While images of men in white robes and torches might evoke feelings of a bygone era, the White Nationalist movement is alive and well — if you know where to look and what you’re looking for.
Join Detective Brent Smith as he shares a rare, “behind the scenes” view of the White Nationalist movement in the 21st century. Based on his years of under cover work in this arena, Brent will share practical information justice professionals need to know in this changing climate, including:
- A summary of the history and ideology of White Nationalism,
- An overview of white power / white nationalist ideology,
- A review of the key players in the White Nationalist movement: past and present,
- and details about significant symbols law enforcement and justice professionals need to be aware of as they interact with the public, suspects, probationers, and the incarcerated.
Detective Brent Smith is a 16-year veteran of the Mesa Police Department and is currently assigned to the Technology Operations Group as well as the ATF Violent Crime Task Force.
Detective Smith’s past assignments include time spent in the patrol bureau as well as on special assignment to the Homicide Unit, the Gang Unit, and the Career Criminal Squad. Detective Smith was one of the founding detectives for the East Valley Gang and Criminal Information Fusion Center, where he helped to establish an information-sharing network with other local agencies. Detective Smith is the lead instructor for gang training for the Mesa Police Department and has instructed for several local agencies.
Detective Smith is considered a regional expert on skin heads and white power ideology. Detective Smith has been interviewed by various media outlets regarding his knowledge of gangs and has been featured as an instructor at forums such as the Arizona Gang Investigator Association’s annual gang conference and the Know Gangs annual gang conference in Las Vegas. Detective Smith was presented the Anti-Defamation League’s 2014 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award for his work and dedication.
About the Justice Clearinghouse:
With more than 20,000 justice and public safety professionals in our community, The Justice Clearinghouse is the first organization to espouse an inter-disciplinary approach to understanding and resolving the challenges affecting our justice and public safety arena.
As a peer-to-peer educational environment, we offer a year-round “virtual conference” for budget-challenged and time-starved justice professionals to learn from the thought leaders, innovators, researchers, and street-wise, experienced professionals in their fields, without the cost, travel, or time out of the office.
The justice arena is an integrated profession
Law enforcement works in partnership with prosecutors. Prosecutors rely on forensics professionals. Courtroom professionals are impacted by the cases prosecutors bring forth. Incarceration, Probation and Parole staff see the results of the investigative process. Academic, professional researchers evaluate and provide evidence-based recommendations for improvement.
Each segment of our community is important: each relies on the other for superior professionalism. But all too often, local area departments and divisions simply do not have the resources to provide all the training they would like, nor the ability to fund staff to attend national conferences.