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For Immediate Release |
Contact: |
| June 03, 2009 |
USMS Investigative Operations Division Dave Harlow, Chief, Sex Offender Investigations Branch (202) 353-8339; USMS Headquarters Public Affairs (202) 307-9065 |
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U.S. MARSHALS PSYCHOLOGIST RECEIVES AWARD FOR WORK IN CHILD PROTECTION |
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WASHINGTON – Dr. Michael Bourke, Chief Psychologist for the U.S. Marshals
Service Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), received an award from the United
Kingdom’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) in London
on May 20, 2009. Dr. Bourke and his colleague, Dr. Andres Hernandez, were
recognized for their “outstanding example of research into the behaviors of
child sexual offenders.” CEOP is the UK’s primary law enforcement agency in
the area of child protection. The awards are presented to “individuals who have made outstanding contributions in their given area and who have gone above and beyond their normal duty to assist not only CEOP but the wider child protection community,” said CEOP’s Chief Executive Jim Gamble. As BAU’s Chief Psychologist, Dr. Bourke is working to create profiling and research programs intended to serve as a source of information pertaining to sexual offender apprehension, behavioral characteristics of sexual offenders, and risk assessment. The BAU Research Programs will position the U.S. Marshals as a primary component in sex offender apprehension and missing child recovery. Under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, the U.S. Marshals Service was designated the lead federal agency tasked with locating fugitive sex offenders who fail to register or do not comply with state registry requirements. In 2008, the U.S. Marshals apprehended 8,239 sex offenders, including 2,738 persons who failed to register or were non-compliant.
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