Faculty and Students Working to Combat Trafficking in Persons
A variety of faculty and students across the University of New Haven have an interest in combating Trafficking in Persons and using forensic science and related technologies to fight this epidemic. Below is a sampling of the people who conduct research and do work in this area of expertise and who will serve as resources for the Center for Forensic Investigation of Trafficking in Persons. We will continue to add to this listing over time.
Faculty
Sarbjeet Kaur, Ph.D. Candidate
Sarbjeet Kaur is a Practitioner-in-Residence in Forensic Science and a 5th-year doctoral candidate in the Criminal Justice Department at the University of New Haven. Her doctoral research investigates human trafficking issues, prosecutorial challenges in human trafficking cases, and connections between human trafficking and terrorism. She takes a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses criminological theories and certain philosophical concepts in terms of gender-power dynamics, criminal justice policy and response to human trafficking, and forensic investigations of human trafficking cases. She is a member of the American Society of Criminology and Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
Sarbjeet has worked on multiple research projects/grants including the United Nations and the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI). She also conducted a qualitative study on prosecutorial challenges in human trafficking cases in the United States using multiple stakeholders’ perspectives including law enforcement, victim advocates and services, and prosecutors.
Timothy Palmbach, J.D.
Professor Emeritus Palmbach is founder and executive director of the University of New Haven’s Center for Forensic Investigations of Trafficking in Persons. He served 22 years with the State of Connecticut’s Department of Public Safety, retiring as a Major in charge of the Division of Scientific Services. His research interests involve the applications and development of new technologies for crime scene analysis. He is actively engaged in criminal cases throughout the United States as an expert witness in the area of crime scene reconstruction and passionate about integrating modern forensic science tools into the battle against trafficking in persons.
Claire Glynn, Ph.D.
Dr. Glynn previously worked as a forensic scientist at Eurofins Forensic Services (formerly named LGC Forensics) in Oxfordshire, England. Eurofins Forensic Services is one of the United Kingdom’s leading forensic science providers for the UK’s police forces. Dr. Glynn worked in the forensic biology department, within the homicide and sexual assaults team, which has investigated some of the UK’s most high-profile crimes.
Dr. Glynn is the founding Director of the University of New Haven’s online Graduate Certificate in Forensic Genetic Genealogy, and she actively consults and provides subject matter expertise on the topic to law enforcement agencies, both nationally and internationally. Dr. Glynn was awarded the University of New Haven’s Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Activity in 2017. She also was designated a University Research Scholar for 2017-2020. Lastly, Dr. Glynn was named one of Connecticut’s “40 under 40” for the Class of 2022 by Connecticut Magazine.
Mario Thomas Gaboury, J.D., Ph.D.
Mario Thomas Gaboury, J.D., Ph.D. is Dean of the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences at the University of New Haven. He is formerly Deputy Director, Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice. Dr. Gaboury joined the full-time faculty of criminal justice at the University of New Haven in 1996 and is a tenured Professor of Criminal Justice. He previously served as Associate Dean of the college and also served as Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice. He held the Oskar Schindler Humanities Foundation Endowed Professorship From 2007-2009.
He currently serves as a member of the Connecticut Victims’ Rights Enforcement Advisory Commission. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Joint Center on Violence and Victim Studies and also serves on the Connecticut Human Trafficking Council. He served twice on the Advisory Board to the CT Office of the Victim Advocate. He is formerly Chair of the CT Bar Association’s Victims Committee and Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Crime Victim Committee.
Dr. Gaboury was the founding President of the American Society of Victimology. His current research focuses on Victimology, victims’ rights, global human trafficking, victim impact education, restorative justice, and community policing. His scholarly articles have appeared in the following journals: Victims and Offenders; Forensic Nursing, Offender Rehabilitation; Comprehensive Psychiatry; Traumatic Stress; International Perspectives on Victimology and, Child and Youth Services. He is co-author of Crime Victim Right and Remedies (2010, 2nd Edition).