KEARNEY – The 30th annual Criminal Justice Conference is scheduled for Oct. 1 at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The conference, founded by the late Jim Gilbert, a former law enforcement officer and longtime criminal justice professor at UNK, brings several hundred students, professionals and community members to the Nebraskan Student Union Ponderosa Room to hear from a variety of speakers.
“This conference gives us an opportunity to bring in nationally recognized experts in law, policing and corrections, along with individuals whose lives have intersected with the justice system in powerful ways,” said associate professor Julie Campbell, chair of UNK’s Department of Criminal Justice. “We’ve had some incredibly memorable presentations over the years, and we are excited to continue that tradition with this year’s guests.”
The event, which is free and open to the public, features author and associate professor Susan Dewey, retired Omaha Police Department Detective Brian Bogdanoff and retired law enforcement officer Donna Kinsey.
Dewey is the author or lead editor of 11 books and more than 80 papers and government reports on the intersections between poverty, violence and women’s criminal justice system involvement. After eight years of research and service at a Denver women’s transitional housing facility, she co-founded the national award-winning college-in-prison program Wyoming Pathways from Prison. She is associate director of the School of Culture, Gender and Social Justice at the University of Wyoming and an unpaid staff member at the Wyoming Department of Corrections, where she assists with correctional education initiatives.
Bogdanoff served as a homicide and undercover narcotics detective with the Omaha Police Department before retiring after 22 years with the agency. His work has been recognized by the Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee and John Walsh of “America’s Most Wanted.” Bogdanoff wrote the award-winning book “Three Bodies Burning: The Anatomy of an Investigation into Murder, Money, and Mexican Marijuana.”
Kinsey is a retired police major who has been actively involved in training and program development for more than 30 years. She received the FBI Women in Law Enforcement Leadership Award in 2007 and is a three-time recipient of the North Miami Police Department’s top honor, the Administrative Excellence award. Kinsey is founder and president of TEC III, Training Enhancement Center, a company that provides specialized instruction to public and private organizations, and a member of the FBI National Academy Speakers Bureau.
UNK’s Criminal Justice Conference is hosted in conjunction with the department’s annual Criminal Justice Career Fair. The career fair provides students the opportunity to meet with representatives from more than 20 local, state and federal agencies.
UNK Criminal Justice Conference
Monday, Oct. 1 – Nebraskan Student Union Ponderosa Room
8:30 to 9 a.m. – Conference registration and career fair
9 to 9:15 a.m. – Conference welcome
9:15 to 10:30 a.m. – “An Architecture of Violence: Why Gender Matters in Crime and Corrections,” Susan Dewey, University of Wyoming
10:30 to 11 a.m. – Career fair and break
11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. – “The Anatomy of an Investigation into Murder,” Brian Bogdanoff, retired Omaha Police Department detective
12:15 to 12:30 p.m. – Career fair and break
12:30 to 1:30 p.m. – Lunch
1:30 to 3:30 p.m. – “Survival Mindset: Recognizing and Avoiding Violent Personal Encounters,” Donna Kinsey, TEC III, Training Enhancement Center
