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Dr. George Day from ETBU brought his recruiting materials when he visited Mark Dickerson's criminal justice class.

A recent visit to correctional facilities in Henderson,Texas by students in Mark Dickerson's Introduction to Criminal Justice class gave students the opportunity to gain real life experience in understanding the operations of the corrections system.

"So much of what we do is theoretical," Dickerson said. "I can talk to them in the classroom from a theoretical perspective and we can discuss prison and prison life. But they need to experience first-hand so they don't just have theoretical teaching; they have practical as well."

The group visited two correctional facilities. The first was the Bradshaw prison where state jail felons and transfer prisoners serve their time.

"I figured that there would be heavier duty walls around everything," criminal justice student Mark Brown Jr. said.

The second facility toured was the East Texas Treatment Facility, a prison that provides court-ordered treatment for alcohol and drug abusers.

"People have preconceived ideas about prisons," Dickerson said. "Some have conceived ideas on how soft we are on corrections and how prisoners have it made. There are a lot of things that are not accurate."

To many students' surprise, the jails also provide educational support for inmates. With technical classes in the wood working, electrical, and masonry fields, these jails work toward reintegrating inmates into the social world.

"They are teaching people skills so that when they get out, they have a better opportunity to get a job," Dickerson said.

These jail visits go along with Dickerson's hollistic approach to exposing students to the three branches of the Criminal Justice System: Law Enforcement , Courts, and Corrections.

"A lot of people perceive criminal justice as just being law enforcement," Dickerson said. "There are all kinds of counseling issues in a prison system. If you wanted to be a Child Protective Services case worker for the state, half of your job is therapeutic in that you counsel families to try and resolve issues."

Many students' beliefs on the law are challenged and sometimes shattered while taking the introductory course.

"Miranda is one of the biggest ones," Dickerson said. "Everybody thinks that they know what Miranda is. They know the wording, but they don't know how it's applied or when it's applied."

According to the United States Department of Labor, the criminal justice field is rapidly growing due to population growth, making degrees in Criminal Justice more sought after.

"I want to pursue a career in investigations and get my degree in criminal justice," student Haley Griffin said.

Career paths being pursued in Dickerson's class are serving as a United States Marshal, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agent, and as a police officer.

Whether taking classes in criminal justice for a major, or taking them as electives, Dickerson feels that educating individuals about the justice sytem is vital.

"From a social aspect as an individual, you are going to deal with one form of the law or another your entire life on multiple levels," Dickerson said. "You can walk away at the end of the semester with a lot of information and a lot of knowledge that you did not have before that will help you no matter what aspect of life you go in to."

Dickerson, who retired from a law enforcement career before coming to Panola College, also invited Dr. George Day from East Texas Baptist University to speak to his classes in October.

ETBU has built a new forensic lab and will offer a bachelor's degree in criminal justice forensic science in 2012. Day is an assistant professor in the ETBU Criminal Justice Department.

Photos from these activities are available online in the Criminal Justice Photo Gallery.