Thirty percent of all murderers call 9-1-1 pretending to be innocent! During this course, you will learn the indicators of guilt and indicators of innocence to predict the caller’s involvement in the offense. Actual homicide calls/cases will be analyzed by the students to learn and gain the skills necessary to get the truth in murder investigations. Dispatchers, (the TRUE first responder to a homicide), Street Officers, Investigators, Prosecutors, and Coroners should all attend this training!

Instructor:  Tracy Harpster

A letter from Deputy Chief Tracy Harpster (ret)

In 2006, I achieved a Graduate Degree from the University of Cincinnati where my Master’s Thesis examined the indicators of innocence and guilt of 911 homicide callers reporting the offense.  The study defined and analyzed the indicators to assist homicide detectives gain insight into the offense, suggest offender probability, and explore pertinent issues during the interview and interrogation phases of the investigation.  NO OTHER RESEARCHER had ever examined or published on the topic and I was invited to share my research at homicide conferences across the country including the National Homicide Conference (2006, 2008, 2012, and 2014) and the International Homicide Conference (2010) and has presented for the FBI and the RCMP.  I have analyzed over twenty-five hundred  911 homicide calls and directly assisted on over 1300 homicides by analyzing the calls for the investigators. In 2013, I was accepted as a member of the Vidocq Society, a crime-solving organization that meets monthly at the Union League of Philadelphia. Members of the Vidocq Society apply their collective forensic skills and Members of the Vidocq Society apply their collective forensic skills and experience to “cold case” homicides and unsolved deaths. V.S.M.’s donate their deductive and scientific talents for the common good.

I have co-authored an article titled “911 Homicide Calls: Is the Caller the Killer?” which has been published in the Law Enforcement Bulletin (June 2008), “Analyzing 911 Homicide Calls for Indicators of Guilt or Innocence:  An Exploratory Analysis” published in Homicide Studies (February 2009) and “Is the Caller the Killer? Analyzing 911 Homicide Calls” (June, 2010) published in the book Truth, Lies and Deception. In 2016, Deputy Chief Harpster and Dr. Susan Adams co-authored the first book regarding the research, “Analyzing 911 Homicide Calls: Practical Aspects and Applications (CRC Press).”

I am currently completing a new study which examines 911 calls regarding infant deaths.  These cases are unique because the victim cannot testify against the offender if that victim survives.

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