Moraine Park hosted a Criminal Justice Exploration event for local high schoolers today, Oct. 6, at the Fond du Lac campus. Students from Fond du Lac, Winnebago Lutheran Academy, Oakfield, North Fond du Lac, Beaver Dam, Manitowoc Lutheran, Germantown, and Slinger were in attendance.

“Criminal Justice is a broad service field with a vast number of career pathways for students to explore,” Latisha Spence-Brookens, Moraine Park associate dean of human services, said. “The purpose of the event is to bring awareness to the career opportunities that students can pursue right here within the Moraine Park District with the hope we will be the educational option of choice. In addition, partnering with local agencies sets the stage for the recruitment of local talent, while putting a face to professionals that have committed to seeing the industry progress through relationship building, education, and community involvement.”

The College partnered with criminal justice agencies and departments throughout Moraine Park’s district to provide various hands-on demonstrations for students including a WRAP restraint technique, taser deployment and removal, drone surveillance technology, a K9 apprehension, and more.

“The success of today’s event is a tribute to the strong partnership that exists between Moraine Park Technical College and the many agencies who participated today,” Barb Jascor, Moraine Park dean of health and human services, said.

Jason Walters, Criminal Justice and U.S. History teacher at Fond du Lac High School, attended the event with his students.

“I think this is a beneficial event for everyone involved,” Walters said. “There is a workforce shortage in all areas, including criminal justice. Many of my students have gone on to pursue careers in this field, and an event like this breaks down barriers and allows students a chance to see first-hand all the different opportunities and points of entry into the field.”

Stephanie Martinez, a junior at Fond du Lac High School, tried on riot gear and spoke with Officer Leisure from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections about the tactical unit team.

“I came today because I wanted to learn more about the career field and to see what was out there,” Martinez said. “I had no idea there were so many options, and it was really interesting to try on all of the equipment and see the demonstrations up close. Learning about the tactical unit and how they work in hostage situations opened my eyes to all the different opportunities in criminal justice.”

Participating agencies included the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office, Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Marquette County Sheriff’s Office, Fond du Lac Police Department, North Fond du Lac Police Department, Oakfield Police Department, Ripon Police Department, Waupun Police Department, Wisconsin State Patrol, Department of Corrections–Taycheedah and Dodge County corrections institutions, and Washington County Probation and Parole.

Learn more about Moraine Park’s Criminal Justice program at morainepark.edu/academics/programs/criminal-justice/.

View more photos at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAa1GX.