Criminal Justice Class Gets Some Real-Life Experiences

Wyomissing bank robber identified by CJ class doing field work.

BTI is popular among students in the area who looking for a career because it does a good job of simulating the work environment and providing a hands-on approach. Last week, a group of criminal justice majors at BTI in Wyomissing found out nothing beats the real thing.

Criminal Justice instructor Jack O’Connor had his class outside last Friday (May 8) conducting a mock crime scene investigation, which is a unique aspect of the criminal justice curriculum.

While O’Connor and one of his students were setting up a mock crime scene, which included strategically placing a dummy victim into place on the east lawn of the school, two other students noticed someone walking past them about 20 feet away.

“I was right on the middle off setting up the crime scene for the class to analyze, so I really didn’t see anyone walking by,” said O’Connor, a former law enforcement officer and detective who has been teaching at BTI for over three years.

But fortunately a few students in the class saw the walker because as it turned, someone has just robbed the nearby VIST Financial bank. A few minutes later, the authorities arrived on the BTI campus and asked the CJ students if they saw anyone walking or running through this area.

“My instincts told me that there was something strange about this guy,” said Danielle Proch, a criminal justice major. “ He had a weird smile on his face, and he had his one hand in his pocket. I just didn’t like the looks of it,” she added

In about two minutes, Proch and classmate Lavonda Christmas were able to provide authorities with a solid description, and a few minutes later, police from Wyomissing, West Reading and Spring Township and Berks County deputy sheriffs had the suspect in custody in the parking lot of a nearby office complex.

“It was amazing how much you can remember after seeing someone for such a short amount of time,” said Christmas. “Now that I’m in the criminal justice program I’ve started to look at things differently, noticing details I never would have noticed before,” Christmas added.

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