Components of Child Abuse Investigations

Sgt. Jim Sears has been a law enforcement officer for over 30 years working with the Irving Police Department. He has served as a Patrol Officer, School Resource Officer, and as a Detective in the Youth Services Unit, Domestic Violence Unit, and Child Abuse Unit. Sgt. Sears worked as a Detective in the Child Abuse Unit for 10 years before being promoted to Sgt. He has worked 6 ½ years as the supervisor for the Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, and Youth Service Units at the Irving Family Advocacy Center before retiring in September of 2015. A dedicated advocate of children and the elderly, Jim is a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) instructor specializing in Domestic Violence and Child Abuse, he's been an instructor at the Crimes Against Children's Conference in Dallas, a Certified Instructor for Advanced Child Abuse Investigations through Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA), and is also on the design team for the new Fox Valley / NCJTC in their national training project for Conducting Unexplained Child Death Investigations. He is also an instructor for the Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center and an Adjunct instructor for Tarrant County College in Ft. Worth. Sgt. Sears is the 2011 recipient of the Lt. Bill Walsh Award for the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center for career achievements in the field of Child Abuse Investigations. Sgt. Sears has also received the Nick Fowler award from BPOA class #179 and #186 as an Outstanding Instructor. Sgt. Sears frequently lectures on topics related to child abuse investigations, interview and interrogation, and crime scene investigations for Domestic Violence and Child Abuse.