NESCA Annual Conference

Tracy Harpster

Deputy Chief (Ret.) Tracy Harpster is a thirty-year veteran of the Moraine, Ohio, Police Department and a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He has served as a patrolman, Sergeant, Detective Sergeant, and Lieutenant in various assignments, including supervising the Tactical Crime Suppression Narcotics Unit, The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission.Chief Harpster has a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati, a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Bowling Green State University, and a 2004 Graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.Chief Harpster is a nationally renowned authority and has published extensively on the analysis of 911 calls. Chief Harpster and Dr. Adams have co-authored an article entitled "911 Homicide Call and Statement Analysis: Is the Caller the Killer?" in multiple publications. In 2013, then Lt. Harpster was accepted as a member of the Vidocq Society, a crime-solving organization that meets monthly at the Union League of Philadelphia.In 2006, Then Lieutenant Harpster achieved a Graduate Degree from the University of Cincinnati, where his Master's Thesis examined the indicators of innocence and guilt of 911 homicide callers reporting the offense. The study defined and analyzed the indicators to assist homicide detectives in gaining insight into the offense, suggesting offender probability, and exploring pertinent issues during the interview and interrogation phases of the investigation.Deputy Chief Harpster has analyzed over fifteen hundred 911 homicide calls and directly assisted on over 750 cases using the research to help solve the murders. Chief Harpster has shared his research at homicide conferences across the country, including the National Homicide Conference (2006, 2008, 2012, and 2014) and the International Homicide Conference (2010).