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Among criminal justice majors, these incidents have led to personal
reflections about their chosen career path. Students, along with many in
law enforcement, are worried about the negative perception that policing
has received and feel as though the public may not fully appreciate the
challenges that officers face on a daily basis. Many have begun to question
whether continuing in this field is the right decision.
At Lycoming, we not only teach students about the technical
aspects of law enforcement, but engage them in meaningful
discussions about their chosen field of work. We challenge them
to constantly evaluate their perceptions about civil rights, civic
involvement, and systemic discrimination especially with regard
to race and class.
The prominent events noted above — touchstones among others
that have not received as much media attention — clearly demonstrate
that the system needs to change. But to develop lasting solutions,
society needs to better understand why these incidents occur by
studying broad movements including the history and purpose of
law enforcement, the development of urban areas into segregated
communities that are often plagued with violence, and the history
of race relations in the United States that has resulted in an implicit
bias that associates people of color with criminality.
The conversations surrounding these incidents are obviously
sensitive and complex. With the skills and maturity they gain at
Lycoming, our criminal justice majors will be part of the movement
to foster change. They will be able to focus their efforts on creating
and using policies that are evidence-based and that build trust, not
divisiveness, among community members and the police. They know
this challenge will not be easy, but the events of the past year have
shown that a tipping point has been reached and these issues can no
longer be ignored.
With the skills and maturity they
gain at Lycoming, our criminal
justice majors will be part of the
movement to foster change.
Kerry Richmond, Ph.D.,
associate professor and
chair of the Department
of Criminal Justice-
Criminology. Her areas of
expertise include gender
and crime, correctional
programming, and prisoner
re-entry.
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