Page 8 - Tips for Safer Office and Field Interactions - AFI-LLC Newsletter May 2020

Tips for Safer Office and Field Interactions - AFI-LLC Newsletter May 2020

Vicarious Post-Traumatic Stress - Why There’s Such A High Rate of Burnout Among Defense Attorneys
(Brandon Perron, CCDI of FL)
Given the nature of the job, direct and indirect stress go with the territory. What can be done about it? It’s not easy
being a criminal defense attorney. If you work for a public-defender organization, the case load is high, the pay not
great, and frustrations abound. It’s difficult to win; often you’re not favored by the judge or the law, and sometimes
your client thinks you’re less than a “real” lawyer simply because he’s not paying for you. You’re not only unappreciated
but you might also be the target of physical attacks, anything from being spit on to being punched in the nose (as
happened to a colleague) after a jury verdict.
-- read the full story at https://abovethelaw.com/2019/11/vicarious-post-traumatic-stress-or-why-theres-such-a-high-
rate-of-burnout-among-criminal-defense-attorneys

How to make an innocent client plead guilty
(Jeffrey D. Stein, public defender in Washington, D.C.)
The conversation almost always begins in jail. Sitting with your client in the visitation room, you start preparing them for
the most important decision the person has ever made. Though the case is just a few days old, the prosecution has
already extended a plea offer that will expire within the week. And, because local laws might require detention for
certain charges at the prosecutor’s request, or because criminal justice systems punish those unable to pay bail, your
client will have to make that decision while sitting in a cage.
-- read the full story at www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-innocent-people-plead-guilty/2018/01/12/e05d262c-
b805-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html

Through apps, not warrants, ‘Locate X’ allows federal law enforcement to track phones
(Shane Scofield of CO)
Federal agencies have big contracts with Virginia-based Babel Street. Depending on where you've traveled, your
movements may be in the company's data. The product, called Locate X, allows investigators to draw a digital fence
around an address or area, pinpoint mobile devices that were within that area, and see where else those devices have
traveled, going back months. The tool tracks the location of devices anonymously, using data that popular cell phone
apps collect to enable features like mapping or targeted ads, or simply to sell it on to data brokers.
-- read the full story at www.protocol.com/government-buying-location-data

The Truth About Runaway Teens
(Bob Heales of MN)
We are very concerned for the welfare and safety of our boys & girls who have runaway. We care about these children
just as much as we care about a child who has been abducted by a stranger. When a stranger abducts a child, the media
follow the story closely because they know the child is in very grave danger. – Polly Klaas Foundation
-- read the full story at www.pollyklaas.org/enews-archive/2013-enews/article-web-pages/the-truth-about-
runaways.html

“Excellent reading from the Polly Klass Foundation. We have all seen the posts about missing runaway teens. Most often
girls. Thank goodness most are found quickly. 1.8 to 2.6 million run away annually in the US. “Many runaway girls turn to
survival sex as a means of support within 48 hours of leaving home”. They run for a number of reasons and can’t always
return home. The police often have limited resources so family members sometimes need the assistance of resources like
the Polly Klass Foundation and Private Investigators.” – Bob Heales, Past President of PPIAC, NCISS and WAD (now
Executive Director)

Copyright © 2020 Associates in Forensic Investigations, All Rights Reserved.