April 30th, 2010 by Sarah Ward
The LAPD are hunting a real life “Jason Bourne” who gave them the slip last week. After smelling smoke, a neighbor called the fire department 11 days ago who knocked on the door and called the LAPD when the inhabitant of the apartment was unresponsive. The cops used a battering ram to break down his penthouse door and saw the suspect escape through a back window and flee through the fire escape with several duffel bags in tow. LAPD Deputy Chief Mike Downing from the counter-terrorism Bureau told the LA Times, “He escaped like Jason Bourne.”
The police found counterfeiting equipment, multiple forms of identification (including passports), weapons, ammunition, narcotics, and $15,000 worth of counterfeit bills. Things got even more interesting when detectives on-site realized the penthouse had a clear view of the U.S. Federal Reserve building across the street. For the last week, police have been searching for 33-year-old New Jersey native, Brian Alexik, though they’re not sure that’s even his real name.
If you’ve been following every new development of this real life Jason Bourne on the loose and are itching get in on the action, consider a a career in criminal justice. A criminal justice degree program can lead to an exciting career as a police officer, FBI agent, and Secret Service agent. Click here to learn more about a criminal justice career.
Tags: become a secret service agent, criminal justice career, criminal justice degree program, real life jason bourne brian alexik
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April 29th, 2010 by Sarah Ward
High-speed car chases may be impressive to watch on the big screen, but they’re no pretty picture in real life. Especially since police cars always seem to be the ones that in Hollywood. There are new developments in technology that could potentially end these deadly high-speed chases.
Photo courtesy of the Arizona Department of Public Safety
The Arizona Department of Public Safety is testing a new device called the StarChase Pursuit Management Systems that shoots a small GPS dart onto a suspect’s vehicle during a car chase. Officers have the ability to adjust the aim of the device, mounted to the front of the cop car, and using a laser pointer, shoot the dart that attaches itself to the back of the fleeing suspect’s vehicle. Thanks to a battery and wireless transmitter in the dart, law enforcement can track the vehicle’s path, follow at a safe distance, dispatch officers to the vehicle’s location, and apprehend the suspect without a potentially deadly high-speed chase.
Photo courtesy of the Arizona Department of Public Safety
According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the StarChase Pursuit Management device has been used on stolen cars and human smuggling cases and been extremely effective. Says retired LAPD officer Lt. Raymond Foster, “Technology has enabled us to find new information and new ways of organizing information to help us solve and prevent crimes.”
With these new developments, police officers benefit from a safer work environment and a world where they still get the bad guy. If you’ve been contemplating a law enforcement criminal justice career but have been concerned about safety measures, now is the time to enroll in a criminal justice program. Just think what progress will be made by the time you graduate!
And in case you’re worrying — high-speed chases will never go out of style in the movies.
Tags: criminal justice degree program, high-speed police chases, modern police technology, starchase pursuit management system
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July 29th, 2009 by admin
Cops. You either love ‘em or you hate ‘em. But has society painted them with too broad of a brush? Are all New York City cops tough-talking and all tiny town cops patriarchal heroes?A recent study by Springfield College decided it was time to put all the stereotypes to rest.
They surveyed 830 randomly selected cops using The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire Scale to get to the bottom of things.
- The majority of those surveyed categorized themselves as a “Typical Cop” with qualities like self-discipline, social boldness, extroverted and emotionally tough.
- Traffic officers and deputies shared many characteristics such as high energy, dominance, independence, spontaneity, socially flexible and free from anxiety-related behaviors.
- Previous research has used the MMPI as a test to determine psychological characteristics of police officers, and it was suggested that the MMPI was the most commonly used psychological test of law enforcement officials and that research on psychological assessment of police officers is so mixed that it may even be questionable to advance generalizations about possible discriminating characteristics.
- A similar study found a wide variety of behaviors between police officers from different departments. The interpersonal skills of community college law enforcement officials were rated higher than major university and inner-city police officers.
- Police officers as a group tend be more homogenous than other career groups. They tend to be cheerful and outgoing with a strong interest in practical matters.
- Female participants were also found to be more likely to present a good impression of themselves, to be less depressed, to be more psychologically mature, more assertive and more aware of the needs of others as compared to the normative population data.
Does this list sound like a comprehensive rundown of you or someone you know? It may be time for a Criminal Justice career!
Tags: cop stereotype study, cops, criminal justice, criminal justice career, criminal justice degree program, personality traits associated with cops
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