User:Afmrbhmr/The Academy Group, Inc.

The Academy Group, Inc.
The Academy Group, Inc. is an elite forensic behavioral science consulting firm that provides training, testimony, consultation and research to Fortune 500 companies, government, law enforcement, and attorneys. The Academy Group (AGI) specializes in violent crime analysis and crime scene reconstruction, stalking remediation, workplace violence prevention programs, criminal premises liability, forensic linguistics, resolution of all types of threats, and the analysis of many other types of criminal cases that can benefit from the application of behavioral science methods. Forensic behavioral science involves the interpretation of an individual’s actions, both verbal and non-verbal, and how best to assess and intervene in a social environment, particularly with those who may pose a physical danger to themselves or others.

AGI’s unique status in the security community derives from its practitioners’ combination of extensive investigative law enforcement experience and behavioral science expertise. Most Academy Group practitioners are former FBI Supervisory Special Agents who pioneered the FBI’s famed Behavioral Science Unit and played a major role in the creation of the FBI’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. Other AGI practitioners are former US Secret Service and Virginia State Police Special Agents who graduated from the FBI Academy. AGI practitioners have studied criminals, violence, and violent behavior, applying their knowledge and understanding to thousands of cases that they helped manage and solve. AGI practitioners lecture and consult on cases around the world.

Methods and Expertise With several other FBI colleagues, Dr. Roger Depue launched The Academy Group, Inc., in 1989. This enterprise began a journey for Depue that has involved consulting on many high profile cases. His work, with AGI colleague Kenneth Baker, on the unsolved murders of Martha Moxley and Terri Brooks led to the resolution of those cold case crimes. He analyzed the JonBenet Ramseyransom note, consulted on the Columbine school shooting, and analyzed the Watergate break-in to determine—correctly—the identity of Deep Throat. In 2007, Depue was asked to serve on the Governor’s Review Panel that evaluated the Virginia Tech Shooting.

Joining Depue at The Academy Group in the early 1990s were Roy Hazelwood, Dick Ault, and the late Ken Baker (a former Secret Service Special Agent). In the late 1990s, Pete Smerick, Larry McCann (a former Virginia State Police Senior Agent), Mike Napier, and Steve Mardigian came on board. The addition of Jim Fitzgerald in 2007 brought AGI to its current composition. All of these former investigators are experts in the application of behavioral analysis to criminal cases, but they each also have specialized expertise.

Richard Ault, Ph.D. – An expert on national security issues such as espionage, betrayal of trust, and the psychology of terrorists. Ault has interviewed dozens of traitors and interrogated convicted traitor Robert Hanssen to determine the extent of the damage his activities caused to US national security.

R. Roy Hazelwood, M.S. – An internationally recognized expert on sexual violence, Hazelwood was retained by the United Nations Prosecutor’s Office as a consultant on the Bosnia war crimes. He has conducted and published research on all types of sexual violence including serial rape, juvenile sexual offenders, police attitudes on rape, sexual sadists, sexually sadistic serial killers, staged crimes, and former wives and girlfriends of sexual sadists. Michael Napier, B.S.E. – Offender and victim interviews and interrogations, especially the detection of truth and deception, are Napier’s unique area of expertise. He single-handedly apprehended and arrested serial killer Richard Grissom in the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, later interrogating Grissom and testifying at his trial.

Peter Smerick, M.Ed. – An FBI-certified examiner of questioned documents and photographic evidence. Smerick identified sadistic rapist, murderer, and master counterfeiter, James “Mike” DeBardeleben, using DeBardeleben’s own photographs taken of himself as he was committing a rape. Though his face was concealed, Smerick was able to identify Debardeleben by using freckle patterns on his arms and chest.

Larry McCann – An expert in crime scene analysis and reconstruction, especially those involving bloodstain and blood spatter analysis, McCann was retained by the defense team of the Norfolk 4 to reconstruct the crime and analyze the forensic evidence of the case. His report exonerating the convicted men was delivered to Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, who granted a conditional pardon to the three men remaining in prison in August 2009.

R. Stephen Mardigian – Expertise lies in the areas of indirect personality assessments of victims and offenders, and cold case analysis. Mardigian was instrumental in apprehending serial murderer Timothy Spencer, Richmond’s Southside Strangler, and subsequently clearing the innocent man who had been convicted of Spencer’s first murder.

James Fitzgerald, M.S. – A certified forensic linguist, Fitzgerald played a key role in the Unabomber investigation by analyzing Theodore Kaczynski’s Manifesto and linking it to his other writings. Fitzgerald was the first individual to provide testimony in US federal court as an expert in textual analysis and forensic linguistic related evidence.

Associates

The Academy Group has the distinction of having the largest assembly of former Special Agents with behavioral, investigative, and law enforcement experience to meet the diversified needs of its clients. However, criminals continue to push the limits of the law by engaging in new and bizarre types of illegal activities. To deal with the wide range of unusual cases that AGI confronts, the firm has assembled an extensive roster of associates who possess niche specialties that add depth to AGI’s pool of resources. A few of AGI’s associates:

Bruce Sackman – A medical investigator who is a nationally-recognized authority on the investigation of medical serial killers.  He supervised the investigation of Dr. Paul Kornak, the first physician in the US to be convicted of homicide in connection with medical research. Sackman also investigated Dr. Michael Swango, who was suspected of 50 murders in the US and Africa. J. Lawrence Cunningham, M.A. – A former Secret Service Supervisory Special Agent who has investigated hundreds of complex telemarketing, computer hacking, and high-tech crimes. Cunningham specializes in physical security surveys for various types of buildings, manufacturing plants, stadiums, airports, etc. Thomas Strentz, Ph.D. – An anti-terrorism expert with a background in hostage negotiations, instruction, and survival. Strentz was responsible for much of the original research on the Stockholm Syndrome, including the profiling of terrorist groups and individuals, and he assisted in the development of a national strategy for the resolution of aircraft hijackings, including The Common Strategy training program. He has investigated and negotiated kidnappings in South and Central America.

Elite Training

Violent Crime Behavior, a two-part specialized program offered by invitation-only, is the crown jewel in AGI’s catalog of training products. Attendees have included law enforcement, social workers, attorneys, psychiatrists, psychologists, physicians, sexual assault nurse examiners, and academicians. The first segment is a two-week course designed for professionals who are experienced in the inquiry and evaluation of violent crimes, crime scenes, and offenders. It addresses the motives, behavior, and crime scene characteristics of the violent criminal and provides innovative approaches to problems confronting the progressive investigator. Topics include homicide, rape, violent female offenders, child molestation, threat analysis, ascertaining truth and deception, equivocal deaths, crime scene staging, school and workplace violence, and other topics of violent crime behavior. Part II of the program is a one week interactive program which combines major case presentations with hands-on workshops.

History

After a stint in the Marine Corps, Roger Depue began his law enforcement career as a police officer in Clare, Michigan. Four years later, the city council appointed him chief of police at the age of 27 – the youngest police chief in Michigan. Moving on to the FBI, he was first assigned to the New Orleans Field Office where he spent considerable time jousting with the Ku Klux Klan during the final days of the segregated South. From New Orleans, Depue was transferred to Washington, D.C. and his next “first” – he was selected for the FBI’s first SWAT team, Spider One. In 1974, Depue joined the Behavioral Sciences Unit as an instructor and researcher. He was promoted to unit chief in 1980, a post he held until his retirement in 1989. Depue was also the first administrator of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime.

After running the BSU for nearly a decade, Depue began to think about retiring from the Bureau and turned his attention to developing a second career. He realized there was no counterpart to the BSU in the private sector, but potentially a great need for the use of behavioral science methods in private consultations. This was the genesis of AGI.

Media Involvement

The Academy Group has been approached by authors, television producers, and filmmakers for assistance in their efforts to bring the twisted work of sadistic killers to the American public. To date, there have been four books, several movies, and a television series that were based to some extent on AGI and its practitioners.

Thomas Harris, author of Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and other bestsellers, extensively interviewed Roger Depue and Dick Ault while developing his characters. He based the character of Jack Crawford on Depue when he was chief of the BSU. A number of successful movies have been produced from Harris’ books. William Peterson, the actor who portrayed Will Graham in Manhunter (the predecessor of The Silence of the Lambs) visited the offices of AGI to research his character. Several years later, Scott Glenn, who played Jack Crawford in Silence of the Lambs, also spent time with AGI practitioners to prepare for the role.

In addition to films, television has made use of AGI’s reputation and expertise. Jim Fitzgerald currently is a technical advisor for the popular CBS show Criminal Minds. In the 1990’s, Chris Carter of X-Files fame based the Millennium Group of the Fox television series, Millennium, on the Academy Group, with AGI practitioners serving as consultants during the show’s first season.

External Links

Academy Group, Inc. official web site

AGI Practitioners

AGI Associates

References

Resources

[http://www.amazon.com/dream-perchance-psychological-aspects-violence/dp/B00098Y27U Depue, R. and Depue, J. (1999, June). To Dream, [Perchance to Kill. Security Management.]

Depue, R. and Schindehette, S. ((2005). Between Good and Evil.  Warner Books:  New York.

Fitzgerald, J. (2009). Forensic Linguistic Services. Manassas, VA: AGI.

[http://academy-group.com/published_hazelwood.html Hazelwood, R. and Burgess, A. (2008). Practical Aspects of Rape Investigation: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 4th edition. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.]

[http://academy-group.com/published_hazelwood.html Hazelwood, R., Deitz, P., and Burgess, A. (1983). Autoerotic Fatalities. Lexington Books.]

[http://academy-group.com/published_hazelwood.html Hazelwood, R. and Michaud, S. (2002). Dark Dreams: A Legendary FBI Profiler Examines Homicide and the Criminal Mind. New York: St. Martin’s True Crime.]

[http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/178280.pdf McCann, L. (contributor) (2000). Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement. National Institute of Justice, Washington, DC.]

[http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/178280.pdf McCann, L. (November 4, 2005). Crime Scene Analysis and Reconstruction of the July 8, 1997 Sexual Assault and Murder of Michelle Moore-Bosko. Available at http://www.norfolkfour.com /images/uploads/pdf_files/Larry_McCann_Report.PDF]

[http://academy-group.com/published_hazelwood.html Michaud, S. and Hazelwood, R. (1998). The Evil that Men Do. New York: St. Martin’s Press.]

Napier, M. and Mardigian, S. (2008). Protecting Stalking Victims. Manassas, VA: AGI.

Afmr (talk) 18:15, 2 October 2009 (UTC)