Criminal Justice Institute at Lindenwood University

Lindenwood University Announces Criminal Justice Institute for High School Students

Three-day camp offers hands-on experience, college credit to summer sleuths
The
Lindenwood University Department of Criminal Justice will host its
annual criminal justice institute from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 9-11.
The three-day camp will take place on the St. Charles campus and will
present participants, age 14-18, with a wide range of activities and
presentations offered by criminal justice professionals.
High
school students who are thinking about majoring in criminal justice
during college or are simply interested in what real crime scene
investigators do will get a first-hand look at what the career entails. A
mock homicide investigation will be led by a Lindenwood professor with
criminal investigative experience. Evidence analysis will be conducted
in a Lindenwood chemistry lab, and students
will participate in eyewitness identification and criminal profiling
exercises.
According to Jeanie
Thies, associate professor
of criminal justice, “This is a fun and educational program that allows
participants to learn about the criminal justice system through hands-on
activities and through hearing guest speakers from a range of criminal
justice professions.”
The
mock homicide investigation that the high school students will
participate in will be thorough and accurate. The participants will
see what a real-life homicide looks like and will learn the steps that
need to be taken to solve the crime.
According
to Thies, former criminal psychologist, “Either a LU faculty member who
is a former homicide investigator or a crime scene investigator
from a community agency creates a mock crime scene somewhere on campus
and conducts an interactive tutorial of what an investigator generally
looks for. The students will gather evidence/clues and learn how these
are meaningful in solving the crime and how
the evidence would be analyzed. They will also take some pieces of
‘evidence’ the chemistry lab and learn how forensic scientists analyze
evidence.”
Lindenwood
will offer two hours of transferable undergraduate college credit to
participating students who meet some additional requirement.
The course credit fee is $200 per individual and must be paid directly
to the university.
In
an email, Thies wrote, “Participants, who have completed, at minimum,
their sophomore year in high school, can earn 2 hours of college
credit for an additional $200.00. They have to complete two short essays
after the program concludes. These are graded, and this, along with
their participation in the program activities, compromises their grade
for the course.”
The
base cost to attend the camp is $175 per person and includes lunch each
day. Overnight accommodations are also available for an additional
fee of $100, which also includes breakfast and dinner each day.
Deadline for enrollment is May 23 and registration is limited. For more information or to register, call Thies at 636-949-4689
or email her at jthies@lindenwood.edu.