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March 15, 2006

A meeting of the Administration of Justice Advisory Committee was held on February 28, 2006, at the Menifee Valley Campus of Mt San Jacinto College. Minutes of that meeting follow:

  1. Attendees: The following members were present at the meeting:

Darryl Birney / Hemet Station
Dave Brown / Hemet Police Department
Richard Collins / MSJC, Dean of Career Education
Steve Felix / MSJC Instructor
Janeen Foster / MSJC Consultant, Career Education-Special Projects
Phillip Han / Riverside District Attorney
Michael Lane / University of Riverside Police Department
Richard LeGarra / MSJC Administration of Justice Department Chair
Steve Peters / BenClarkTraining Center
Guy Reams / MSJC Computer Information Systems Department
Nick Schoen / Banning Police Department
Kevin Segawa / MSJC Police Department
Don Smith / MSJC Multimedia Department
Bill Tyler / Southwest Station
Russ Wilson / San Jacinto Police Department
  1. Welcome and Introductions

The meeting was called to order at approximately 8:05 am by Richard Collins who welcomed participants. He discussed the new Learning Resource Center, a 48,000 square foot building, which will be located next to the library. Round -table introductions of the industry representatives, faculty, and staff followed. Mr. Collins outlined the role of advisory committees and reviewed the brochure provided in the meeting packet.

  1. Review of Minutes – May 26, 2005

Richard LeGarra briefly reviewed the minutes from the previous meeting.

  1. Updates of Administration of Justice Program

Mr. LeGarra spoke of improvements with each meeting. The input provided is invaluable to the program. The college listens to what the community has to say and acts accordingly to improve programs. The college wants to be a viable resource for qualified, marketable employment candidates.

Two items presented at the last advisory meeting were ethics and report writing. MSJC addressed the issue by offering a report writing class every semester to improve students’ report writing ability. The subject of ethics is strongly addressed in every course offering of the AJ program.

Administration of Justice will offer three new classes Fall 2006:

  • AJ140-Principles of Biology in Forensics;
  • AJ141-Principles of Chemistry in Forensics; and
  • AJ142-Principles of Toxicology in Forensics.

Javed Khan developed the curriculum and will be the instructor. These courses will expose students to a variety of different elements of Administration of Justice.

The Photography/Fingerprinting course under development had to be sidelined. MSJC is looking for faculty to develop curriculum and teach a ½ semester course. The course could be expanded if necessary.

Mr. LeGarra asked the committee to recommend guest speakers for the students, especially speakers interested in bringing females into the profession.

  1. Employment Concentration Certificates

Richard LeGarra outlined the requirements for students to receive an Employment Concentration Certificate in Administration of Justice. He also reviewed the blue handout provided in the meeting packet, which offers more in depth information about the AJ employment concentration certificate.

  1. Occupational Internships

The department is looking for agencies interested in providing internship opportunities for MSJC students. The internships allow the student to earn from 1 to 4 units per semester. One issue is the background check. Students are aware that they must pass a background check prior to being placed in an internship. Richard LeGarra requested committee members contact him personally if interested.

  1. Computer Forensics

Mr. LeGarra discussed a computer forensics component. Guy Reams is currently working on the curriculum and he requested input from the committee. His presentation focused on gathering information about computer forensics from the community’s perspective. He addressed building a basic computer understanding course but needs more information on how investigations can be enhanced through the use of computer forensics. The student will need instruction on how to perform a proper investigation as it relates to processing and gathering data without violating the crime scene.

  1. Other Business

Don Smith presented the possibility ofa 3D animation course, which can be used to simulate crime scenes and traffic accidents, as well as provide another way to present evidence in court. Having evidence presented visually can lead to a better understanding of that evidence. Would a 3D animation course be of use to law enforcement agencies?

  1. Action items from participants
  • Can Occupational Internship units be used for POST certification? Occupational Internship: AJ149 and Special Projects: AJ299 are offered as elective courses. Neither course is POST approved, but can be applied to meet the POST unit requirement. MSJC is willing to assist any officer in obtaining either a certificate or an associate’s degree. For instance, the student can request credit of up to 12 units for completing the Riverside academy.
  • Law enforcement agencies encourage officers to pursue higher education. MSJC is willing to assist in any way possible.
  • Most people don’t enter the field to work on computers. Presently computer forensics and animation are outsourced. Their might be a need to create specialized jobs for computer forensics over a period of time.
  • Agencies can not afford downtime for training on computer forensics and will probably continue to outsource. There might be a need to address computer forensics as a career opportunity for private industry much like DNA analysis is sent to specialized laboratories.
  • Computer Forensics can be a civilian support position. There is the possibility to have someone who will be able to continue in the field for a long period of time and can be a resource for law enforcement.
  • The college needs to identify whether the course offerings are for the catch guy or for analysis. There a complete difference in the two positions. The catch guy captures evidence that will be evaluated later and does not go beyond collection.
  • There was a suggestion to increase awareness of the AJ program at MSJC. The college will coordinate a one-day seminar for area agencies. The seminar will offer available software applications as well as a course on crime scene reconstruction. POST approved courses would be helpful.
  • Two additional ½ day, 4-hour courses were suggested; hate crimes and cultural diversity. Depending upon the course offerings, agencies may pay employees to attend the seminar.
  • A whole new group of individuals is coming into the field. MSJC can develop courses and programs to address the interest of law enforcement officers who are interested in computer animation or computer forensics.
  • Don Smith and Richard LeGarra will meet with representatives in the Temecula Police department to discuss development of a few classes in computer fundamentals and address more in depth courses. Contact Name: Mike Peno. Guy Reams will meet with a representative to discuss computer forensics from law enforcement’s perspective.
  • Members addressed the need for other 4-hour courses such as crime scene sketching, interrogation/interviewing, and homeland security for law enforcement officers. The curriculum must be targeted for law enforcement professionals.
  1. Richard Collins and Richard LeGarra thanked everyone for their input and attendance. The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:45 am.