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Last week, 15 WIU Fire Science and public safety students, as well as LEJA faculty members, traveled to the Oswego (IL) Fire Protection District to participate in a fire, policing and emergency services incident command practical skills challenge
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The Oswego skills challenge was hosted by the Fox Valley Career Center, the Indian Valley Vocational Center and Waubonsee Community College students, where more than 200 students from the region worked with WIU students to practice real-life skills in the field.
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WIU LEJA Career Fair
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WIU LEJA Career Fair
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The crime lab houses alternate light source equipment with magnifying lenses and interchangeable barrier filters to examine hair, fibers, semen, dust, prints, blood and palmar oils, as well as other physiological fluids.
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The McCamey lab also houses an optical comparator, which examines tool marks, fingerprints, palm prints, footprints and glass fragments; a forensic workstation; a ductless dry safe and numerous evidence recovery kits, including a liquid silicone casting kit, latent print kit, digital mobile device kit and blood spatter documentation kit.
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WIU School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration Connects with Students and Industry Professionals Nationwide

April 16, 2019

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MACOMB, IL - - The Western Illinois University School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration (LEJA), an internationally known, top criminal justice/public safety program, fosters connections with high school students and industry professionals through multiple outreach efforts nationwide.

Over the past few weeks, the School of LEJA has participated in numerous outreach events with a myriad of constituencies both on and off WIU's Macomb campus. The events have spanned from central Illinois to the Chicago suburbs to California and Texas.

This month, approximately 90 high school students visited campus for an interactive civics and constitutional event focusing on First and Fourth Amendment rights pertaining to teens. Also, more than 50 students from Illini West High School participated in crime scene investigation (CSI) demonstrations organized by LEJA faculty in the new cutting-edge McCamey Crime Lab.

Earlier in March, LEJA faculty and local law enforcement leaders presented on issues involving rural policing to a class of Stanford University students.

Also, WIU is welcoming other collaborators to the Macomb campus to recruit WIU students for internship and employment opportunities, such as the Beloit (WI) Fire Department (April 25-26) to conduct employment testing and recruitment and the U.S. Marshals Service (April 15). The Pekin (IL) Federal Correctional Institution, Peoria Police Department and Any Frain Security (Chicago) recently visited campus to hold similar events.

Last week, 15 WIU Fire Science and public safety students, as well as LEJA faculty members, traveled to the Oswego (IL) Fire Protection District to participate in a fire, policing and emergency services incident command practical skills challenge with more than 200 students from the region, hosted by the Fox Valley Career Center, the Indian Valley Vocational Center and Waubonsee Community College students. Later this month, WIU LEJA students will be taking part in another firefighting practical training competition in Oswego.

Additionally, LEJA faculty and graduate student Chloe Layne (St. Charles, MO) presented a poster session before hundreds of law enforcement professionals at the 2019 Women in Criminal Justice Conference in Normal (IL), which was organized by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board Executive Institute. On April 15, WIU Associate Professor Tom Meloni presented at the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration to the Executive Leadership in Plano, TX and then hosted a luncheon with WIU Director of Alumni Relations Amy Spelman as an introduction and discussion of the LEJA undergraduate and graduate programs to Texas law enforcement agencies and professionals. Today (April 16), Meloni will speak to Plano Public High School and St. John Paul II students about WIU's LEJA programs.

"Outreach activities such as these and others are routinely carried out throughout the year, including our well-attended CSI Summer Youth Camp and volunteer speaking engagements to community groups, youth organizations and professional agencies and academic conferences. Each of these activities aid LEJA and its faculty to establish links, broaden student knowledge, enhance student opportunities and strengthen existing relationships with future students and professionals in the United States and abroad," said LEJA director and professor, Jill Joline Myers.

WIU's LEJA programs are specifically developed in collaboration with law enforcement, corrections, security, legal and fire industry leaders. The curriculum is taught exclusively by professionals who have worked in the specified field. In addition to majors in law enforcement and justice administration and fire protection services, LEJA offers minors in corrections, criminalistics, homeland security, legal studies, security management, fire administration and fire science.

For more information, contact Myers at JJ-Myers@wiu.edu or visit wiu.edu/leja.

Posted By: Alisha Looney (AA-Looney@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing