Bryan Collier (’86) began his career at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) manning the switchboard while a student at Sam Houston State University. Now 28 years later, he is second in command at the state agency that oversees the largest adult prison, parole and probation system in the country.
The Impaired Driving Initiatives at Sam Houston State University is expanding its efforts to get drunk and drugged drivers off the road by developing a new program to assist Texas probation and parole officers to recognize the signs and systems of various kinds of drug impairment among their clients and families.
The program will be added to a growing cadre of agencies and individuals enlisted to reduce the number of traffic crashes and fatalities on Texas roadways. Funded through grants from the Texas Department of Transportation, the Initiatives have ongoing efforts to train law enforcement officers, school personnel, and employers to recognize the signs of drunk and drugged drivers.
“Eight out of ten convicted offenders reside in our communities – living in our neighborhoods, working in our communities and driving to and from their place of work and recreational activities,” said Cecelia Marquart, Director of the Impaired Driving Initiatives.
“The primary goal of this proposal is to educate community supervision and parole officers on traffic safety, specifically the potential for impaired driving among their respective clientele to enhance roadway safety. They can detect not only the impairment of the probationer or parolee, but possibly the individual who brought them to their visit or individuals encountered during home visits. The end result would promote safer Texas highways. ” . . . Read more . . .
Offenders from a Texas DWI court were more likely to succeed in the program if they were employed and followed curriculum developed and delivered by local criminal justice and treatment professionals, a study at Sam Houston State University found.
Dr. Leana BouffardTwo faculty members at Sam Houston State University and an alumna were named among the 20 most prolific female scholars in Criminal Justice and Criminology in an article published in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education.
The Correctional Management Institute of Texas is expanding its research capacity with the additions of its first research associate and a cadre of faculty and graduate students that specialize in the field.
The Polish delegation met with CMIT staff.The Correctional Management Institute of Texas (CMIT) co-hosted a biennial visit by a delegation from the Polish Central Board of Prison Services to learn about state and local correctional facilities in Texas.
Emil Garza, the head of the Security Threat Group Management Office at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, will discuss gangs in Texas state prisons as part of a special presentation on Oct. 8 at 6 p.m. in the CJ Courtroom.
Interns Iveth Salinas (l) and Jocelyn Garmendez (r) pose with their supervisor at Harris County Juvenile Probation.As interns, Iveth Salinas and Jocelyn Garmendez learned the ropes of being a juvenile probation officer in Harris County this summer and were given the chance to climb even higher by suggesting improvements to programs to executive staff of the agency.
A delegation from Papua New Guinea turned to Sam Houston State University for lessons on the U.S. criminal justice system.The College of Criminal Justice recently hosted a delegation from Papua New Guinea on a mission to learn more about the American criminal justice system.
Seven top officials from the southwest Pacific Rim country, including representatives from the Prime Minister’s Department, the Attorney General’s Office, police, and corrections, visited the Criminal Justice Center and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice from July 28 – Aug. 1. Representatives got lessons in law enforcement, correctional and court systems in the United State. . . . Read more . . .
Eighteen Sam Houston State University, Texas Department of Criminal Justice and Huntsville Memorial Hospital employees will spend the next nine months developing their leadership potential as the first cohort of SHSU’s High Potential Employee Leadership Academy.
The cohort was welcomed into the academy by their respective leaders and academy facilitator David Yebra during the group’s orientation on Aug. 9. The first full meeting for the monthly development sessions will be Sept. 19.
This year’s participants include, from SHSU, Maria Busby, Lee Miller, Angie Taylor, Charlie Vienne, Jacqui Wukich and Ryan Zapalac; from HMH Calli Dretke, Andrea Harris, Sheila Hogue-Ard, Jason Loftin, Amanda Wheeler and Raul Velez; and from TDCJ, Charlotte Anderson, Christopher Carter, Leonard Echessa, Jennifer Gonzales, Eric Guerrero and Bobby Lumpkin.
Participants were hand-selected by their employers for their potential as future leaders within their fields. . . . Read more . . .
Capt. Nathan Ward, Office of Inspector General.Capt. Nathan Ward (’09) is one of 140 certified peace officers at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice serving as investigators for crime and corruption cases within the statewide system that houses 150,000 offenders, oversees 90,000 parolees and employees 37,000 workers.
County correctional leaders participated in an annual leadership training at CMIT.Every year, county correctional managers from probation, courts, prisons, jails and community-based facilities gather at the Mayan Dude Ranch in Bandera to build leadership skills to address common issues they face in the criminal justice system.
Texas has the second largest sex offender registry in the country, but relatively few people are accessing it or using it to develop protective actions against future sex crimes, a study by the Crime Victims’ Institute at Sam Houston State University found.
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Texas State Trooper Erik Burse.
After 17 years with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Major Erik Burse was assigned to give a tour of the Coffield Unit to members of the Department of Public Safety. As he turned the corner to greet his guests, he was awestruck by the 20 to 30 polished troopers that stood before him.
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Capt. Timothy Fitzpatrick of the Polunsky Unit and Assistant Director Jennifer Robinson of the Huntsville Placement and Release Unit would like to grow their careers at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to help their employees as well as the offenders under their supervision.
A drill helped law enforcement prepare for an active shooter on campus.In the quiet days between semesters at Sam Houston State University, the third floor of Smith-Hutson Hall erupted with shouts and the sounds of gunfire.
But this was not the latest in a series of mass attacks plaguing college or school campuses across the country. It was an Active Shooter Training exercise by law enforcement agencies in Walker County to help prepare officers to respond to a disaster. The mock scenarios, which included simunitions and blank guns, were tested in college setting in classrooms and a residence hall.
Alumnus Valdie Masco (center) counsels offenders at the federal Bureau of Prisons in Bryan as well as students on jobs available in the agency.Valdie Masco (BS ’94) helps prepare female offenders from the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan for their release back into the community.
Shenequa Cachimbo got practice at being a prosecutor by helping to prepare indictments against inmates and correctional officers for criminal offenses that occurred in Texas prisons.
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Bandera County Sheriff Daniel R. "Dan" Butts was recently featured in The Bandera County Courier for his participation in the Jail Management Course at the Correctional the Correctional Management Institute of Texas, a division of Sam Houston State University. Read his story here.
Sam Houston State University will evaluate the effectiveness of specialty courts in Nueces County, which were launched over the last two years to increase accountability and better coordinate treatment for specialized offenders, such as veterans and people with mental illness.
Newly elected Sheriffs throughout Texas were given a primer on how to effectively and efficiently operate county jails by the Correctional Management Institute of Texas (CMIT).
In Nueces County, almost half of the probation officers are assigned to specialized caseloads, including domestic violence, veterans, reentry, mental health, drug diversion, and drunken driving.
April 12, 2013
9:30 - 11:00 A.M.
Hazel B. Kerper Courtroom
Dr. Joanne Belknap, a Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is the author of The Invisible Woman: Gender, Crime, and Justice , will present "The Trauma, Mental Health, and Offending Histories of Women in Jail: Results of a Multi-Site U.S. Study."
Dr. Joanne BelknapDr. Belknap’s research focuses on female offenders and violence against women and girls. Her latest study, a national sample of women in jail, was funded by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance to examine women’s pathways to jail, with a focus on how these women’s trauma, serious mental illness, alcohol, and drug use, and offending intersect. The study found high rates of mental health problems, with a majority of the participants meeting diagnostic criteria for serious mental illness (SMI), lifetime post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and/or substance use disorder (SUD).
Gangs are not using the Internet to recruit new members or commit complex cybercrimes, according to a new study funded by Google Ideas.
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Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:30 p.m. Hazel B. Kerper Courtroom
Dr. Fahui Wang, Fred B. Kniffen Professor in the Department of Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University, will present “Why Police and Policing Need GIS?: An Overview.” . . .Read more. . .
The Criminal Justice Symposium 2013 and Career Fair will be held on March 27, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at SHSU-University Park, located at SH 249 and Louetta Road in Houston 77070.
Presentations will be given by the FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office, Secret Service, Harris County Probation Office and many other federal, state and local agencies. These agencies and many more will have representatives available to speak with students about career opportunities....Read more...
Wed, Mar 6, 2013
10 am - 2 pm
Lowman Student Center, Ballroom
Federal, state and local correctional agencies will participate in the 2013 Criminal Justice Career Fair for students and alumni of Sam Houston State University on March 6 in the Lowman Student Center.
Students will have the opportunity to meet employers from dozens of law enforcement, corrections, victim services and forensic science labs to learn about internship and job opportunities.
“As a whole, we have seen an uptick in the number of employers registering for our Career Fairs,” said Mitch Parker, a Career Services Marketing and Events Coordinator. “This year, Texas has a $9 billion surplus, which is trickling down to many state agencies.” . . . Read more . . .
To help victim service providers advance their careers, Sam Houston State University’s College of Criminal Justice will offer a new, online Master of Science degree in Victim Services Management beginning in Fall 2013.
Designed for working professionals or those who want to assist victims of crime, the Master of Science in Victim Services Management is a 36-hour program delivered entirely online. The program, which can be completed in two years, includes 24 hours of required courses, such as victimology and research methods, as well as applied courses, like crime victim services management. Students also select from 12 hours of elective courses on topics relevant to the study of victim services.
“With new opportunities growing in the field of victim services, this degree will help professionals in the field to be able to better manage agencies and understand the trends and challenges facing their clients and programs, “ said Dr. Leana Bouffard, Director of Victim Studies and the Crime Victims’ Institute at the College of Criminal Justice.
. . . Read more. . .
The Correctional Management Institute of Texas (CMIT) is teaming up with the Texas Jail Association to deliver advanced certification classes to detention officers who want to progress in their careers at sites across the state.
More than 63,000 offenders in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice participated in educational programs offered by the Windham School District during the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which have been found to decrease recidivism rates, increase employment opportunities, and result in higher wages and higher levels of educational achievement among participants, a study at Sam Houston State University found.
Faculty from the College of Criminal Justice and Correctional Management Institute of Texas at SHSU evaluated the effectiveness of education and vocational programs offered by the school district on offender outcomes. Some of the programs included were the Adult Basic Education Program, which includes literacy training and GED preparation; the Post Secondary Education Program, which provides continuing education in vocational and academic settings; Career and Technical Education, which integrates career path planning and technology training to prepare offenders for the workforce; and the Cognitive Intervention Program, which addresses thinking patterns and is designed to improve behavior.. . .Read more
Correctional officials from across the country gathered at the Correctional Management Institute of Texas at Sam Houston State University to learn incident command and emergency preparedness skills to deal with crises ranging from daily issues to large scale disasters in their institutions.
Thu Feb 7, 2013 2:00 pm - 3:00pm Hazel B. Kerper Courtroom
Lupe Washington, Administrator for Public Affairs at the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, will discuss working with youth in the criminal justice system and jobs available in juvenile probation.
Fri, Feb 8, 2013 9:30 - 11:00 A.M. Hazel B. Kerper Courtroom
Dr. Marcus Felson, a professor at Texas State University, developed the routine activities theory, which said that crime is relatively unaffected by social cause. He will discuss "How to Be a Crime Analyst." . . . Read more . . .
