Presenter Bio
Dr Doug Gilmer is the 2024 recipient of the William Wilberforce Lifetime Achievement Award for his efforts in countering human trafficking around the world. A 35+ year law enforcement veteran, Doug most recently served as the Senior Law Enforcement Advisor at the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) in Washington, D.C. In this appointment, Doug was responsible for external engagement, stakeholder development, and strategy implementation. Prior to this position, he served as the Resident Special Agent in Charge and Assistant Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Birmingham, Alabama; Chief of the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Unit, and in many other leadership and investigative assignments throughout his federal law enforcement career. In 2021, Doug earned his PhD at Columbia International University in South Carolina where he completed groundbreaking research and his dissertation on the outcomes of collaborative, multidisciplinary teams in countering human trafficking. Although retired as of August 2024, Doug's dedication to efforts surrounding anti-trafficking/exploitation has not stopped. He is the Founder & President of Resolved Strategies, LLC, a global justice solutions group which helps connect organizations with relationships, resources, technology, and training they need; while also helping build collaborative, multidisciplinary teams to effectively address the various forms of human exploitation around the world. A well published author and passionate communicator, Doug strives to connect people and organizations with mission and purpose to drive change in their communities and around the world.
Start Date
9-6-2025 9:00 AM
End Date
9-6-2025 9:45 AM
Field of Study
Law Enforcement
Abstract
Drawing on over 35 years of law enforcement experience (25 years with the Department of Homeland Security), Dr. Gilmer will speak from a government and law enforcement perspective on the need and use for human trafficking data. Some agencies and components of the U.S. government, and individual states, are heavily invested in collecting data to satisfy their reporting requirements. From a law enforcement perspective, however, big human trafficking data sets are rarely examined. Data science in law enforcement is a relatively new phenomenon, and most law enforcement officers do not have the time, resources, or background to collect or analyze data. This session offers answers to questions about the data is law enforcement looking for, the effectiveness of this data to drive counter trafficking outcomes, the weaknesses in current data collection and how to improve upon them, whether data is telling the complete story, and whether law enforcement and researchers can collaborate to collect better data and present that information in such a way to drive intended outcomes.
Included in
Data Science Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Statistics and Probability Commons
Keynote - Data? We Don't Have Time for Data: A realistic look at law enforcement use of and need for human trafficking data
Drawing on over 35 years of law enforcement experience (25 years with the Department of Homeland Security), Dr. Gilmer will speak from a government and law enforcement perspective on the need and use for human trafficking data. Some agencies and components of the U.S. government, and individual states, are heavily invested in collecting data to satisfy their reporting requirements. From a law enforcement perspective, however, big human trafficking data sets are rarely examined. Data science in law enforcement is a relatively new phenomenon, and most law enforcement officers do not have the time, resources, or background to collect or analyze data. This session offers answers to questions about the data is law enforcement looking for, the effectiveness of this data to drive counter trafficking outcomes, the weaknesses in current data collection and how to improve upon them, whether data is telling the complete story, and whether law enforcement and researchers can collaborate to collect better data and present that information in such a way to drive intended outcomes.
