It has been a year and a half since Middlesex Community College updated its Criminal Justice program to align more with social justice issues. Now the Criminal and Social Justice program, Middlesex is working to diversify the population of candidates seeking positions in the various fields, as well as addressing pressing issues going on nationwide, according to Heloisa DaCunha, MCC’s Department Chair of Criminal and Social Justice.
“These changes to the program are in order to respond to the culture of law enforcement,” DaCunha said. “We hope to improve the community-police relationship by addressing communication barriers within our courses to better prepare students who will pursue a career in law enforcement. There needs to be better training on interpersonal communication and de-escalation skills, training people to become better listeners, communicate better with the public, and humanize the individuals they are serving.”
The de-escalation of a situation starts with individuals who work in public service, according to DaCunha. In MCC’s curriculum, the department ensures that every student is required to take the Interpersonal Communications class and offers the option to take Crisis Communications.
By exposing Criminal and Social Justice students to issues going on across the country, the college hopes to equip them with the skills and tools to better handle stressful situations. In addition to Service-Learning projects that take them out into the community, each class offers a signature assignment that requires students to think critically and question the status quo.
“What we see happening in all of these situations of police brutality is mob mentality,” DaCunha said. “No one stops to question these actions. In every single one of our classes, we want to provide the opportunity for students to question us, the textbook, practices and case studies so they can be exposed to the habit of critical thinking and to think for themselves.”
In MCC Professor Ronald Brevard’s Intro to Criminal Justice class, he assigns a research project for students to define bias, discrimination, prejudice and ethics. Students then have the chance to discuss the impact of these concepts on the Criminal Justice system and on society.
“We hope to improve the community-police relationship by addressing communication barriers within our courses to better prepare students who will pursue a career in law enforcement. There needs to be better training on interpersonal communication and de-escalation skills, training people to become better listeners, communicate better with the public, and humanize the individuals they are serving.” - Heloisa DaCunha, MCC's Department Chair of Criminal and Social Justice
For her Society and Victims of Crime course, MCC Professor Lynda Pintrich has students engage on a discussion board about how the U.S. Criminal Justice system impacts victims positively and negatively. Students look from a number of perspectives, including police, courts and corrections.
MCC Professor Kenneth Lavallee invites individuals who have been most impacted by social justice issues into the classroom to talk with students. This includes representatives from UTEC, a Lowell-based at-risk youth organization, who can speak to criminal and social justice issues regarding young people in Lowell.
“As a department, we see where the gaps and the flaws are in the Criminal Justice system and we want to be able to close that disparity,” DaCunha said. “Looking at cases and data, doing research, and going out into the community helps students better understand the responsibility of this field. We can make a difference by having an emphasis on social justice in our curriculum.”