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Taking the road less traveled

Chris Mann.
Mann

It was a busy road that drove Chris Mann to Pullman in 2018.

He had the option of attending the University of Washington or Washington State University. However, seeing the Seattle traffic during a visit to UW’s campus settled the matter.

“I hate traffic,” Mann said. “I toured the campus and couldn’t find a parking spot, so I pulled my application and called WSU to confirm.”

He graduates today with a double major in criminal justice and psychology.

After talking with other veterans and hearing about some of the challenges they face, Mann and others began meeting with the WSU administration. They set up a symposium to discuss issues faced by veterans and their families. That led to a realization that more resources were needed just to certify the paperwork required to receive VA benefits. Steps are also being taken to address health care access, so vets don’t have to go to Spokane or Walla Walla for treatment.

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The Lewiston Tribune

The “F” word in public safety

Here is the bottom line. If you are not getting sufficient sleep, you are suffering from fatigue. While this is not my area of expertise, I know people who know this stuff inside and out. Fatigue impacts decision-making. Fatigue impacts critical-thinking skills. Fatigue impacts judgment. Fatigue impacts coordination and balance. Fatigue impacts your length of life!

Bryan Vila.
Vila

The guru on fatigue in public safety is Dr. Bryan Vila, former professor of criminal justice and criminology at Washington State University. I met this fellow way back in the 70s when he was Deputy Sheriff Bryan Vila with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office. We were both going to school in our “spare” time; he was studying something called evolutionary ecology. Bryan ended up with his PhD and ultimately started a program at WSU Spokane to study sleep deprivation issues in police work.

About a decade ago, Dr. Vila wrote a book about “tired cops” – he called it Tired Cops – and for me that was a wakeup call (no pun intended) on this issue. I bought a lot of copies and gave them to people who had control in their agencies and could do something about it.

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EMS1

WSU Police partner with student legal group on arrest data

The Student Legal Research Association will help evaluate arrest data from WSU’s police department as part of measures to address racial disparity in arrests on the Pullman campus. The campus police are also taking collaborating with university researchers to address implicit bias.

These actions are part of an effort to address disproportionate arrests of Black people by campus police, a problem identified by a Daily Evergreen article in fall 2019 and a following report by WSU Office of Compliance and Civil Rights (CCR) in May 2020. The term “arrest” in police data includes non-custody interactions such as issuing traffic citations.

David Makin.
Makin

The CBTSim program is just one that the WSU campus force will undertake, Gardner said.  The department is working on another project with WSU criminal justice professor David Makin and the Complex Social Interactions Lab where officers will review body camera footage in very specific ways to try to understand the effect their actions have.

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WSU Insider

Criminologist Faith Lutze internationally honored for her work

Faith Lutze.
Lutze

The international Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) has selected Faith Lutze, a Washington State University professor and expert in criminal justice, to receive the group’s prestigious Founder’s Award in recognition of “a career of providing substantial contributions to the Academy and to the discipline of criminal justice through education and research.”

“It is such an honor to be recognized as an ACJS Founder and to represent such a respected community of justice scholars and educators, Lutze said. “I am proud, grateful and inspired to continue the important work of the Academy.”

Lutze coordinated and helped grow her department’s undergraduate and graduate programs and has mentored numerous doctoral students and junior faculty over the years. She has also developed a number of community engagement activities and served on criminal justice policy boards at the state and federal levels.

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WSU Insider

Clark County law enforcement no longer taking action for simple drug possession

Clark County criminal justice and law enforcement officials are managing the impacts of a recent Washington Supreme Court ruling that found the state’s felony drug possession law to be unconstitutional.

Clayton Mosher.
Mosher

Sociologist Clay Mosher, who analyzes crime trends and teaches criminology at Washington State University Vancouver, noted that the justices’ opinion makes explicit reference to social and racial justice issues, and the collateral consequences of drug convictions.

“The bottom line for me, if this decision sticks … it is going to have a significant impact. The (American Civil Liberties Union) notes that between 2015 and 2019, there were more than 60,000 arrests for ‘low-level drug possession and drug equipment violations’ in the state. That is obviously a significant number of arrests,” Mosher said.

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Yahoo! News