School of Criminal Justice, Forensic Science and Security
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Dr. Charles Scheer (USM), Dr. Mike Rossler (Illinois State University), Deputy Chief Jerry Peters (Thornton Police Department), Lieutenant Walt Melnyk (Bryan Police Department), and Deputy Chief Joseph Hayer (Frederick Police Department) co-authored a report that examined retention trends of police officers across eight agencies nationwide, and examined why police officers leave – or stay – in their careers. Please click below for the full report.
Police Retention and Career Perceptions: Findings from an Eight-City Survey
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Bottema to the School of Criminal Justice, Forensic
Science, and Security!!!
Dr. Bottema is an American Citizen born abroad in New Zealand, who relocated to the
US to pursue his education in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University
(ASU). Here he earned his Bachelors (2016), Masters (2017), and Ph.D. (2021), as well
as additional certificates in Social Science Research Methods, Homeland Security,
and Security Studies.
Please join us in congratulating USM’s Alpha Iota chapter of Delta Delta Epsilon for being selected as New Student Organization of the Year! DDE is an international forensic science honor society that is dedicated to stimulating academic achievement, promoting community understanding, and advancing the fields of forensic science. Way to go!
Congratulations to all student presenters from The University of Southern Mississippi for a job well done! After all presentations, practitioners in attendance at the conference voted for 1st place and two runners up.
A special congratulations to Marissa Gandolfo-Muller of USM for winning 1st place and the grand prize of $200. Dakota McDonald of USM and Shawn Folds of WCU are runners up, winning $100 each. Way to go!
Thank you to the Mississippi Division of The International Association for Identification for consistently providing students the opportunity to participate and showcase their contributions to forensic science!
Dr. Downey and CJ Students Participate in CIT Training in Laurel, MS.
On March 26, 2021, Dr. Ragan Downey and Criminal Justice students Brianna Borden,
Clint Ford, and Emily Stahly participated in the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training
in Laurel, Mississippi. The training is 40 hours, which includes role-playing scenarios
that an officer may experience when encountering an individual in an ongoing crisis.
Not only did the Criminal Justice students observe the training, but they also had
the opportunity to engage in the role play. Dr. Downey was the guest speaker at the
CIT graduation. 11 Law enforcement officers from the Pine Belt area graduated from
this training and became certified CIT officers.
Below is WDAM's article of the event:
WDAM CIT Article
