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Innovative police safety app debuts at White House conference

Bryan Vila
Bryan Vila

A computer application to help reduce fatigue and improve police officer safety will be presented at a White House innovation conference Tuesday, Jan. 14, by Bryan Vila, professor of criminal justice and criminology, WSU Spokane.

Ten teams from White House “DataJam” safety innovation competitions nationwide were invited to present their projects at the White House Safety Datapalooza in Washington D.C. Vila and his team developed the BeSharp app to monitor objective assessments of police officers’ fatigue rather than depending on self-assessments, since performance can be seriously impaired by the time officers actually feel drowsy.

Read more about BeSharp

Criminologist shares good lessons from bad times

Aug. 27 Common Reading Tuesday

Bryan Vila
Bryan Vila

Scores of missteps as a soldier and cop in hazardous places have prepared Bryan Vila, professor of criminal justice and criminology, to make a career of studying deadly errors in his criminology lab at WSU Spokane.

His free, public presentation, “Mistaken Adventures around the Globe,” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27, in Smith CUE 203 will kick off the WSU Pullman Common Reading Program’s guest expert series for the 2013-14 academic year.

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Debate project takes WSU students inside Coyote Ridge Corrections Center

Prison debate
Prison debate

Of the 26 college students who teamed up this semester to participate in Wednesday’s debate over the issue of gun control at the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center, only half boarded the bus at the end of the day to make the long drive back to Washington State University in Pullman. The remaining 13, enrolled on-site in programs offered through Walla Walla Community College, instead rejoined the inmate population of the all-male correctional facility.

For the undergraduates from WSU – juniors and seniors working on majors within the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology – the trek to Coyote Ridge was the fourth and final one of the semester. And while second amendment rights may have served as the focus for their debate, most of the Criminal Justice students were drawn to the experience primarily for the opportunity to develop something more than an abstract notion about the realities of working within the corrections system.

Read more about the project at WSU News >>

WSU to offer online master’s degree in criminal justice

By Richard H. Miller, WSU Global Campus

Washington State University will launch an online master of arts in criminal justice in fall 2013, said David Brody, chair of WSU’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology.

Brody said the program emphasizes theoretically based applied research, which will benefit both working professionals and recent graduates looking to enter the field or pursue a Ph.D.

“The degree provides skills that help students advance their careers, be intelligent decision-makers, evaluate information, and conduct important research,” he said. “We don’t just teach them how to do something. We teach them theory and its application so they’ll understand why to do something.”  Continue story →

Criminal justice program ranked third in nation

By Richard H. Miller, WSU Global Campus

Washington State University’s online bachelor’s degree in criminal justice has been ranked third in the nation by TheBestSchools.org.

The ranking cites WSU’s long history in criminal justice education as well as the professional experience of the faculty.

The ranking follows several other top national rankings for WSU Online in the last year:

  • Sixth place for supporting the military in the 2012 Guide to Online Schools.
  • Fourth place for the overall degree program from the SuperScholars website.
  • Sixth place from U.S. News & World Report for student services and technology.

WSU Online, part of WSU’s Global Campus, offers eight online undergraduate programs and eight master’s programs, including the new master’s in agriculture with a food science and management specialization.