Criminal Investigation: A Journey eginning at Widener University by Lexis

Criminal Investigation: A Journey eginning at Widener University by Lexis - February 2019 Scholarship Essay

Out of 10,000 total murders, five police officers have gone to prison for the murder of an African American since 2007. In 2015, 30% of Black victims were unarmed, yet the debate about whether these numbers are intentional is still ongoing. In a world where African Americans are three times more likely to be targeted by police, there should be little difficulty in understanding where the disconnect lies. Narrowing down the entire African American race, I began noticing another detachment. For years, there has been a negative stigma against police that has been detrimental to the relationship between police and society, with an excessive concentration on minority teens. Discovering my own learner agency, I found myself using free time to answer questions I had about community policing as I slowly began to see the connection between the two groups. If you are relentlessly exposed to an environment where media portrays any type of law enforcement as a constant threat, that is all they will become to you. Not only was I curious as to where these issues were stemming from, I wanted to gradually attempt to resolve them. To do so, I formed a group of police officers and teens, with which we had in depth discussions on the impact of media on this already tainted relationship, touching on topics such as poverty, crime in neighborhoods, city and family life, and the lack of repercussions police officers receive.

As an aspiring criminal investigator, this conversation was frightening yet enlightening. The group was able to come to the consensus that media is a key perpetrator in the harsh reality of this relationship, while also making an unfortunate analysis of the fact that society is so hooked on technology that this may not be as easy a fix as it sounds. I believe that social justice and law enforcement are inevitably embedded in one another and that one cannot truly be understood or studied without the other being taken into account. Thus, a school with a heavy focus on the social approach to crime would bestow a host of benefits unto me. At Widener University, my major of choice would be Criminal Justice, which would help me delve deeper into my understanding of criminal justice and its connection to social justice. Considering my prior experience with both topics in a project solely generated by me, the opportunity to expand my knowledge with such a concentration would allow me the chance to reach a more substantial audience, whether I am orchestrating a classroom-wide or campus-wide initiative similar to the one I have previously conducted. Thus, I will allow myself the opportunity to become well rounded in multiple point of views that are crucial to understanding why and how crimes happen, a necessary skill to me as a criminal investigator.