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| Kelvin Patterson |
The art of crime-fighting isn’t all capes, gadgets and sidekicks. The real crusaders for truth, justice and the American way are the lawyers, police officers and agencies responsible for keeping us all accountable under the great equalizer: the law. Every individual in this nation, from the president to a blue-collar employee, is subject to the same set of constitutional laws.
Laws, for the most part, guarantee our societal way of life and our freedom and rights as individuals. Still, some laws are unjust. Take the discriminatory Jim Crow laws enacted between 1876 and 1965, which called for separate but equal public accommodations for African-Americans. Some laws are painfully outdated, as one California law states that women are not permitted to drive if wearing a housecoat. Others are neither here nor there, as one Californian law states that women are not permitted to drive if wearing a house coat. Despite this, laws are reflective of our societies and are important to understand and combat criminal acts.
Crime, in general, is a complex subject matter. Its methodology and theory run deep and can leave even the most experienced legal official puzzling until their puzzler is sore. At RIT, the dominant programs confronting crime are the Bachelor of Science degrees in Criminal Justice (CJ) and Information Security and Forensics (ISF).
The Classical Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice, both a major and a minor, covers a broad range of legal matters. Topics such as the court system, criminal trials and correctional facilities all fall under the scope of the typical discussion matter. The show Law and Order serves as a basic reference for the different kinds of processes a Criminal Justice professional might find themselves involved in. The show goes through an entertaining overview of criminal process, from the moment of perpetration to the final verdict in prosecution.
The first two years of the major are composed of core courses. Students will take classes on criminology, courts and corrections. These classes are designed to impart a broad understanding of the methodology and theories pertinent to a legal profession. Third year students in the criminal justice program then choose a professional elective. RIT offers electives in the fields of Corrections, Law, Law Enforcement, Criminology and Security. These programs involve advanced classes that focus a student’s skills in their chosen area of interest and can be chosen as a focus within the CJ minor.
Corrections
Corrections prepares students for careers in the direction and general administrative supervision, guidance and planning of adult and juvenile correctional facilities and programs. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCR) is the state government agency responsible for overseeing and administering these responsibilities. The DOCR handles adult, juvenile, as well as field or probationary services. A student with a focus in corrections can work directly with the DOCR to handle the tasks of that department.
The Corrections career track has many required classes. However, only two stand out as uniquely indicative of the elective.
The first is Counseling in the Criminal Justice System. This course is offered annually, but, because it is advanced, is restricted to third or fourth year CJ majors. The course devotes time to conflict resolution, supervision and interviewing strategies. Effective counseling techniques are discussed to facilitate positive behavioral change and rehabilitation of subjects. The second is Major Issues in Criminal Justice: Correctional Administration. Here the student will discuss certain topics, such as issues with court systems, international crime, criminal analysis and legal controversies. The course is offered periodically and is also restricted to third or fourth year CJ majors of because of the quality of work expected.
Law and Law Enforcement
Law and Law Enforcement electives differ only in a few ways. Law runs in parallel to the pre-law track by focusing on programs that deal with legal procedure as they pertain to offenders. There are several unique classes associated with the Law track. Legal Rights of Convicted Offenders explores the rights of former and current prisoners, as well as the methods employed to enforce and uphold their rights. Comparative Criminal Law examines the criminal polices of the United States and Europe. Particular emphasis is given to methods of trial, modes of prevention and punishment, and issues of intent.
Law Enforcement, on the other hand, covers the more active aspects of law. The track prepares students to be police officers, rangers, investigators or members of the FBI. The program offers classes in investigative techniques and seminars in substance abuse, civil disobedience, hostage taking and terrorism, as well as corporate and white-collar crime.
One of the more interesting and beneficial classes common to the Law and Law Enforcement electives is Evidence. The class deals with the entire trial process. It goes through “almost everything one would see in shows like Law and Order or any legal show, which is usually wrong,” said LaVerne McQuiller Williams, an assistant professor in the CJ department.
Typically, the first few weeks of the class focuses on pre-trial motions and the importance of these steps. Then students move into the trial stage where they learn what to present as the prosecution, what the burden of proof is, and how evidence is admitted for consideration. “I give them a large fact pattern scenario, where the students act as attorneys and witnesses. They do examinations of themselves and the witnesses,” added Williams.
In the end, it is almost like a mock trial since actual judges come in and preside over the case. Naturally, the incorporation of real judges adds a real life perspective. The class has a hands-on portion where students observe real criminal trials in person and apply what they learn in the class to what they’re observing.
Criminology
Criminology attempts to define types of crime and criminality with an emphasis on contemporary aspects. Aspects of criminal theory, as well as methods of determining the cause and consequences of crime, are integral parts of the program. The science of criminology is very much a result of a union between sociology, psychology and explicit law. Criminologists work to analyze criminal behavior patterns and criminal laws so as to provide theoretical explanations for criminal and delinquent behavior.
Criminal Law is one of the most important classes for students in this elective to take. “The class deals with laws that currently affect people everyday. The class discusses police actions and what our rights are as citizens, things that every person should know,” as Williams put it.
Another important class is Women and Crime, which shows a view of women from three perspectives: Offenders or prisoners, survivors of domestic violence, and criminal justice professionals including police officers, correctional officers and judges. As made precedent last year, a number of students in the class were given the opportunity to participate in a live “clemency petition” that Williams was working on in conjunction with a number of organizations and attorneys.
The students were attempting to have the governor pardon a woman who had committed crimes under the influence of domestic violence. “I had nine students doing case research, contrasts with other cases, and letters of support. I think it is important to have hands-on activities like this in my classes to impart real life experience,” Williams stated.
Security
Security explores safe networking and operations. Computer Crime is non-technical and teaches computer competition theory. The course also discusses issues in network and information safety and risks to physical and cyber assets. Public and Private Safety is a class where methods to confront an industry in the favor of preserving social assets are discussed. The merits of different anti-intrusion devices are also evaluated. Methods to prevent health hazards, fires, and accidents are also discussed.
Thinking Smarter with ISF
In the past, only performance was considered when transferring data. Sending real-time video streams and voice over a network — not security — were the big issues. Presently, large amounts of information are successfully transferred rapidly over networks. This data can be anything from family photos to online bank account information or incriminating evidence. The new field of ISF works to secure personal data or retrieve, by court mandate, lost or deleted digital evidence.
The field originated from forensics, which is the practice of dissecting a crime scene to figure out how a victim died or how to obtain any useful physical information. Similarly, computer-based forensics extracts digital evidence from the scene of a hacked computer or any digital device. The ISF program aims to not only impart an understanding of computer forensic theory, but knowledge of the tools being used.
The core curriculum is heavy in programming and system administrating. Students in this degree program choose between the Network and Wireless Security advanced track and the Computer System Security advanced track. The former focuses primarily on long distance data transfer as well as data tracking, while the latter focuses more on local security and data retrieval. After graduating with these skills, ISF students typically go on to work for government agencies (such as the Department of Defense or the FBI) as a system administrator or as a private sector security forensics investigator — which functions much like a consultant to secure digital property.
Computer Forensics is an important class in the major. It runs as a typical class for undergraduates, but is also designed as an online course for graduate students. “One of the main topics of the course is a step-wise procedure. In the field, students need to be able to collect, analyze and report on data without contaminating the digital fingerprint,” said Dr. Yin Pan, an associate professor in the Networking, Security and Systems Administration department.
Step one is collecting evidence without contaminating the evidence. “You are better off using court-approved tools to extract digital evidence because the judge may not trust an individual’s program,” Pan said. Second is the preservation of extracted original data. Hash functions (for example, MD5) can help with this by creating a signature or image of a whole hard drive or piece of memory. This proves that the evidence was not contaminated by showing that the hash of the entered value is identical to the hash of the original value. Then you can make and work on a copy to extract any incriminating evidence. The third step is analyzing the extracted data. Finally, the fourth step is writing the results of the analysis and discussing the methods employed into a report that is presented to a jury and judge.
Graduate students are given the opportunity to image a USB drive. They then must go through the procedures to determine whether any malicious activity has occurred. Undergrads must make up their own “hacked” scene or image as a team, then exchange images with another team in the class. They, then, determine any suspicious content from the signature.
“To work in this field, you will need to pass a clearance test. Employers are not looking for individuals with a criminal record. It is also important to be system-savvy to be successful in the field,” offered Pan.
Beefing Up Your Super Sleuth Skills
Although CJ and ISF programs at RIT lay out the groundwork for fighting crime, there are some activities that can increase an individual’s skill in the field. Taking classes related to photography, critical thinking and public speaking can be beneficial. These classes prepare a mind to solve problems, document evidence and become comfortable when interviewing others. Additionally, it doesn’t hurt to be familiar with emerging technologies like geographic information systems (GIS), which can plot locations where crime occurs.
10 Ridiculous Laws
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In New York State,
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1) One can be fined $25 for flirting.
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2) It is illegal to throw a ball at someone’s head for fun.
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3) The penalty of jumping off a building is death.
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In Maryland,
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4) It is a violation of city code to sell chicks or ducklings to a minor within one week of the Easter Holiday (Baltimore).
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5) It’s illegal to take a lion to the movies (Baltimore).
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In California,
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6) It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale.
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7) It is illegal to wear cowboy boots unless you own two or more cows. (Blythe).
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In Ohio, |
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8) It is illegal to get a fish drunk. |
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9) One cannot be arrested on a Sunday or on the Fourth of July. |
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In Florida, |
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10) Unmarried women may not parachute on Sundays or else she shall risk arrest, fine and/or jailing.
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| These ridiculous laws were found at http://www.dumblaws.com. |
Overall, the CJ and ISF programs start slowly with the basics and then move quickly into more advanced work. In the end, both departments produce successful graduates, where 20-25% of all CJ graduates attend law school, according to Williams, and nearly all ISF majors get their Ph.D.s and work in either a high-level government position or in a private sector, according to Dr. Judy Porter, a CJ professor.
To succeed in either department, “You must work on communication skills. To be able to put together a memo and the ability to interview effectively the victims in a crime or a witness are imperative to succeeding as a legal mind. You should be able and willing to take advantage of new emergent technology. For instance, GIS is used all the time by police and others to plot where crimes occur. Also, have a strong mind and be comfortable with analyzing and researching,” says Porter.
“Take classes in communication and public speaking. Also, learn to be critiqued in order to improve. Engage in the opportunities on campus, like undergrad research presentations, public speaking contests. These are the types of activities that will make students more attractive when they apply for jobs in the market. Be familiar with laws that affect you and those in your area, like the curfew law and the new 100:1 powder versus crack cocaine law. If a student can actively and constructively participate, there is no way they won’t be successful in the field,” suggests Williams.
