Jul 27, 9:09 PM

New course probes science of crime

Dr. Mary Beth Kenkel, dean of the School of Psychology at Florida Tech and Marshall Jones, instructor and program coordinator of forensic psychology at Florida Tech, stand in front of a lesson for the new class. Photo by Michael R. Brown, FLORIDA TODAY.

Florida Tech class is first in state

By Shawna S. Kelsch
FLORIDA TODAY

You've seen it time and time again in movies like "Silence of the Lambs" and the television show "CSI": enterprising law enforcement agents using simple, deductive reasoning to trap mastermind criminals into confessing their crimes -- in under 90 minutes.

Life and crime don't work that way most of the time. But, if the organizers of Florida Tech's newest -- and the state's only -- forensic psychology degree program have their way, soon students with field experience will enter the work force to help explain why criminals do what they do.

The four-year Bachelor of Arts program, scheduled to begin this fall, has 15 full-time students already enrolled, said Mary Beth Kenkel, dean of the university's School of Psychology.

Coursework will include traditional studies in psychology as well as classes that apply psychological understanding to classes in criminal investigation and juvenile delinquency, among others.

"I am unaware of any other college in the Southeast -- or in the country -- besides John Jay College in New York, that offers this degree," Kenkel said. The New York-based college is a widely regarded police training institution.

Instructuring the curriculum, Marshall Jones, a Palm Bay patrol sergeant and the university's program coordinator, worked with Kenkel to identify three areas graduates could begin work after completing the program. The areas are crime analysis, social services advocacy and parole and probation positions within the criminal justice and legal fields.

Too often, police officers and social service employees working on tight schedules with massive caseloads are expected to balance the legal needs of offenders and clients with emotional ones -- such as assigning counseling services or drug rehabilitation, Jones said.

"Teaching students to work smarter means the needs of the courts and of the offenders will both be met in a timely fashion," he said.

The one thing Jones and Kenkel collectively groan about is the thought that students might leave this program hoping to land the much media-hyped and very sought-after criminal profiling jobs.

"Those are the best jobs in the field, ones that usually require years of service and, in many cases, advanced degrees," Jones said.

Instead, they hope that students who graduate from the program will have more realistic expectations.

"In many law enforcement agencies, advocates are being hired to work with officers to help identify and acquire services that address victim's needs. . . " Jones said.

Working together, they can make sure that critical services designed to aid victims in times of distress, such as domestic violence counseling or medical attention, are assigned in a timely manner.

To get that experience, students in this program will intern with local agencies and work with Jones and local law enforcement agencies to develop a Crime Analysis Database that county agencies can tap to track crimes as they occur.

Walter Johnson, a victim's advocate with the Florida Highway Patrol's Orlando headquarters, said he'd welcome students with such direct training. A first responder, he is one of four advocates utilized by the agency statewide to work with the families of crime victims.

Johnson, who came to the profession after 26 years as a college counselor, said there is a great need for students with understanding of the psychological aspects of crime. His office handled 389 deaths last year. Mostly, he is responsible for alerting the family of victims who've been killed in the commission of a crime and then working with them to ensure their needs are met, be they emotional, financial or otherwise.

"Oh God yes, I'd love to get an intern from this program to come work with us. This is a field that's been quite eye opening to me, so many people are not aware that we even do this," he said.

Jones is confident that students from this program could transition immediately into advocacy positions, like the one Johnson holds. Combining competency-based training with classroom instruction will help prepare students for real life work, he said. Competency-based training is becoming widely accepted in higher education as a way to teach students using real life casework instead of relying solely on theory-based instruction.

"They don't forget what's real," Jones said, "those (are the lessons that) really stay with them."