- Coordinator: Sara Couture
- Length of course: 4 hours
- Course hours: 1230-1630 hours
- Date: June 14, 2016
- Cost: $18.50 Commuting, $57.50 Overnight
- Registration: Fax the in-service registration form (Word or PDF) to 802-483-2343 or email it to our registrar at gail.williams@vermont.gov
Animal cruelty is a serious crime with close ties to human violence, and Vermont has the largest per capita rate of pet ownership in the country. It is more likely than not that law enforcement officers will handle criminal cases involving animal mistreatment. While all Vermont law enforcement officers have the authority to act as humane agents, police agencies may not always have the personpower or resources to respond as effectively or quickly as they would like to complaints of animal cruelty.
This presentation will:
- Explore the connection between animal cruelty and human violence;
- Familiarize law enforcement officers with Vermont’s criminal code related to crimes against animals;
- Provide an overview of animal cruelty investigation techniques, and
- Provide participants with local, state and national resources that are available to assist them with investigations.
This POST Basic course has been approved for 4 hours of in-service credit by the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council. Standard in-service training application required.
INSTRUCTOR: Joanne Bourbeau, Northeastern Regional Director, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Joanne has been with the HSUS, the nation’s largest animal protection organization, since 1995. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from the University of New Hampshire, and a certificate in non-profit business management from Johns Hopkins University. She is a graduate of the National Cruelty Investigations School offered by the University of Missouri’s Law Enforcement Training Institute School of Law, and heads the Vermont Humane Federation’s state-wide Animal Cruelty Response Coalition (ACRC). As chair of the VACRC, Joanne regularly instructs and counsels local & state law enforcement agencies, municipal officials and shelter personnel on the investigation of animal cruelty cases in Vermont. She is a regular instructor of Animal Cruelty Investigations at the Vermont Police Academy, and currently serves on the FBI’s. Implementation Committee for Animal Control Officer/National Incidence Based Reporting System Reporting.