FLINT, Mich. – Mayor Sheldon Neeley, the City of Flint, and the Flint Police Department’s SAKI Unit are hosting the Standing Against Predators and Pedophiles While Honoring Individuals’ Rights and Empowering Survivors (S.A.P.P.H.I.R.E.S.) Conference from Monday, August 12 to Friday, August 16.
The five-day conference will feature lectures and training from experts in areas of law enforcement, health care, victim advocacy, and related community organizations. Mayor Sheldon Neeley and Police Chief Terence Green will give welcoming remarks to attendees Tuesday morning during the conference’s first full day.
“This conference is a great opportunity for the City of Flint to show the rest of the state, and the rest of the country, how we cultivate partnerships with all available resources and organizations in our community to tackle our major crime cases,” Mayor Neeley said. “What we have is a comprehensive plan that addresses every aspect of the criminal investigation process.”
The S.A.P.P.H.I.R.E.S. group is part of the Flint Police Department’s Sexual Assault Kit Investigation (SAKI) Unit. The five-day statewide conference will bring together a team of local, statewide, and out-of-state professionals to provide learning opportunities and motivation, share experiences, and re-imagine responses to Major Crimes, including sexual assault. Law enforcement officers and prosecutors will be joined by other professionals in fields ranging from mental health care providers, community resource agencies, and victim advocacy.
Among the presenters at this year’s conference will be forensic expert and professional genetic genealogist Carol Rolnick, who appeared in the CNN documentary “The Lost Sons”. Other speakers will include Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, as well as representatives of Hurley Medical Center, YWCA, Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office, Ann Arbor Prosecutor’s Office, Michigan State University, Genesee Health System, Involved Dad, and North Flint Neighborhood Action Council.
Subjects to be discussed include multidisciplinary collaboration, victim advocacy and support, policy and reform, good mental health, council strategies for complex cases, new technology in criminal investigations, human trafficking, understanding sexual assault convictions, the importance of the work, and resources for victims of crimes.
Since 2015 SAKI has been a national effort helping local law enforcement using federal grants from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice to form units focusing on sexual assault cold cases. Sgt. Mona Paterson has been in the unit since it began and has been administering the grant portion of the program since 2018. The SAPPHIRES unit and accompanying conference were named and formed by Sgt. Paterson in late 2023.
Funding for the S.A.P.P.H.I.R.E.S. Conference is being paid from the CVIPI (Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative), the City of Flint’s opioid settlement, and the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. Friday on the final day of the conference, a Community Resource Tent will be set up on the front lawn of City Hall during the Back to the Bricks cruise. The tent will be staffed by a YWCA advocate, prosecutor’s office personnel and police to hand out pamphlets, food, t-shirts, as well as information on ongoing cases in Genesee County.
