Emily Miller

ED 629

Interview

Alternative Assignment to Police Ride Along

June 9, 2008

For this assignment I interviewed a student attending Wright State University in the Criminal Justice Program. The student is approaching graduation in November and is currently completing an internship at Greene County Juvenile Court. I conducted this interview to gain insight into the program and the responsibilities of the student. From this interview I have brainstormed ideas for future lessons and materials I might use in the classroom.

Below are the questions I asked the interviewee:

  1. Where is your internship and what are your duties there?

“My internship is at Greene County Juvenile Court where I shadow a
juvenile probation officer. My duties as a juvenile probation officer
are to evaluate each juvenile and make a recommendation, such as
detainment, rehab, intensive probation or regular probation, to the
next step in the process to get these juveniles back on the right
track. The judge or magistrate, however, makes all the final decisions.”
2. Who do you work with? (e.g. police officers, judges, investigators)

“I work mostly with juvenile probation officers but I also have to do
business with Intensive Juvenile Probation Officers, Judges and
Magistrates.”
3. Has any part of your internship or studies brought you to a prison or jail? If so what was the population there? (e.g. race, ethnicity)

“I did not go to a prison or jail but I have been to a detention center,
which houses juvenile offenders for around six months. The population
is a mixture of men, women, African Americans and whites. I don't know
the exact numbers of whites to African Americans but I do know that the
detention center has twenty women to forty men.”
4. What is the most interesting aspect you have seen so far during
your internship?

“The most interesting aspect I have seen so far was when we made an
arrest at a local high school because one of our clients broke
probation rules by getting in trouble with the local PD for drinking.”
5. Where would you most like to work (in what field/what type of job)
when you graduate?

“My plans after graduation are to pursue a career in juvenile probation
or adult probation. If those fields don’t work out then I am going to
find some work related to the courts.”

Future Lessons:

  1. Investigation of the different levels of law enforcement.

Local level law enforcement

State level law enforcement

Federal level law enforcement

Private sector law enforcement

Students would be place in four groups. Each group would be assigned a level/sector of law enforcement to investigate/research. Students would research the level focusing on: the positions within each level, the people who hold the positions, and what each level is responsible for. Students will present the findings to the class in a unique way: PowerPoint, poster, dramatization, etc.

  1. Conflict Resolutions

Show the video “Conflict Resolution”

Discuss the video and the conflicts the characters face and ways to solve.

The class will focus on how to resolve conflicts.

Create different scenarios for students to act out. Students will then brainstorm ideas for solving the conflicts

Relate the discussions to the process in which conflicts are solved in our country.

  1. Mock Trial

Create a scenario or reenact an actual trial.

Assign students positions: lawyers, judge, jury, bailiff, etc.

Give students time to familiarize with the scenario.

Go through the steps in a trial and the participants before reenacting.

  1. Rules and Laws

Students will examine rules and laws and the differences between them.

Students will look at different laws and rules (Code of the West and Rules of a Mining Company) ( and determine which are most likely rules and which are more likely laws and are they good/fair.

Criminal Justice Resources:

  1. Film: “Conflict Resolution”
  2. American Justice : Death Penalty
    Kurtis Productions, Ltd. and Towers Productions, Inc. ; produced by Nugus/Martin Productions Ltd. in association with Arts & Entertainment Networks ; writer, Ronnie Hess. [New York, NY] : A & E Home Video : Distributed in the U.S. by New Video Group, 2002, c1994. 1 videodisc (ca. 50 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in. DVD.
    MSU Digital Multimedia Center, 4 West, HV8699.U6 D42 2002 VideoDVD
    Examines the arguments for and against capital punishment. Presents the case of Caryl Chessman, a rapist, kidnapper, and jailhouse lawyer who appealed his sentence for twelve years. Follows with a discussion of other capital cases, and the constitutional fight over the death penalty.
    [Capital punishment -- United States.]
    [Constitutional law -- United States.]

Obtained from:

  1. Crime and Punishment in America
    KCET/Los Angeles, Quest Productions/San Francisco.
    [Alexandria, Va.] : PBS Video, c1997 1 videocassette (120 min.; VHS, color
    MSU Law Library Reserve VIDEO C
    Brings historical perspective to the problems of escalating crime and the public's fear of it, by exploring the evolution of crime and criminal penalties in American society
    [Criminal justice, Administration of -- United States]
    [Crime -- United States]

Obtained from:

4.House Arrest (Crime File)
Produced by the Police Foundation ; producer, Christopher Koch ; director W.P. Fowler. Rockville, Md. : National Institute of Justice, 1986. 1 videocassette (29 min.) : sd., col. ; 3/4 in. VHS
MSU Digital Multimedia Center, 4 West, HV8706 .H68 1986 Videocassette
A discussion of the use of house arrest as an alternative to probation and imprisonment. Major discussion centers on the Community Control system set up in Florida.
[Criminal justice, Administration of -- United States}

Obtained from:

  1. Juvenile Justice: In the Child’s Best Interest
    Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 2004. 1 videodisc (60 minutes, color), DVD.
    MSU Digital Multimedia Center, 4 West, HV9104 .J88 2004 VideoDVD
    When victimized children turn victimizers themselves, juvenile court is likely to be their next destination. Using case studies of families in turmoil, this gripping program sheds light on the juvenile justice system. Courtroom footage reveals the intense proceedings in which judges must shape the futures of children and parents alike, while therapists, child welfare caseworkers, foster parents, and staff members from assistance organizations discuss their efforts on behalf of the children.
    Follows the cases of a number of juvenile offenders over a period of eight months in 1999 in the juvenile court systems of Lake, Marion, and Monroe counties in Indiana. Covers topics such as the special difficulties of child sexual offenders, children who are violent and difficult to control in the home, parent substance abuse problems, and the recurrence of problems through multiple generations. Uses courtroom footage to reveal the intense proceedings in which judges must shape the futures of both children and parents. Features discussion by therapists, child welfare caseworkers, foster parents, and staff members from assistance organizations about their efforts on behalf of the children.
    [Juvenile delinquency]
    [Juvenile justice, administration of]

Obtained from: