Schedule of Events

Communities and cities throughout the country should not have to constantly worry about gun violence or gang violence. This kind of fear puts communities and youth at risk. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is a federal law enforcement agency tasked with regulating and directing criminal investigations regarding firearms, tobacco products, alcoholic sales, and explosives devices. As an intern in the Detroit Field Office, I worked directly with special agents and task force officers investigating arson and firearm crimes. I had the unique opportunity to work with the Comprehensive Violence Reduction Partnership (CVRP) Task Force and Detroit Arson Investigators. I observed operations between state and federal agencies and the various tools used in criminal investigations.  An example of the type of tasks I performed was processing a security video of a violent criminal breaking into a Metro PCS store and stealing a loaded shotgun. I divided the video into data frames that could be processed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for evidence at trial. My skill development and personal observations during my internship have provided me with the knowledge to build upon my criminal justice and psychology coursework and create lasting relationships between mentors.

Domestic violence continues to be a persisting problem that impacts our society.  Community-based organizations play a critical role in educating the public on domestic violence issues, providing protection for victims, and rehabilitation for families.  Through our Family Violence service-learning course, not only did we learn about the negative impacts of domestic violence, but also partnered with local agencies that combat the problem.  Our class partnered with The Coalition of Family Harmony and Homeboy Industry, to learn about the services they offer and how they are raising greater awareness in combatting the problem of domestic violence.  Through this presentation, I discuss how our services to these agencies deepened our learning on domestic violence issues.   
 
 

Human trafficking is a global problem. The Polaris Project estimates that there are 20.9 million victims of human-trafficking.  Human trafficking is also a problem in the United States—it is affecting every state, every town, and every city. ZOE International, is a nonprofit, anti-child trafficking organization, and is fighting to end child-trafficking. ZOE’s mission is to reach every child through the love of God, and to save children who are being trafficked or at risk of being trafficked. As part of their awareness campaign, they are launching myGen myFight on college campuses across the nation.  Our Criminology service-learning course evaluated their myGen myFight campaign.  This presentation represents our research on college campus human trafficking awareness, and our evaluation and recommendations to ZOE in making improvements to their campaign.  We hope that our research will help ZOE ignite the fight against child-trafficking across college campuses.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department is known for its Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving philosophy. The Camarillo Station in particular is well known for its Community Oriented Policing because they hold strong relationships with their community and the surrounding areas. This type of oriented policing ensures the citizens of their safety and eliminates their fear towards law enforcement. The Camarillo Station is under the command of Mrs. Monica McGrath who is very involved in several community based organizations, respected by all her fellow deputies and helps empower women within the agency. During my internship I was able to assist the various units within the Camarillo Stations as well as the community. Many times I was able to break the language barrier that provided many with ease and the correct assistance they needed. I was also given the opportunity to help with the station’s  community relations by attending luncheons and speaking with people within the community. My internship allowed me to experience the effort put forth by deputies on a day to day bases. As well as experiencing the benefits Community Oriented Policing. Most of all my internship has allowed me create my own career path goals in law enforcement with the help and encouragement of all the fellow deputies I once assisted.