Campus Police Investigations Tier 6: Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, and Coercive Control

Campus Police Criminal Investigations Track

Campus Police Investigations Tier 6: Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, and Coercive Control

Evidence-Based Investigations, High-Risk Behaviors, and Victim Safety

Class Description

Dating violence and domestic violence investigations on college campuses may involve repeated conduct that extends beyond a single physical confrontation. Officers may encounter threats, intimidation, nonfatal strangulation, sexual violence, coercive control, isolation, digital monitoring, and complicated or ongoing relationships among students or employees.

This standalone course examines contemporary criminal investigative approaches to relationship violence in college and university communities. Participants will explore applicable criminal elements, patterns of abusive behavior, evidence-based initial response, trauma-informed interviews, and strategies for investigating incidents when parties provide competing accounts or remain in contact.

Particular attention will be given to investigating nonfatal strangulation and other potentially high-risk conduct, assessing self-defense and predominant-aggressor considerations where recognized by law, identifying injury and nonphysical evidence, preserving electronic communications, and understanding the limitations of available forensic findings.

Campus-based scenarios will challenge participants to identify investigative priorities, pursue corroboration, assess immediate and ongoing safety concerns, and coordinate appropriately with prosecutors, advocates, and institutional partners while maintaining independent criminal fact-finding.

Topics Covered

• Criminal elements of dating violence, domestic violence, and associated offenses
• Coercive control, threats, intimidation, isolation, and patterns of abuse
• Nonfatal strangulation, injury documentation, medical and forensic evidence, and high-risk indicators
• Trauma-informed victim, witness, and suspect interviewing; competing accounts and self-defense
• Digital monitoring, electronic threats, technology-facilitated control, and corroboration
• Protective orders, risk assessment, victim safety, case preparation, and institutional coordination

Learning Objectives

Upon completion, participants will be able to:

1. Identify investigative and criminal law considerations in campus dating and domestic violence cases.
2. Recognize high-risk indicators, including nonfatal strangulation and escalating threats, and identify appropriate response steps.
3. Apply trauma-informed interviewing and evaluate competing accounts without relying on unsupported assumptions.
4. Identify and preserve physical, medical, electronic, testimonial, and circumstantial evidence.
5. Explain investigative considerations concerning self-defense, predominant aggressor where applicable, protective orders, and coordinated safety responses.

Who Should Attend

Sworn campus police officers, investigators, detectives, supervisors, police chiefs, and law enforcement personnel who respond to or investigate dating and domestic violence.

Recommended Experience Level: Foundational to Intermediate. Designed for patrol officers, investigators, and supervisors who respond to or investigate dating violence and domestic violence. Experience levels are guidance rather than prerequisites.

Certification

Attendees of this class will receive a certificate of completion from D. Stafford & Associates. Certification verifies attendance at this class and can serve as an institution’s documentation that the attendee has received Campus Police Investigations: Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, and Coercive Control-Tier 6 training.

Faculty

This training program will feature an expert faculty member who has served as a sworn police investigator on college and university campuses and has more than 25 years of experience and expertise in managing rape investigations for institutions of Higher Education.

Logistics

This class is a 4-hour class (with time built in for breaks).

Virtual Classes: This live, virtual class will be held:

• from 12:00 pm – 4:30 pm Eastern Time.

Additional logistics are available when clicking the “Class Details & Registration” button for a specific class. (Note: clicking the “Class Details & Registration” button will not automatically register attendees for this class. There is an additional registration button that attendees must click to register at the bottom of the logistics page to complete the registration process).

This class is not currently offered in an in‑person format. To explore bringing this class to your campus, please contact dolores@dstaffordandassociates.com for a scope of work.