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Students and Staff Explore Criminal Justice

By Peter Nute

On September 30, 2011

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Criminal Justice, the new degree program at LSC, offers the opportunity for advanced study for those looking to serve law enforcement in a multitude of fields, such as behavioral analysis, the juvenile justice system, law, forensics, and many more.

The program, according to LSC's website, was installed due to a growing interest from prospective students. The program offers classes in Punishment and Corrections, Criminology, Criminal Law, and the American Judicial Process, as well as several others that are detailed in LSC's course description catalog.

George Hacking, director of public safety at LSC, teaches in the new program, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience from a career in law enforcement that spanned twenty-seven years.

When Hacking found out that the college was going to offer courses in criminal justice he was immediately interested, offering his assistance in the upstart program. Initially he was considered for a spot on the curriculum board, but when he was offered the position to teach the Introduction to Criminal Justice class, he accepted the challenge.

"This is different than anything I've ever done," Hacking said. "It's a lot more involved. I taught when I was in the state police; I would teach troopers, I'd teach police officers; I would put on different classes for the public. But that's a lot different than teaching a thirteen-week course where you're meeting twice a week for an hour and twenty minutes each session. Not having the benefit of someone doing it before me, I'm just running with it. It's been good. I enjoy it."

One of the students in the class is Jamie Robertson. Robertson is currently working towards a degree in criminal justice, while keeping his options open by exploring socials sciences and global studies as potential minors.

In a phone interview, Robertson said that the military background in his family sparked his initial interest in the new program. He hopes to one day be involved with the international justice system. He also said that the class offers a wide scope of the criminal justice system, which is good for those looking to work within its many different fields.

"What I like about this class is that it allows you to get some experience in a lot of different things," Robertson said. "We are able to explore the options available. Like corrections, local law enforcement, FBI, CIA."

Taylor Cota, a junior who transferred from VTC, was interested in the criminal justice system from a young age.

"I guess I chose criminal justice because when I was younger I had a few run-ins with the police so I figured I had a fairly good idea, like, to stay out of that. I figured I had a pretty good background on it. [I] know a fair amount about that law. So it's a good fit."

"It's definitely a good major," Cota said. "I would recommend it to other people who want to get involved in that kind of thing. I definitely enjoy it." Cota is interested in becoming a border patrol agent.

Hacking sees a lot of interest in his course from the students in his class. He knows that some students are in his class based on their major, and others are taking it out of curiosity. He also understands that this can be a challenging program.

"It's hard going into a course like this I think because you're, for the most part, learning about something you don't know anything about. This is almost like learning a new language because you're learning about a system that for the most part you have never really had to deal with. Now you're putting the whole thing together."

But with the growing interest in criminal justice, and the responses he receives from the students in his class, Hacking finds the prospects of this new program both "exciting and rewarding."