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What is CICA?


The Center for Intelligence and Crime Analysis (CICA) was established in January 2023 and is housed within the Sam Houston State University College of Criminal Justice. Our mission is to assist public safety agencies by enhancing their analytical capabilities through professional development, education, and research.

The public and private sectors operate in an environment fraught with threats and opportunities. The interconnected nature of American society increases the severity of manmade and natural threats facing public and private organizations. Building organizational resiliency and improving performance is predicated on an understanding of external and internal risk factors.

CICA’s goal is to enhance public safety through expanded and improved data analytics.
View our 2023 Annual Report!



Three Areas of Focus

The Center for Intelligence and Crime Analysis (CICA) seeks to fulfill its mission through three areas of focus.

Direct Research and Technical Assistance
Academic Program(s) at Sam Houston State University

  • Degree Programs

  • Certification Programs

  • Internship Programs

Professional Development Courses for Practitioners, Including:

  • Agencies in the Public and Private Sectors that protect critical infrastructure

  • Law-Enforcement (Police)

  • Corrections

  • Court Systems/DA Offices

Crime Analysis Courses & Certificate Program




These skills-focused courses are taught by experts in the law enforcement and criminology fields and are held throughout the calendar year. Most of our courses are offered in person only at the Sam Houston State University campus in The Woodlands, Texas. However, our independent courses are offered virtually. See below for more information.
Professional Development Courses for Analysts
Foundations of Crime Analysis
  • Types of crime and problem analysis
  • Evidence based practices
  • Research methods
    and data quality assessments
  • Data analysis basics
  • Communication strategies
  • Case studies
Databases and Analysis
  • Database Fundamentals
  • Microsoft Office applications
  • SQL and Power Query in Excel
  • Organizing data for analysis
  • Data analysis tools
  • Data visualization basics
Social Network Analysis
  • Theory and methods of SNA
  • Gephi Software
  • Lab-based learning
  • Communicating results
  • Applied Course Project
Crime and Problem Mapping
  • Purposes of spatial analysis
  • Importing and Geocoding Data
  • Communicating results
  • ArcGIS Pro
  • Case studies


Special Topics Courses

These classes are separate from the certificate program and can be taken at any time.
Click on the links for more information.

Data Visualization using Power BI


June 17, 2024
Virtual and In-Person in The Woodlands, TX
Register here by June 3, 2024
Course Info

Social Media Investigative Tools


Upcoming Dates TBD
Virtual and In-Person in The Woodlands, TX
For inquiries or next available course dates, please email cica@shsu.edu



Crime Analysis Certificate Program - Spring/Summer 2024

Foundations of Crime Analysis
April 23 - 26, 2024

Databases & Analysis
May 20 - 23, 2024

Introduction to Social Network Analysis (SNA)
June 25 - 28, 2024

Crime and Problem Mapping
July 9 - 12, 2024


CAC Certificate Flyer

Registration is closed for the Spring/Summer 2024 program. Future course dates TBA.

Please note, these four core courses are only taught in person, there is not an option to attend these courses virtually.

Technical Assistance

The Center for Intelligence and Crime Analysis is committed to providing long-term technical assistance to organizations. We will collaborate directly with these organizations to analyze data as well as develop and grow analysis units.

Assistance Highlights:

  • Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) trained personnel
  • Subject matter experts with crime analysis and teaching experience
  • Assistance provided to partners on and off-site
  • Data sharing capability

CICA Team

Dr. William Wells

Dr. William
Wells

Director, Center for Intelligence
 and Crime Analysis  936-294-4817 william.wells@shsu.eduBio & Publications

Jackie Swan

Ms. Jackie
Swan

Coordinator III

 936-294-4793  jswan@shsu.edu

Nathan Cronin

Mr. Nathan
Cronin

Graduate Research Assistant
(CICA)   nrc028@shsu.edu


 

Office Location:
 Sam Houston State University College of Criminal Justice, Beto Criminal Justice Center 816 17th Street, Huntsville, TX 77340


Mailing Address:
Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology

William Wells
Center for Intelligence and Crime Analysis
Sam Houston State University
Box 2296
Huntsville, Texas 77341

Other forms of contact:
936-294-4817
cica@shsu.edu

Follow Us: CICA LinkedIn page