It wasn’t a grand event, but it was an enlightening one.
Police training expert, Dr. Nicholas P. Lovrich Jr, who has worked with Washington State University for more than 30 years and has been involved in various programs of Political Science, Criminal Justice, and was formerly the Director of the Division of Governmental Studies and Services came to give a lecture in Bradley University of Police educations, it’s history and evolution and to answer questions of current events. Joining him too was Dr. Craig Curtis and Chief of Police at Bradley University Brian Joschko.
While the event had a short delay due to technical issues, it quickly began with a lecture on the history of the police.
Dr. Lovrich Jr emphasized how the police in the United States is shaped by the history of the nation. “To have a police force in a democratic nation that is ruled by the laws of the constitution, the police force must also be based on that constitution.”
Democracy, freedom and the rights of a free man.
“We can’t force someone to do something unless they’ve done something illegal or something that has warranted great suspicion. If the police see you hiding something while walking in the street, we can’t make you show it, we can ask you to, but because of our democracy and constitution we can’t force it. In that same regard, if we were to find evidence in any unethical manners, such as illegally entering someone’s household, we’d have to throw that evidence right out the window.”
Dr. Lovrich Jr. commented on the evolution of the police worldwide. “As time has progressed our standard for police officer has slowly been rising. Not only that but we’ve become more open for people from lower classes, minorities and other genders to also join the force, not only that but as globalization continues, we send students to other countries to learn of their police culture, likewise we have students from other countries interacting with us. This way our police force becomes more inclusive than ever, which helps in such a multicultural and diverse country like the US.”
There was also much commentary from the guest on how technology has shown how brutal, difficult and violence it is being a policeman. “Back in the day cameras were rare, today, everyone and their kids has a phone that can supply a video with a decent resolution. This has brought the perception that police officers are more than dangerous and ever, but the truth is that policing has always been a fairly dangerous and violent job.”
With the end of the presentation, Dr. Lovrich, Dr. Craig Crutis, and Chief Brian Joschko took answers.
Chief Brian Joschko was asked how the plan to promote safety and security in a college setting was compared to the average neighborhood. “It’s different in every sense of the way yet they have similar ideas. First of all, we want the university, and neighborhoods, to promote programs and activities that form a positive relationship with the people between the communities. Communities that know each other are less likely to do crimes.” He said. On the differences, Chief Joschko commented on the age of the average college student which is an age where many people begin to drink alcohol and are new to it, which causes complications he said.
Dr. Craig Curtis and Dr. Lovrich were both asked on the thoughts on the current status of the Department of Justice under the current administration of President Donald Trump. “We’re a very divided nation right now, the Department of Justice is very weak with key vacancies right now since the federal government is so disorganized. The upcoming midterms this year will be very important, and everyone has a stake on them.” Said Dr Lovrich.
Dr. Curtis also added to the conversation. “The DOJ (Department of Justice) is in a real tough spot right now with the Trump administration. The federal level is very conflicted right now with the Democrats and Republicans, and while the Department of Justice vacancies are important, they don’t hold enough public prestige for Trump or the Democrats to fight over them.”
As the two hours passed and the questions from the public whittled down the Q and A ended. Dr. Curtis bid the public farewell and the attendants began to leave the room.
