The future of criminal justice is not in homicides or robberies, but rather in white collar and international organized crime.  The New York Times reported earlier this week,  that the FBI does not have enough agents to investigate and file for prosecution of all the white collar crime they are encountering.  They are in need of more agents, especially with the recent economic crisis. 

This week in Maryland,  at the Economic Crime Conference  ,  the featured speaker

Alice Fisher, former assistant attorney general, criminal division, U.S. Department of Justice stated, "international organized crime provides support to terrorists targeting the U.S. Motivated by power and money, the groups use various methods of economic crime and fraud to garner funds". 

Therefore students looking for the future jobs in criminal justice should have a strong foundation in the working function and process of the criminal justice system with a bachelors degree, and then advance their education with an Executive Masters in Economic Crime Management from Utica College, the only college in the country with the Economic Crime Institute. 

Whether you want to work for the FBI, or big business and degree complimented in both criminal justice and economic crime management would put you ahead of all other applicants for any career. 

Rose Pogatshnik, CJ instructor at Rasmussen – St. Cloud, has coordinated a tour of MCF – St. Cloud.  This facility, often called the "Granite Palace" is a historical site, built in 1889, and is home to the second longest continuous wall, only second to the Great Wall of China.  It houses approximately 1000 inmates and is the intake processing center for the state of Minnesota .  It is a level 4 custody facility.  It also houses juveniles who have been adjudicated as adults. The daily inmate report provides detailed information about the inmates currently housed there.  

The tour is scheduled for Thursday, November 20^th at 9:30am.  A prerequisite to attend the tour is to currently be enrolled in Introduction to Corrections or have successfully completed it.  A background check will be run on all attendees.  You may not attend if you are currently on an inmate visitors list or are currently on probation for ANY offense.  The tour will involve significant amounts of walking and climbing/descending stairs so attendees must be physically able. 

Space is limited so contact Rose at rose.pogatshnik@rasmussen.edu by November 5^th to reserve your spot.  Include your full name, date of birth and driver's license number for the background check.  Transportation will be the responsibility of the student.  Please email Rose with any questions you may have!

http://www.wjon.com/LocalNews/tabid/4262/newsid9787/8618/Default.aspx

Minn. Sheriff's giving out scholarships
by Jim Maurice, WJON.com

UNDATED -- A scholarship program has been established for young men and women going to school to become a police officer.

The annual Minnesota Corrections Association Conference in Duluth, MN is October 29-31, 2008.   You can access detailed information at: www.mn-ca.org

 Almost every year, Bob Sutter out of Rasmussen College- Mankato has taken students to this annual professional conference for students to network and get more practical knowledge and information  in the corrections field. 

Rasmussen College has had two students win the scholarship to attend in the past.

This year the guest speaker is the author of the novel used in our Domestic Violence course, Dave Pelzer of A Child Called It.

This conference is an excellent opportunity for students to learn more about corrections, increase their network of contacts for employment, and listen to acclaimed author that students have learned about in their course.  

Eden Prairie Campus Criminal Justice Open House

Thursday, September 11, 2008

6:00 PM-9:00 PM.

The Eden Prairie Criminal Justice Student Activity Council is very excited about hosting a Criminal Justice Open House on Thursday 9-11 at the Eden Prairie Campus from 6-00 PM-9:00 PM. The theme of the open house will be changes in policing and corrections since 09/11/2001.

The Eden Prairie Police Department will conduct a K-9 demonstration from 6:00 PM-7:00 PM.

From 7:00-8:30 PM, panelists from the following agencies will be present to discuss the evenings topic as well as their job descriptions, qualifications, and educational backgrounds:

• Eden Prairie Police Department (Detective and S.W.A.T. member)
• Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department
• Hennepin County Explorers
• Hennepin County Water Patrol (including watercraft)
• Department of Homeland Security
• Shakopee Women’s Prison
• State Patrol
• Carver County Corrections
• Carver County Sheriff’s Department
• Winona County Corrections Officer
• Waconia Police department
• Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

This is a unique opportunity to meet and talk with professionals in your career field!

Please join us at the Eden Prairie Criminal Justice Open House and bring a friend and/or family member on Thursday 9-11.

Questions about the event may be directed to Eden Prairie Criminal Justice Student Activity Council President Crystal Marks at: crystal.marks@smail.rasmussen.edu or Law Enforcement Coordinator Mike Server at: michael.server@rasmussen.edu

An experience for paralegal students . . .

On Saturday, August 23, 2008, Amy Springer, Reference Librarian for the Eagan campus, and Liz Hurley-Felling, instructor for the Introduction to Legal Research class, gave paralegal students an opportunity to visit the law library at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, MN. Eight students attended from various parts of the Minneapolis-St.Paul metro area and Wisconsin. Kirk Olson, another instructor for the paralegal program who usually attends this tour with us was unable to make it this time. We missed him!

The purpose of this fieldtrip is to show the students how to manually research information, but also to minimize any fears they may have about going into a law library by themselves. It is important for students to know that these libraries are open to the public and they can utilize them anytime.

We began the tour with Librarian Amy Springer showing us where everything was located in the law library and how the materials are organized. Instructor Liz Hurley-Felling showed the students the reporters, statutes, and encyclopedias. To put into practice what students were learning and experiencing, we all performed a couple of exercises to retrieve information using the law books.

The two hour law library session was followed by lunch at Axel’s Bonfire Grill on Grand Avenue. This gave us a chance to socialize, and talk about the experience of researching at a law library. This is a great example of taking classroom learning and applying it to the real world experience.

Liz Hurley-Felling

Paralegal Studies Coordinator/Instructor

Eagan campus/online

When you work in the criminal justice system, do you know what it is like to be a "client" in the criminal justice system?  Should you know what it is like to be processed through the very system you work in?  Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran will be walking as an inmate through the Lake County Jail this week.  He will participate in jail activities not as the Sheriff, but as a "client".  What is the expression,  "you never know what it is like for someone else until you walk in another person shoes"?  Therefore, if you work with client offenders in the jail everyday, shouldn't you know what it is like to walk in their shoes through the criminal justice system?  The best way to learn the real perspective, and how systems and processed really work is to experience them yourself. Whether you are looking for a new job, or going to school for a new career, you should spend an hour, a day, a week doing that job.  Fieldwork and job shadowing should be a major part of your job hunt or education.