A record eight University of Notre Dame students will intern with the St. Joseph County Cyber Crimes Unit this year, working with local and federal law enforcement to investigate technology crimes in the local community.
Six Notre Dame students interned with the unit last year.
As sworn investigators, the interns, representing multiple areas of study, will assist with a variety of tasks, from analyzing evidence and assisting with search warrants to testifying at trial.
This is the fourth year that Notre Dame students have interned with the Cyber Crimes Unit. While other universities participate in similar units, St. Joseph County’s is the only one that swears in its interns, giving them the necessary powers to conduct any type of investigation.
“The impact that the Notre Dame students have had on investigations is incredible. In their search for justice, they have not only provided crucial evidence for prosecutions, they have exonerated several subjects who had been falsely accused,” said Mitch Kajzer, director of the Cyber Crimes Unit. “Their work has become a model for other partnerships throughout the country.”
Though open to all Notre Dame students, the unit is specifically supported by the Idzik Computing and Digital Technologies Program, a collaboration among the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Engineering and the Mendoza College of Business.
This year’s interns, all juniors or seniors, are:
• Brianna Drummond, Prospect, Kentucky (political science)
• Julia Gately, Lake Forest, Illinois (economics)
• Laura Hernandez, Newton, Massachusetts (sociology)
• Carolyn Kammeyer, Gulf Breeze, Florida (political science)
• Brendan Keane, Bandera, Texas (business technology)
• Brooke Sabey, Seattle, Washington (film, television and theater)
• Hannah Sarkey, St. John, Indiana (computer science)
• Lexie Van Den Heuvel, Mequon, Wisconsin (business technology)
The St. Joseph County Cyber Crimes Unit is a division of the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office that works closely with local and federal law enforcement, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to combat technology crimes.
The unit is based out of Hammes Mowbray Hall, home of the Notre Dame Police Department.
Learn more about the Cyber Crimes Unit.
Contact: Erin Blasko, assistant director of media relations, 574-631-4127, eblasko@nd.edu
Originally published by at news.nd.edu on August 21, 2019.