City of Fort Wayne Police Department
Gang and Violent Crimes Unit
Christopher M. Felton has been in Law Enforcement for over 16 years, with experience at a large Midwest Police Department as well as Active-Duty U.S. Army Military Police.
For the past 14 years, Christopher has served at his police department in various capacities, currently as a Detective Sergeant with the Gang and Violent Crimes Unit. He is also a Trainer for Safer Schools Together, and an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice at two local universities where he teaches courses in Criminal Justice, Forensic Psychology, and Emergency Management.
Christopher has also served as a Crisis Intervention Officer, Public Information Officer, and Field Training Officer, and he co-founded and currently leads the Police Officer Peer Support/Critical Incident Stress Management Team.
As a Leading Investigator/Research Assistant with Hutton Criminal Profiling and Associates from October 2015 to June 2020, Christopher collaborated on studies presented at the American Society of Criminology Conferences. He has also presented at the National Gang Crime Research Center Conference in Chicago, IL.
Christopher holds a BS in Criminal Justice, an MS in Criminal Justice – Forensic Psychology, a Master of Philosophy, and is currently writing his dissertation for his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice – Law and Public Policy.
It is no secret that suicide is the leading cause of death for police officers. Alcoholism, depression, divorce, etc. frequently plague the profession as well. Additional stresses faced by gang investigators only exacerbate the problem: the demands of suppressing rising violent crime, managing informants, always targeting/interacting with society’s worst, extra scrutiny from command and courts, deadlines and targets handed down from superiors, working in small units full of type A personalities, and so on. And then, you are expected to go home to the family and instantly switch it off; to transition back to a ‘normal’ person. This session will provide gang investigators with knowledge of critical incident stress, cumulative stress, and healthy coping mechanisms aimed at helping them manage the emotional rollercoasters they ride every day to be able to transition from work to home. Armed with this info, gang investigators can lead better, more productive lives both as officers and ‘normal’ people, as well as be prepared to recognize fellow investigators who may be suffering in silence.