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“The Justice Studies department aspires to blend theory with practice, and our classrooms allow us to do that. The students can apply what they’re learning and immediately put it into practice,” Justice Studies Professor Michael Bogner said.

According to Justice Studies Professor Jamie Wada, the department combines practice with theory because it helps students develop job skills and prepare them for post-secondary education.

“We want to show the students the entire criminal justice process,” Wada said. “Since we combine practice and theoretical methods, students learn techniques that provide the skills to be successful in whatever they choose after graduation.”

A large part of the program incorporates hands-on learning, Wada said.

“The students love our classes because they are so hands-on. Because of TV, they think investigations are quick but they are not. It’s slow and tedious work because you want everything to be correct and to do that takes time,” Wada said. “Students work in groups a lot and that is to teach them that you can’t do this type of work by yourself. You need help in the justice field because it’s the nature of the work.”

Hands-on learning is particularly evident in the forensic lab. During lab sessions, Wada said students learn how to dust and lift fingerprints, chemical processing of prints, 3D casting of tires and footwear, electro static dust lifting for impression evidence, blood pattern interpretation, blood spatter analysis, and crime scene photography.

“A student can do everything he or she sees on TV shows in our lab, except slower,” Wada said. “The lab setting at CSC gives students practical experiences and then they can apply that to their jobs when they graduate.”

The tedious nature of crime scene investigation can be seen with blood spatter analysis exercises. Wada said blood spatter analysis requires students to identify spatter patterns and then use trigonometry to create 3D models.

The blood work is often popular with students and students interested in attending CSC, Wada said. Bovine blood is used because its viscosity is close to human blood.

“Blood spatter analysis is very rare in colleges and universities at an undergraduate level,” Wada said. “Blood spatter analysis is an important investigative tool for crime scene analysis.”

The students also go in-depth with crime scene photography, Wada said.

“The students learn everything about the camera, but we specialize in teaching them crime scene photography techniques,” he said. “Crime scene photography is so important.”

Wada said a majority of his students become police officers and prior to graduation they get to learn from law enforcement professionals. He said each year, representatives from the City of ���ϴ��¼� Police Department, Dawes County Sheriff’s Office, and Nebraska State Patrol speak to students.

Alumni also stay active in the department. Wada said Ron Rawalt of the FBI and Jack Sides of the Federal Marshals have spoken to students.

“It’s valuable for the students to see law enforcement professionals,” he said. “I’m confident what we teach to our students will be valuable to their careers.”