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Russell Sage College’s Criminal Investigation Resource Center (CIRC) received the Law Enforcement Partnership Award from the Albany Police Department at its annual awards ceremony on May 20, 2026.
The Albany Police presented the award to criminologist, associate professor, and CIRC director Christina Lane, Ph.D, as well as forensic psychologist Chris Kunkle, Ph.D, “for their outstanding partnership, expertise, and commitment to justice. Through their leadership, the Criminal Investigation Resource Center has provided law enforcement agencies with meaningful support in the review, organization, and evaluation of unresolved investigations, helping identify opportunities to apply modern forensic science and emerging investigative technologies.”
CIRC partners with about a dozen law enforcement agencies, both local and out-of-state, to utilize students as a resource in keeping unresolved cases alive. Students, who are often criminal justice or forensic psychology majors, are held to a high standard of professionalism and confidentiality and are eligible to receive academic credit and pay for their work.
“We were speechless when we were invited to this ceremony. It’s quite the honor for civilians to receive,” Lane said. “This award shows that the police are acknowledging this true partnership between colleges, interns, and academia. It’s not one-sided at all.”
This award is especially meaningful, as the Albany Police Department was the first agency to partner with the CIRC team and use the tools CIRC puts together for police departments. The center, which is among fewer than a dozen such centers in the nation, and gives students hands-on opportunities to work on real unsolved case files, provides case organization and digitizing of documents, site surveys, and in-depth review of documents, suspects, and forensics to help investigators advance the case.
With the assistance of Lane and Kunkle, CIRC interns have done this work and contributed to closing monumental cold cases across New York. In Albany, CIRC has been credited in resolving two large cases, one being the over 60-year-old Catherine Blackburn homicide investigation and the other being the “Baby Moses” case, where a baby was killed and abandoned by the Moses statute in Washington Park in Albany. Outside of the Capital Region, CIRC interns have worked with agencies, such as the Elmira Police Department, where they were acknowledged for their role in helping to close a homicide case from 1964 this February.
In the future, Lane hopes to see CIRC continue to grow in size and work to close more cases, while still maintaining the high quality of work done.
“We give the police a professional tool to use,” Lane said. “Working with us is a no-brainer.”
– Article by Olivia Penna/Russell Sage College Marketing and Communications Intern