Articles Written Within Criminal Justice

On Tuesday, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA) signed a controversial bill that will allow guns to be conceal-carried in churches, mosques, and synagogues. Concealed carry permits and training will also apply and, according to the bill, require the officiating church leader to announce to the congregation that there are “individuals armed on the property as members of he security force.”

Gun-free zones like schools, churches, hospitals, and malls have become easy targets for criminals. Since churches across America have seen at least 20 church shootings in the last decade, this bill could potentially save lives.

In December 2007, gunman Matthew J. Murray stormed a youth center in Colorado, killing two people, then proceeded to a Colorado Springs church where he shot and killed two more. His shooting rampage was stopped when he was shot and wounded by Jeanne Assam, a local member and voluntary security guard. Assam’s heroic act prevented many more deaths. Church-goers that have been trained and properly licensed to carry can help prevent harm to a congregation’s unarmed worshippers.

Law enforcement firearms trainers teach local concealed-carry classes in communities throughout the United States. To find a class in your area, visit http://www.carryconcealed.net/courses.

Would knowing there were people in the congregation at your church with a gun in their pocket make you feel safer? Or less likely to return?

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Popular Search Terms:

Shows like CSI are having an effect on the general public. Criminals are becoming smarter, and so are juries, according to the “CSI effect.” But because we’re accustomed to seeing a clean cut investigation leading to a quick incarceration on TV, juries are having higher expectations for evidence in the courtroom. And it’s having an effect on the criminal justice system.

The term “CSI effect” was coined in 2008 by American criminologist Monica Robbers, calling it “the phenomenon in which jurors hold unrealistic expectations of forensic evidence and investigation techniques, and have an increased interest in the discipline of forensic science.” Due to this increased interest from juries in forensic evidence, crime labs are seeing a big increase in their work load to produce evidence, and unless undeniable evidence is present, juries are hesitant to convict criminals.

But the CSI effect has positive benefits as well. In a murder trial in Virginia, the judge was asked by a juror whether tests had been done on a cigarette butt for possible DNA matches to the defendant. Because the DNA test results had not been introduced as evidence, when they were, the defendant was pardoned and released.

If the CSI effect has you itching to jump start a criminal justice career, you’re not alone. Universities across the nation that offer forensic science programs have experienced record growth by potential students interested in a career in forensic science. Classes like forensics medicine that were never well attended now have standing room only. Learn more about a criminal justice career program today!

Popular Search Terms:

Is TV Making Criminals Smarter?

We’ve all watched shows like CSI in which we witness the crime, investigation, and evidence which leads to the conviction of the criminal, all within the hour. While not entirely realistic, investigators are beginning to wonder if watching these types of crime scene investigation shows are actually making criminals smarter.

Pittsburgh police Sgt. Paul McComb, the head of the department’s crime unit, believes TV is changing the way that criminals behave because they’ve become aware of what evidence can be connected to them through criminal investigation TV shows. “These suspects are very cognizant about what they’re doing and what evidence they’re leaving behind,” McComb says. “Most of them are already very cunning, but CSI and other shows show them how to be better.”

With rapists reportedly wearing gloves and having their victims shower to remove DNA evidence, the FBI’s calculations show that the number of rape cases being solved by the police have gone down in the last ten years. While 51.3% of rapes were solved a decade ago nationwide, in 2005 the number had decreased to 41.3%. The numbers support Sgt. McComb’s belief that TV is making criminals smarter. “When the secrets get out about how we solve crimes, the criminals change their habits.”

If criminals are becoming smarter, then law enforcement need to be as well. With over 40,000 projected job openings and faster than average growth projected for this industry over the next decade, charting a career as a police detective is an excellent choice. Be part of the solution and learn more about a criminal justice career today!

Popular Search Terms:

Criminal justice programs provide students exciting opportunities to learn and apply their skills in many unique ways, such as working within the criminal justice field with law enforcement and inside a court room.

In a program through the University of Birmingham’s Department of Justice Sciences, three students invested several months working on an unsolved cold case with the Homewood Police Department. During the ten months spent on the project, the students studied reports from law enforcement, detectives, and forensic scientists, reviewed recorded statements, and scrutinized suspects and witnesses’ behavior.

Professor Beth Gardner, Ph.D. who supervised the project, says, “[T]he purpose of the project was not to solve the case, but to conduct that first step that’s very necessary for reopening any cold case.”

The work presented to Homewood Police Sgt. Doug Finch was more than he’d expected: “The work that the students did really helped us to see the case in a new way.” Because of their impressive progress and fresh perspective, the case may be reopened.

In the Houston, Texas area, criminal justice, paralegal, and court reporting students from Alvin Community College were given an exceptional opportunity to work on a mock trial with Berg & Androphy attorneys and gain valuable courtroom experience.

Criminal justice instructor Joseph Gutheinz is a retired criminal defense attorney who makes arrangements for mock grand jury trials each semester. “I have had the opportunity to see law enforcement officers take the stand for the first time and either through nerves or inexperience blow it,” says Gutheinz. “My mock grand juries and now mock trial are designed to give our future law enforcement officers experience before a friendly crowd, where they are free to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes.”

In the actual case where their client Charles Raby had been convicted and sentenced to death for murder, attorneys at Berg & Androphy brought new DNA evidence in the mock trial to see how whether this new evidence would make a difference in the outcome. Says an associate with law firm, Stephanie Gutheinz (and Gutheinz’s daughter-in-law), “[H]ad the results been available at the original trial, it is reasonably probably that Charles Raby would not have been prosecuted or convicted.”

Through the mock trial, not only did the students gain workable experience in the court room, but the attorneys also gleaned beneficial outside perspective from the students.

Thanks to shows like CSI, criminal justice is a popular and fascinating field. If you’re interested in law enforcement, law, court reporting, or paralegal, start a criminal justice program today!

Popular Search Terms:

Thanks to an alert social worker and computer forensics, a deadly plot to bomb a Long Island high school and massacre students and faculty has been averted.

Christopher Franko, 17, and girlfriend Dana Saltzman, 16, had plans to construct a bomb and gun down Franko’s former high school classmates and teachers on June 10, similar to the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. Having already attempted to purchase a firearm, the teenagers were turned away because they were minors. The pair were planning to wait until Franko turned 18 and could legally purchase firearms.

According to Suffolk County police Sergeant Bill Doherty, Franko’s social worker alerted authorities last month about a potential attack. After confiscating Saltzman’s cell phone and computer, computer forensics revealed text messages between the two, discussing their devious plans to purchase firearms and kill people. The computer’s search history uncovered several bomb-making and explosive websites that had been recently visited. The pair were charged with conspiracy and arrested.

Computer forensics effectively prevented a high school massacre and bomb plan by uncovering evidence sufficient to charge the teenagers. A growing sector in the criminal justice field, computer forensics uses digital evidence such as emails, phone records and other electronic records to solve and even prevent crime. The computer forensics industry is growing much faster than usual, making it a terrific career choice. If you are interested in criminal justice and have a strong computer background, look into a computer forensics program today.

Popular Search Terms:

Admit it. Your Facebook or Twitter status has bragged about the sweet trip you’re taking, your latest purchase, and what awesome restaurant you chose for lunch. While social networking can be a really positive way to stay connected, the information you share on your favorite social networking site may hurt you.

Take this Arizona man, for example. After announcing he was going on vacation, he returned to find his home had been broken into and thousands of dollars of video equipment had been stolen.

The information you share on your social networking pages can be a wealth of information to criminals. When you say where you’re going for dinner, it’s easy to deduce you won’t be home. Much like the newspaper funeral announcement chasers of yesteryear (who targeted loved ones that would surely be at the funeral), Facebook and Twitter can make you vulnerable to criminals.

And it’s not just status updates that can dangle the carrot in front of criminals. A picture is worth a thousand words. While the subject of your photo may be your house party guests from last month, thieves may be looking at your flat screen TV in the background.

Teenagers are particularly susceptible to over sharing. They have no problem posting their name, face, school, and city of residence online, without the realization that they become even more vulnerable to predators.

Captain Karen Ruff of Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department is part of a Cyber Unit and says adults often over share online. “They’re putting their life history online,” says Ruff. “They’re putting how old they are, what their date of birth is, all the different places that they’ve worked, the dates that they worked there, their children’s names, their children’s dates of birth. When you start putting that much information out there it makes it that much easier for a thief to take over your life or to commit identity theft.”

To help protect the community from these online criminals, why not consider a criminal justice program. With your education you can share important social networking precautions with others and help ensure a safer community for everyone.

Popular Search Terms:

Times Square experienced a bomb scare Saturday night after a T-shirt vendor noticed smoke coming from an SUV parked on 45th St. and Broadway in New York City. After alerting local law enforcement officer, Wayne Rhatigan, he and two new female police officers expedited the evacuation of hundreds of people from the scene while calling for backup.

Once the bomb squad arrived, it played like the Academy award-winning Hurt Locker movie, with bomb technicians in full gear and robots approaching the abandoned Nissan SUV. According to the police, the vehicle was chocked full of propane, gasoline, a clock, electrical parts, and gunpowder. Said a source in law enforcement, “It looks as if the perp was trying to light it up, and was interrupted by the cops, panicked and took off.”

In a press conference on Sunday, Mayor Bloomberg praised local law enforcement for their role in preventing a crisis. “Thanks to alert New Yorkers and professional police officers we avoided what could have been a very deadly event.” White House officials reported President Obama commended the “excellent work by the NYPD.”

Law enforcement professionals are everyday unsung heroes, periodically receive glowing accolades from the likes of the President of the United States. Become a hero and enroll in a criminal justice program.