Law enforcement program at FSCC gaining popularity

The Fort Scott Community College criminal justice program is training its students to enter the world of law enforcement and related fields.

After going through some changes and revisions earlier this year, the two-year associate of arts program is currently preparing students for careers in the criminal justice or law enforcement fields. This spring, the Kansas Board of Regents approved revising the two-year program to allow students -- if they so choose -- to complete the program in one year.

The FSCC Board of Trustees approved the changes that were sent to KBOR. Changes in the criminal justice program came about due to increased interest from people wanting to pursue a related criminal justice degree, officials said.

The program, which has been at FSCC since the 1980s, is becoming popular and drawing interest from the local community, Dean of Instruction Mary Ann Leamon-Childers said.

"The program is really going to take off and grow," Leamon-Childers said. "It really is a win-win situation (for students and the community)."

Students and prospective employers, including local and area law enforcement authorities, are becoming interested in the program as well, Leamon-Childers said. Employers are primarily interested in skill sets that students in the criminal justice program obtain once they graduate, she said.

Starting in January, Fort Scott native and recently retired Bourbon County judge Gerald Hart will teach criminal justice courses full time at FSCC. Hart said he will also teach political science and sociology at FSCC, where he has taught since 1996.

"There does seem to be some interest, so we'll see what happens," Hart said.

While he did not know the exact number of students enrolled in the criminal justice program at FSCC, Hart did say that the program is broken up into three primary areas of study: law enforcement; corrections; and criminal law and procedures, an area that focuses on legal issues related to the criminal justice system.

A different instructor will teach each area, and both day and evening courses will be offered, Hart said. FSCC will offer five classes this semester and eight in the spring, he said. Students in the program who are pursuing two-year degrees have the option of transferring credit hours to a four-year college or university.

"It's a program that a student can use and transfer to a four-year school," Hart said.

Students studying in the criminal justice program have three options to choose from when selecting a degree; two two-year degree options that require students to obtain about 62 credit hours, or a one-year certificate program that amounts to 33 credit hours. All degree options involve primarily classroom study, with some courses, such as an available crime scene investigation course, offering students more hands-on work such as fingerprinting and collecting blood evidence from crime scenes.

The one-year certificate program is designed for students to complete in one academic year to prepare those students for entry-level positions in law enforcement and related fields. The two-year programs emphasize general education in the social sciences and liberal arts.

All program options offer courses designed to provide students entering their chosen profession with the necessary tools to deal with change and growth of technology in the criminal justice industry. Students learn about information concerning major innovations in police science, courts and techniques performed by correctional institutions.

In addition to general academic courses students must complete, other course choices in the FSCC criminal justice program include basic law enforcement, evidence collection, criminal procedures, criminal law, agency administration, crime prevention, and street law, according to the current FSCC course catalog.

Interest in the program has grown so much lately that officials at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo. are bringing in a crime scene investigation course that will be available at FSCC in January, FSCC officials said. MSSU administrators recently lent their support to the idea, and are also allowing students in the FSCC program to transfer credits to MSSU, Leamon-Childers said.

FSCC also hopes to, in the future, make use of the mobile crime lab that has been growing in popularity at MSSU, she said. The high-tech mobile crime scene investigation unit provides a forum for lectures and seminars by professionals in the criminal justice industry, as well as a training area for students.