Criminal Justice Students “Experience the Field” with the Shreveport Police Department

Contributed by Kristi Kohl, Campus Librarian

L to R: CJ Instructor Patrick McConnell, Student Amber Brouilette, and Program Chair Mara Elliott

Criminal Justice degree students at Remington College – Shreveport Campus traveled to the Shreveport Police Department (SPD) on September 28, 2010, as part of their Investigation class with Instructor and Corporal Patrick McConnell.

The students visited with staff from the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) unit, the Homicide unit, and the Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) unit.

Experiencing the Different Aspects of Criminal Justice and Police Work

The students first visited with CSI Technician Corporal Tracy Mendels, who showed them fingerprint cards and how they are filed. She also demonstrated the fingerprint computer system and the different techniques used to obtain fingerprints. Corporal Mendels explained how to obtain facts from a crime scene through DNA evidence, bullets, and blood spatter.

Detective Lowell Bowen, with Homicide, showed students how to conduct a six-person lineup. Detective Bowen explained the various techniques used for selecting suspects for a lineup based on skin color and on hair color and length. By allowing students to view his notes on crimes and some victims’ photographs (all of which are displayed on a large board in his office), Detective Bowen explained his process for connecting people to homicides.

Students also visited the DWI unit, where our Instructor and Shreveport Police Department Corporal McConnell showed students the room in which officers conduct “walk the line” and breathalyzer tests. Corporal McConnell also showed students a patrol car and a video illustrating everyday life as a traffic officer.

Criminal Justice Degree Students Share Feedback from the Trip

Criminal Justice student Amber Brouilette stated, “My trip to the SPD was fun and informative. I learned that the CSI labs on TV are very different than an actual CSI lab. Seeing what they actually do and how they let the evidence tell the story and just the process of it all has made me even more excited about what I want to do when I graduate. It was a great experience.”

Corporal McConnell said, “It is my belief that students will have a better understanding of police work and the different aspects of it if they can actually identify with it. To learn something from a book has its own merit, but to be able to see that knowledge put into action has more of a profound effect on a student that just cannot be gained from the pages of a text. Our students will remember their experiences far longer than they will simply reading about them.”