FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Aug. 11, 2005

Media Contact: Tom Uribes -- (559) 278-5366 or 246-1717

ALERT: For another perspective on this story, please see "Fresno's French connection: crime" in the August 16 issue of The Fresno Bee or go to: www.fresnobee.com/local/

NOTE: See background and bios for Hickey, Touquet  and Castandet below.

Photo Caption: Dr. Eric Hickey, Fresno State criminologist, discusses profiling techniques with French criminologists Florence Castandet and Fabrice Touquet who are taking his Psychology of Crime summer course so they can help French Police establish profiling techniques.

Fresno State’s Dr. Eric Hickey 'wanted' by French Police

French criminologists enrolled in summer Psyche of Crime course for profiling expertise

Two members associated with the French Police in Paris are looking to California State University, Fresno’s Criminology Department to help them develop that country's criminal profiling techniques by attending Dr. Eric Hickey's Psychology of Crime summer course.

The two French criminologists, Fabrice Touquet and Florence Castandet, will receive a certificate after the three-week course ends Friday (Aug. 12).

Touquet is with the French National Police in Paris and is on special assignment to develop profiling in France. He was instrumental in the formation of the French Police Special School.

Castandet worked as an administrator for 25 years at the Prefecture de Police de Paris (Paris police headquarters), retired, and is now back on special assignment to assist in establishing criminal profiling for the French police.  

Both teach at the at the Private Institute of Criminal and Behavioral Analysis in France, a private school established in 2003 that teaches criminal profiling, psychocriminology and forensic sciences.

They will use the knowledge they learn from Hickey to help establish profiling techniques for the French Police and to implement similar courses at the institute, where Hickey will also return the visit next year to teach.

The institute offers three-year programs and most of the students are psychologists and criminal justice students.  However doctors, private investigators, police officers also attend.

The French criminologists also both provide consultation to Turkish police agencies and are working on special projects in France under the direction of Hickey. 

Hickey is an internationally renowned criminologist who joined the Fresno State faculty in 1990 and has been involved in many high profile crime cases both nationally and abroad, such as being a consultant for the FBI’s UNABOM Task Force and providing expert commentary on such cases as the Beltway Sniper Case for national and international media.

He has traveled to Israel and trained VIP protection specialists from around the world in profiling and deterring stalkers. He assisted in developing a cyber-stalking training course for the National District Attorney's Association and the American Prosecutor's Research Institute.

Hickey has been working with the French Police in Paris over the past year to help establish standards and techniques for criminal profiling there. Last year he went to Paris as a guest speaker and spent time with both students and law enforcement in exploring areas of criminal psychology.

Touquet and Castandet then came to Fresno in the spring 2005 semester to meet with Hickey as well as speak in his classes. They decided to enroll in Hickey’s summer course.

Hickey, who is fluent in French, will be going to France later this year to continue assisting in training law enforcement as well as other projects at the institute.  

Hickey anticipates that these experiences will be the basis for a permanent relationship between Fresno State and the French that could lead to an exchange program for both faculty and students.

Touquet and Castandet, who have been residing in the Fresno State dorms the past three weeks, leave Fresno next week.

BIO - - Dr. Eric Hickey

Dr. Eric Hickey, who teaches criminal psychology at California State University, Fresno, has considerable field experience working with the criminally insane, psychopaths, sex offenders and other habitual criminals.

Internationally recognized for his research on multiple homicide offenders, Hickey has published and lectured extensively on the etiology of violence and serial crime.  His book, "Serial Murderers and Their Victims," is used as a teaching tool in colleges and universities and by law enforcement in studying the nature of violence, criminal personalities and victim-offender relationships. 

His research is often the subject of newspaper, radio and television interviews including National Public Radio, Larry King Live, 20/20, A&E, BBC, Good Morning America, Court TV, Discovery and Learning Channel documentaries.

Hickey frequently speaks to school and community organizations and provides training seminars for administrators, school psychologists and counselors in addressing crime and the deterrence of violence. 

A former consultant to the UNABOM Task Force, Hickey assists various law enforcement and private agencies and testifies as an expert witness in both criminal and civil cases.  He conducts training seminars for government agencies involving the profiling and investigating of sex crimes, arson, homicide, as well as stalking and workplace violence.

Hickey has traveled to Israel and trained VIP protection specialists from around the world in profiling and deterring stalkers. He assisted in developing a cyber-stalking training course for the National District Attorney's Association and the American Prosecutor's Research Institute.

Among his latest research is a study of 220 victims of stalking, examines the psychology and classification of stalkers, victim-offender relationships, and intervention and deterrence strategies for potential offenders and modes of victim assistance. 

His latest book, “Sex Crimes and Paraphilia,” was just released this month by Prentice Hall.  

Background – French police officers at Fresno State

(Provided by the officers -- August, 2005)

Fabrice Touquet, a peace officer since 1998 for several French police agencies, and Florence Sigaux Castandet, a French criminologist and former French police administrator Prefecture de Police de Paris (Paris police headquarters) who has worked with French and Turkish law enforcement, are professors at the Private Institute of Criminal and Behavioral Analysis in France.

Established in 2003, IPACC is a private school that teaches criminal profiling, psychocriminology and forensic sciences. The studies are 3 year programs. Most of the students are psychologists and criminal justice students.  There are also doctors, private investigators, police officers.  

In IPACC, a special department of investigation works on criminal files for victim families. Additionally, IPACC faculty members are conducting research on serial offenders, criminal signatures, psychology of serial rapists and killers under the direction of Dr. Eric Hickey, world renowned criminologists on California State University, Fresno criminology department faculty. 

Next year, Dr. Hickey will go to France for three weeks to teach first and third year students at IPACC.

IPACC seeks to develop partnerships with different countries to increase the knowledge of serial killing phenomena, to organize better prevention and to prevent loss of life and Touquet and Castanget with Fresno State is one step in that direction.

BIO INFO

Fabrice Touquet

Diplomas

Baccalaureate C (mathematics and Physics Sciences) and special police baccalaureate.

            Informatic Superior diploma

            Special formation in Forensic Sciences

            Formation of French police Special School

Diploma from IPACC, private school of criminal profiling

Employment

Peace officer since 1998 in several offices of French police

Teaching courses in a private course at IPACC:

                        Criminal signatures

                        No and crime scene

                        Criminal profiling

Teaching criminal profiling during 15 days for TADOC (Turkish Police Academy) in April 2004.

Working on several Turkish criminal affairs (serial murders and domestic homicide).

Working on several homicide files in France, but not officially.

Working on the “black widow” affair in France.

Professional Experiences (under the Direction of Pr. E Hickey)

Work on French classification of serial killers and profiling methodology.

Work on criminal signatures of serial killers

Presentation of a new personality disorder in serial offenders

Work on erotomania

Florence Sigaux Castandet

Diplomas

Baccalaure’at section D (mathematics and biological sciences)

Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Political Studies)

Institut de criminologie de Paris  

            Cerfiticat de Sciences

            Certificat de Sciences Criminellos (Criminal Justice Forensic Sciences)

            Certificat de Sciences

Criminologie (Psychocriminology, Juvenile delinquency) 

Others

Participated in two 3 day-conferences organized by a French association on specific profile analysis with Nicki Pistotius, of South African

Employment

25 years of employment in the offices of Paris police headquarter (Prefecture de Police de Paris). Retired as chief of a human resources office- February 1 2005.

Professional Experiences

Teaching psychocriminology , victimology and serial killer biographies -- two years in IPACC , a private school teaching profiling.

Teaching psychocriminology during 15 days for TADOC (Turkish Police Academy) -- April 2004.

Working on several Turkish criminal affairs (Serial murders and domestic homicide)

Working on the “Black widow” affair in France

Working on several homicide files in France unofficially.

Projects (under the direction of Dr. E Hickey)

Preparation of a work on a paranoiac homicide for Institut de Criminologie de Paris

Work on French Classification of serial killers and profiling methodology

Work on criminal signatures of serial killers

Presentation of a new personality disorder about serial offenders

Work on erotomania.

###

NOTE: The French criminologists currently attending Dr. Eric Hickey’s summer course are generally available in mornings or evenings (class meets from 100 - 310 in Ed Rm. 170).  The last class is Aug. 12. They leave Fresno on Aug. 20. For an interview or photos of the class in session, contact Tom Uribes.