Electronic Tattletales – Drug Evidence in Online Social Networking Groups

PhD, Lakeland Police Department

Dr. Gardner is currently serving in the Investigative Services Division, Special Investigations Section of the Lakeland Police Department in Florida.

Dr. Gardner has been in law enforcement since 1986 and is currently in command of the Criminal Intelligence Unit, which includes basic intelligence functions, investigations of computer and digital media crimes, anti-terrorism, homeland security, gang interdiction and suppression, and surveillance/counter surveillance operations. Dr. Gardner is a Certified Computer Forensics Examiner by the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (IACIS). His prior investigative assignments as a detective have included criminal intelligence, narcotics, and vice operations. Dr. Gardner is a former Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation where he was assigned as a criminal investigator. Dr. Gardner earned his PhD in criminology from Virginia Tech. He has been teaching in this field for 22 years and has served on the criminal justice and criminology faculty at several universities and colleges. In addition to his academic credentials, he is certified by the State of Florida Criminal Justice and Standards Training Commission as a police instructor, firearms instructor, defensive tactics instructor, and police/emergency vehicle driving instructor. He has assisted with in-service training for his agency and has served as an instructor for the regional criminal justice academy.

Lakeland Police Department, Lakeland, Florida

Mr. Jonas has been with the Lakeland Police Department since 1990 and has served in the patrol division, community-oriented policing section, the street crimes unit, hostage negotiation, special weapons and tactics team, and undercover vice and narcotics. He specializes in street gangs, white supremacy groups, militias and satanic cults, as well as in the new designer drugs such as ecstasy and GHB. Mr. Jonas has performed over 1500 hours of Gang/Drug instructions to community and civic groups since 1996. Mr. Jonas is a member of the Florida Gang Investigators Association, Midwest Gang Investigators Association, California Gang Investigators Association, Polk County Gang Task Force and the Tampa Bay Multi-Agency Gang Task Force, which is the largest combined gang task force in the state. He is certified as an advanced gangs crime specialist, satanic cult specialist, terrorist specialist and computer forensic recovery specialist via the National Gang Crimes Research Center of Chicago, IL. Mr. Jonas serves as Central Region Vice President of the Florida Gang Investigators Association, President of the Polk County Gang Task Force, and a board member of the Polk County Boot Camp Advisory Board. He is also a member of the Gang Net Advisory Board for the State of Florida’s Gang Database, and a member of the Department of Juvenile Justice’s Central Region Advisory Board.

Program Coordinator and Senior Instructor of the Internet Investigations Training Program and the Cyber Counterterrorism Investigations Training Program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)

Prior to arriving at FLETC, Shoaf previously served as a national trainer and Computer Crimes Specialist for the National White Collar Crime Center and has served in state and local law enforcement and the military for the past 22 years. He has worked as a patrol officer, training officer, supervisor and as a detective assigned to Homicide and Major Crimes. He served as the Investigations Program Manager for the Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team and has presented nationally on domestic violence investigations, stalking and strangulation cases.

Shoaf finished up his sworn law enforcement career as a computer forensic examiner and computer crimes investigator conducting online internet crimes. He is a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and has assisted in training numerous members of this organization. Shoaf served as a Truth Verification Examiner utilizing voice stress analysis and has conducted numerous interviews for homicides, assaults, sex offenses and crimes against children.

Shoaf has completed an Associates of Applied Science in Criminal Justice, a Bachelor’s of Science in Criminal Justice, and is finishing up a Masters in Homeland Security.