Radford University criminal justice students at the Virginia State Police Division 6 headquarters in Salem.
In early April, a group of criminal justice students made a short drive along Interstate 81 to the Virginia State Police Division 6 headquarters in Salem, Virginia, to get an inside look at the multi-faceted agency and learn about potential job opportunities.
Radford Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Stacey Clifton organized the event for the 26 criminal justice students. They engaged with several law enforcement experts, learning about K-9 units, polygraph, dispatch, search and rescue, drug enforcement and drug diversion, criminal investigations, motor squad, communications/radio tech and bomb and arson squads. The students also learned about LEICA, a 3D laser scanner that provides agencies with an avenue to create digital scene mapping and documentation for public safety and forensics; ANDE, a rapid DNA testing instrument that allows agencies to receive DNA results in less than two hours; and the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which automates ballistics evaluations.
“My goal in organizing this event was to provide students with an opportunity to engage with a criminal justice agency outside of the classroom environment,” Clifton said. “We can spend an abundance of time in the classroom discussing various aspects of the criminal justice system, but engaging students with practitioners in the field broadens student perspectives and provides networking opportunities.”
Tyler Russell, a rising sophomore criminal justice major, said he would recommend future trips to anyone interested in law enforcement. “I was excited to learn how much of a variety the state police department had to offer, from K-9 to scuba diving in the field to 3D mapping and ballistics behind a desk,” said Russell, an aspiring game warden from Ellicott City, Maryland. “It was very clear that there’s a wide variety of specializations to pick from or grow into as you gain experience.”
Gaining insight into state police operations “can open up many different opportunities for you and can lead to finding what you truly want to do as a career,” explained Brooke Hall, a rising senior criminal justice major from Roanoke, Virginia. “It also opens up many different opportunities within the state police that I found super interesting, such as polygraphing or working for the Virginia Fusion Center. The trip was applicable to what I want to do with my career because beginning as a state trooper could lead me to begin my career as a crime analyst.”
Chad Osborne for Radford University
