Cutting-edge equipment at Ivy Tech South Bend addresses policing issues

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Calls for change in police training have grown louder in recent years. The demand for reform, fueled by unrest that stemmed from officer-involved deaths, such as the killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville and Eric Logan here in South Bend. The criminal justice and legal studies program is using technology to address the issues the system faces.

The criminal justice and legal studies program chair, Andrew Criswell said that the program has a lot of state-of-the-art technology to better support the students when they enter the field. The program is home to one of the best forensic cameras that exceeds FBI standards, as well as a FBI finger printing kit for forensics.

The school is also the first in the country to receive VR equipment that helps students handle difficult situations. People can play out different roles in scenarios, like handling mental health issues. And students can participate in a situation from the perspective of not only an officer—but also from the perpetrator’s point-of-view—fostering empathy.

Criswell hopes that his students are able to take these lessons no matter where they go.

“We try to prepare our students for that next level step by showing them not just who they may work with in the local area, but what they may work with if they go to a big city department. We want to not only meet their expectations we want to exceed their expectations,” said Criswell.