Hi, my name's Jeff Couture.
I've been a Chicopee police officer now for
22 years, and I've been an adjunct professor
at Elms College in the criminal justice division
for three years now.
In the electives that I teach at Elms College
in the criminal justice division, I try to
focus on bringing current events into the
classroom so that students are as up-to-date
as possible and prepared for their careers
upon graduation.
For instance, in fair and impartial policing
and procedural justice, we talk about being
bias-free in our situations when we handle
calls for service. How to
make sure that the process is legitimate for whomever you're dealing with.
And that's one of the most important topics
right now in law enforcement.
As the site supervisor for the internship program
with the Chicopee Police Department, I'm able
to have firsthand contact with Elms students.
The ones that qualify to take part in our
program have a fantastic opportunity to see
what law enforcement is getting -- in training,
firsthand, in the classroom, on the
firing range -- wherever we're doing our training,
the intern is with us.
And it is a great working relationship that
we have.
When Elms College students graduate from the
criminal justice program, they're prepared.
They're prepared for the next phase of their
life, of their career.
I know personally some former students that,
upon graduation, were in the police academy
not long after.
And, after talking to both of them, they felt
extremely prepared
for what they were walking into.
