Tess Sherman

Tess Sherman has created change in her community by working as a Crime Intelligence Analyst for the Austin Police Department since 1998. She started out in property crimes before transferring her focus to violent crimes like robbery, homicide, and special investigations.

Ms. Sherman was also the assigned analyst supporting APD’s Sex Crimes, Child Abuse, and Domestic Violence Units for almost 15 years, and she provided analytical support for the Family Violence Unit, the Child Abuse Unit, the Crisis Intervention Team, and the Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration (SOAR) Unit. Ms. Sherman is currently involved in strategic analysis for APD.

During her tenure as a Sex Crimes Analyst, Ms. Sherman had the opportunity to support several serial investigations, manage multi-agency data for the Making a Difference project in the mid-2000s, provide court testimony, and analyze call record data in numerous non-stranger sexual assault cases. Phones have become a critical component of many police investigations, and Ms. Sherman has analyzed geographic, temporal, activity, and association data in more than two dozen sexual assault cases.

Ms. Sherman has additional training as a forensic artist, and she has met with victims and witnesses in more than 100 cases, to create composite sketches of suspects. She is also a Certified Law Enforcement Analyst, which is a distinction conferred by the International Association of Crime Analysts on fewer than 100 analysts worldwide. This certification is based on experience, training, contributions to the profession, and a broad-ranging examination.

Combining her skills in data analytics and a passion for assisting investigative teams, Tess Sherman continues to pursue her goal of achieving justice and safety for all victims of sexual violence. Her dream is to help reduce violence against women and children.