Students Recognized at Criminal Justice Conference, Competition

During the week of March 19-25, Scott Chenault, instructor of justice systems, accompanied 16 Truman students of the Lambda Alpha Epsilon, Chi Chapter, to the American Criminal Justice Association (ACJA-LAE) national conference in St. Charles, Ill. As part of the conference, the students and faculty member participated in a series of competitions designed to test their abilities in various fields of criminal justice. The competitions are divided into four areas: academic testing, physical agility, crime scene investigation, and firearms.

The academic testing component consists of 50-question multiple choice tests in each of four areas of criminal justice. There are tests covering the areas of criminal law/procedure, corrections, juvenile justice and police management. Each competitor is assigned to one of three competition levels for all of the events. Lower division consists of people who have completed less than 70 hours of college credit. Upper division consists of people who have completed more than 70 hours of college credit and includes graduate students. Finally, the professional division consists of anyone who is currently employed in the field of criminal justice.

The physical agility competition consists of running a police-style obstacle course, with competition levels divided by age, not college credit. The crime scene investigation competition is one of the most interesting. The organizers of the conference are responsible for designing a mock crime scene, complete with fake evidence, and a scenario of what happened. The students then enter the scene and are required to retrieve and process evidence and then write a report as to their findings.

The firearms competition consists of a series of stages where competitors fire from various distances and positions. All shooting is done using a police-caliber handgun, and the utmost safety precautions are employed for this competition.

The Truman group had another successful showing, finishing in third place as a team for the second consecutive year. The group totaled five trophies in the area of academic testing, and a first place trophy in the Lip Sync contest.

Nick Zotos, a freshman justice systems major from Chesterfield, Mo., won first place in the lower division police management test, while Kristi Schneider, a senior justice systems major from Rolla, Mo., took second place in the upper division of the same category. Additionally, Maria Kaylen, a senior justice systems and pre-secondary education double major from Columbia, Mo., finished in second place in the upper division of the juvenile justice test. Instructor Chenault finished with second place trophies in both the corrections and police management exams in the professional division. In a more lighthearted, although just as fierce, competition, the foursome of Kristin Jacobs, a freshman justice systems major from Kirksville; Jordan Lile, a freshman justice systems major from Kirksville; Brianna Wagner, a freshman justice systems major from Ballwin, Mo.; and Zotos won first place in the Lip Sync contest with their Blues Brothers montage.

In addition to the trophies won by the members of the team, Truman students also claimed three cash prizes for success in a national student paper competition. Sarah Wisdom, a junior justice systems major from Grandview, Mo., finished in third place in the upper division of the paper contest, while Beatrice Kelrick, a junior justice systems major from Kirksville, finished second. In the lower division, Jon Wolf, a sophomore justice systems major from Long Prairie, Minn., took first place.

Other team members who participated were Lindsay Lambert, a junior biology major from Maryland Heights, Mo.; Lauren Block, a junior justice systems major from Florissant, Mo.; Taryn Spoon, a junior justice systems major from Beardstown, Ill.; Kenny Jacobs, a senior justice systems major from Kirksville; Jasmine Nedvin, a junior accounting and pre-special education double major from Wildwood, Mo.; Jeff Stieff, a sophomore justice systems major from Wentzville, Mo.; Gabby Stocke, a junior justice systems major from St. Louis; Theresa Putnam, a senior justice systems major from Letts, Iowa; and Paul Strinni, a junior justice systems major from St. Louis.