Professor Brian Wolf takes sociology/criminology students abroad to compare U.S. 和英国的司法系统

Surrounded by the scenery only London can boast, 13 sociology-criminology majors spent spring break of 2015 learning about the British system of justice.

苏珊娜Ruiz-Gallegos, 来自博伊西的大四学生, said she decided to join the venture to gain knowledge about 英格兰’s criminal justice system.

“I am planning on entering an international law program in the fall and believe this opportunity would help expand my knowledge of justice systems,”她说。.

“I expected to learn and contrast the criminal justice systems of 英格兰 and the United States,”她说。. “英格兰 has more rehabilitative concerns for their incarcerated individuals while the U.S. 侧重于威慑和惩罚.”

这是鲁伊斯-加莱戈斯旅途中最精彩的部分, a major in sociology with an emphasis in criminology, 正在访问一个验尸法庭(美国.S. doesn’t have) and learning, in detail, what the coroner's responsibilities are. The coroner oversees all deaths in its jurisdiction and in some cases, must go to court to determine if a death was foul play.

“This trip was an amazing opportunity,” Ruiz-Gallegos said. “Not only was I able to study abroad and travel to London, 英格兰, I was given the opportunity to visit several attractions and learn more about the criminal justice system.”

The trip served two goals for BreeAnna Fratusco, a sociology major with an emphasis in criminology.

“I wanted to travel and learn but I didn't want to be abroad for a whole semester. 所以春假旅行是完美的，”她说. “我喜欢研究犯罪学, and the opportunity to study another country's criminal justice system was an absolutely amazing opportunity.

“I knew that traveling and studying over there with professor Brian Wolf would be awesome,来自博伊西的高年级学生说.

“The people we met talked to us and gave us insights on their day-to-day life,弗拉图斯科说. “They were helpful and full of information that they were willing to share with us.

One hands-on experience was a highpoint for Fratusco.

“The highlight of my trip was going to the Murder Command Unit because it was very hands-on,”她说。.

The group was taken from point A to point Z in an old (closed) case so the students had an understanding of the case.

“They took time to teach us what they do every day,弗拉图斯科说. “这真的让我大开眼界.

“I loved this experience,” the May graduate said. “Ending my college career with such life-changing events was amazing.

“Life here and life there are so different, especially when it comes to the criminal justice system. The fact that I got a first-hand experience in learning and grasping that information was phenomenal,弗拉图斯科说.

“I organized the trip so that students gain a comparative insight into systems of justice and cross-cultural comparisons, 布莱恩·沃尔夫说, 社会学副教授.

很多美国人.S. criminal justice system borrowed ideas from the British, but there are important contrasts, 他说. 陪审团的使用, imperatives of due process and concepts of civil liberties are borrowed from English traditions. Yet there are important differences in how crime is handled.

例如, there is very little gun violence in Britain and the justice system is generally less harsh on those who do offend, 狼说. Britain does not utilize mass incarceration for nonviolent offenses the way Americans do.

“监狱里的人通常都很坏, 激进的穆斯林, 爱尔兰共和军类型, 主要毒枭, but the overall attitude is on rehabilitation instead of punishment, 他说. However, we did visit a detention center that might seem old and understaffed by some U.S. 标准.

“总的来说, I think students gained an important cross-cultural perspective that makes their knowledge of crime and justice distinct,他说. “他们在伦敦也玩得很开心.”

The program also included 16 Washington State University criminal justice majors.

Article by Sue Hinz, 文学、艺术和社会科学学院