Freeze This Is The Police

Kendra Hill Staff Writer

Iowa Lakes Community College offers many different programs some ranging from music all the way to Criminal Justice. This a two year program that you graduate from with an AAS degree.

“So far my favorite class has been the physical conditioning classes with Rick Hale. My plans after after college is to hopefully get a position as a patrol officer within the state. I’m looking for a good first hand knowledge on the contents of what a career in law enforcement entails.”-Wesley Morse.

“The criminal justice program is designed to give students who want to work in the criminal justice system a base of knowledge about the ‘the big three’ in criminal justice, the police, courts and corrections.” Said Christopher. “Students can select from an AAS in criminal justice which is a 68 credit 2 year program. This option is designed for individuals who want to obtain a 2 year degree and go directly into the criminal justice field. Students who complete the AAS and get hired by an agency are able to go to a shortened academy at one of two ‘satellite’ academies in the state which are 8 weeks long rather than attending The Iowa Law Enforcement academy basic training in Johnston, which is 14 weeks long.”

“This program has some general education requirements but the main focus is criminal justice related courses. Students can also obtain an AA degree and take several electives in criminal justice. These are typically students who plan on transferring to a Four year school after they complete their AA at Iowa Lakes. The AA degree does not qualify a student to attend the shortened academy but focuses on completing general education requirements that will transfer to the Four year school.”

Christopher later on said “We work closely with the local police and sheriff’s departments and we have some resources that smaller agencies don’t have that we allow them to make use of. Several departments use our use of force simulator and our indoor range to train and qualify with their side arms during the winter months. Many local Chiefs and Sheriffs also serve on our Program Advisory Board as well. We sometimes host continuing education courses for law enforcement and teach classes for reserve officer certification on some weekends throughout the year.”I worked in the criminal justice system for over 20 years as a police officer, k-9 officer, police chief, and corrections officer. I also spent 4 years working overseas with the United Nations International Police Task Force and other missions for The Department of State and The Department of Defense. I teach Introduction to criminal justice, criminology, criminal law, overview of cyber-crime, introduction to corrections and 2 other corrections related courses, and criminal justice ethics.”

     “We will be taking part in the college career exploration day for area high school students in February and will have a student trip over spring break for criminal justice AAS students for a class called CJ in the big city. We travel to a larger metropolitan area and students complete ride along with the host agency and tour prisons, jails, residential treatment facilities, 911 communications centers etc. In the past we have traveled to Washington DC, El Paso County Colorado, Sioux Falls, and Seattle.”