Detective Melissa Cullen is a graduate of Seton Hall University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology. Prior to her law enforcement career, she was employed as a Victim-Witness Advocate and worked closely with surviving families of homicide and fatal accident cases. After graduating from the police academy in 2010, Detective Cullen was assigned to the Narcotics Task Force as an undercover detective for approximately 5 years. During her assignment, Detective Cullen was certified by the Superior Court of New Jersey as an Expert in Narcotics. After spending a short time in Trial Section, Detective Cullen was transferred to the Special Victims Unit and has been assigned there for approximately 5 years. It is in the Special Victims Unit, where Detective Cullen developed a passion for forensic interviewing and investigating crimes against children. Detective Cullen completed Finding Words/Child First training in December 2016 and has recently joined the Finding Words faculty. She is the Training Coordinator of the New Jersey Sex Crimes Officers Association (NJSCOA) and a member of the Child Abduction Response Team (CART)