You get the real-life situation.  All
the stuff on TV is
totally not how it seems.  I think it's
an outstanding program.  I think if you
compared this program to
other ones around that it would
definitely be top notch.
So I looked into other schools and they just didn't have as much as 
Whatcom Community College did.  The field of criminal justice is made of three
component parts:  law enforcement
the courts, and corrections.  What 
our goal is, with our program,
is to prepare people for entry-level
positions in any one of those three areas.
The structure of the whole lesson
is
hands-on.  Your given a crime scene, you
have to document everything you see,
you're fingerprinting, photographing, just everything.
I think the neat thing about the program is
not only they're getting higher education
and an academic experience, 
they're also getting to dip their toe in the water.
of this employment area.  Learning what, 
first of all, what they look for
in hiring, but second of all what the
job is actually like.  We have a two year
associate of science degree in criminal justice.  
We have that same degree with a computer forensic option.
We have a certificate program which
focuses on just the core criminal justice classes 
and there's a transfer degree that can
be taken with the criminal justice focus.  
Right now in law enforcement
you really need those degrees, you really
need
that education, that step up.  To me
there's nothing like
learning from an actual professional
who has come from that field.  The most
helpful part, out of the whole thing,
is to actually go out there and see what
it's really like.  Being a part of the
criminal justice leadership program here on campus 
has helped me reach and get my foot
in the door, so to speak, with law
enforcement.  So it's making that
progression in that career field a lot
easier.  I think it gives them a heads up
down the road in the competitive testing
process.  I think they're better prepared.
Already I know that I'm going to graduate
with a greater understanding of how
the law works, that I will be able to come out of
the program knowing what to do and how to handle things.
