviewees
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Cultivate authentic human connection through active listening, empathy, and compassion
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Discover how healing-inspired practices can enhance the interview process and foster positive outcomes
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To explore trauma informed documentation
From the Golden State to the Queen City: Lessons Learned Applying FIGG to Difficult Cold Cases
Detective Jeffrey Smallwood
Cincinnati Police Department
Detective Brandon Vance
Fort Thomas Police Department
By teaming up with some of the pioneers in the field of Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG), the Cincinnati Police Department began to apply the method to cases that had haunted investigators for decades. The first case, an unsolved series of sexual assaults involving child victims, required sifting through a family tree with over 9,000 members. After the identification and arrest of the offender, detectives were ultimately able to link him to multiple other offenses in northern Kentucky through the discovery of untested sexual assault kits and other evidence.
When local media outlets reported on the conviction of the offender, a concerned daughter on the other side of the country noticed similarities between the offender’s MO and that of the offender who had sexually assaulted her mother in Cincinnati in 1989. She reached out to detectives to have them re-evaluate her mother’s case. Detectives used FIGG to identify the suspect but were then met with the challenges of antiquated statute of limitations laws and other prosecutorial concerns.
This presentation will show not only how teamwork between multiple law enforcement agencies can lead to successful outcomes but also demonstrate ways the criminal justice system fails victims.
These case studies also offer unique insight into the behavior of serial offenders and how they can evolve over time and adapt to advances in forensic technology. Those lessons and modern data challenge some commonly held beliefs about the nature of serial offenders.
The Stephen Matthews Case
Senior District Attorney Bree Beasley
Denver District Attorney's Office
Senior District Attorney Victoria Kelley
Denver District Attorney's Office
This presentation will be on the prosecution of serial rapist Stephen Matthews. Unlike opportunistic assaults, Matthews, a board-certified cardiologist, targeted women via online dating platforms. Following a fine-tuned pattern, he lured the women he met back to his residence. Once isolated, he incapacitated his victims by slipping them an unknown drug, often masked in a tequila-based shot or drink, which impaired them both physically and mentally. While in this state of helplessness, Matthews sexually violated them. Not only did he capitalize on their incapacitation to facilitate sexual violence, he also weaponized the significant memory loss caused by the drugs to control the narrative in the aftermath.
In February of 2023 when one of his victims reported her assault to the Denver Police Department, Matthews subsequent arrest received media attention and was the catalyst for other women to come forward knowing they weren’t alone. Many of these reports came in during a 6-to-8-week period, prompting what became a large-scale, time-consuming investigation.
Our presentation will highlight the collaboration between the Denver Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office in a trauma-informed approach that led to the successful prosecution of Matthews. We will walk through the investigation, charging, and prosecution, detailing the extensive efforts to corroborate the victims’ accounts even years after some incidents. Additionally, we will discuss the challenges of handling a complex and costly defense team, as well as key motions, trial strategy, the jury trial, and the final sentencing.
Social Media Investigations
Crime Analyst Kari Nordland
Lakewood Police Department
Social media investigations require an in-depth understanding of how each of the different platforms function, how users are posting and sharing information knowledge of where to look, what to look for, and how to put tother the intelligence gathered to garner leads and advance investigations. Attendees will gain critical skills necessary to conduct efficient and effective investigations using the most popular Social Media platforms, as well as how to preserve accounts that are critical for obtaining court-ordered evidence and what types of data each platform will provide. Real-life law enforcement case studies will be presented to show how mastering these navigation skills can ultimately lead to big breaks in cases, such as aggravated assaults, sex assaults, kidnappings and homicides.