CTE Criminal Justice Training Workshops

SkillsUSA State Competition this week,
For all the Law Enforcement Departments/ Officers, First Responders, and Community Members who have selflessly volunteered their time and knowledge, who have provided these students opportunities to practice the skills learned inside and outside the classroom, a full round of applause! And Congratulations to all the students on all their great hard work this year! NOW, wish our competing students good luck in this weeks SkillsUSA STATE COMPETITION in SYRACUSE!!! Go OCTEC CSI!

On Saturday, April 13th the students in the Criminal Justice Workshop were given a presentation on street drug recognition by NY State Trooper Matthew Meincke. Trooper Meincke is a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) assigned to the Troop A out of Lockport. Trooper Meincke discussed not only the appearance of common street drugs as well as other items containing chemicals that can be abused, but also taught the students how they can identify what classification of drug a person is under the influence of, by using common signs & symptoms exhibited by individuals under the influence. Trooper Meincke is one of about 300 DREs State Wide, and with the current opioid crisis affecting our community he is commonly requested by other law enforcement agencies for assistance.

We greatly appreciate the NY State Troopers, and Trooper Meincke for assisting in our workshops by sharing their expertise with our criminal justice students!

On March 30th, 2019 the students in the CTE CRJ Workshop were trained on "Stop the Bleed", which was developed in response to increased gun violence and mass casualty events in the country. The White House and the Department of Homeland Security created “Stop the Bleed,” a national campaign to help improve survival from life-threatening bleeding. Participants learned first aid control measures, to include tourniquets to render assistance prior to arrival of Emergency Medical Services.

The guest presenters were Firefighter/Paramedic Adam Fisher and Firefighter/EMT Tommy Rushing from the Medina Fire Department.

Our thanks goes out to the Medina Fire Department for providing this training opportunity for the students!

The students in the CRJ CTE workshop had a lesson on Social Media Awareness this evening, where they learned how law enforcement can use social media platforms to aid in their investigations as well as community outreach. They also learned how inappropriate posts and photos can severely affect college applications and future careers.

Our guest speaker tonight was Officer Art Fisher from U.S. Customs and Border Protection who not only serves as a Union Steward but also as an instructor at the Erie County Law Enforcement Academy. Officer Fisher spoke to the students about actual incidents involving social media that he was involved as a union representative in.

Following the social media awareness presentation, the students were given an exercise in verbal commands. They were to have a subject complete a task using only five commands; the tasks included making a paper airplane, removing and putting a shoe back on, and putting on a button up shirt. This exercise reinforces the need to keep verbal commands short and simple, while allowing the students to practice their officer presence and command voices.

We extend our appreciation to Officer Art Fisher for sharing his experience with us!!

2018-19 CRJ Workshops
The students in the CRJ workshop learned about Article 35 of the New York State Penal Law which explains justifiable use of force by Law Enforcement and others, as well as a review of the Use of Force Continuum utilized by Law Enforcement Agencies.

The students were shown the "Use of Force Triangle", which combines Opportunity, Action, and Ability by a subject in making a use of force decision.

Following the lecture, the Students participated in judgemental use of force scenarios where they had to react lawfully and reasonably, all while effectively communicating with their partners.

Hands on exercises such as these allow the students to apply what they have learned in a practical application, and helps them develop into professionals.

Kudos to all tonight for a job well done!

The students in the CRJ workshop learned about Article 35 of the New York State Penal Law which explains justifiable use of force by Law Enforcement and others, as well as a review of the Use of Force Continuum utilized by Law Enforcement Agencies.

The students were shown the "Use of Force Triangle", which combines Opportunity, Action, and Ability by a subject in making a use of force decision.

Following the lecture, the Students participated in judgemental use of force scenarios where they had to react lawfully and reasonably, all while effectively communicating with their partners.

Hands on exercises such as these allow the students to apply what they have learned in a practical application, and helps them develop into professionals.

Kudos to all tonight for a job well done!

On Saturday, March 9th the Students who attended the CRJ Workshop learned about the Sandy Hook Promise which is a national, nonprofit organization based in Newtown, Connecticut that was formed after the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012 that claimed the lives of 20 first-graders and 6 educators. One of the primary missions of SHP is to train students and adults to know the signs of gun violence in order to prevent another tragedies such as the shootings in Littleton, CO, Newtown, CT, and Parkland, FL.

The practical portion of the workshop included interviewing a parent of a child who had not come home. While being interviewed and giving a description of the child, the parent made statements regarding the child’s behavior or background that are similar to those of perpetrators of school violence to date. The statements included a dysfunctional family structure, social isolation, being a victim of long term bullying, obsession with weapons, minor acts of violence in order to build up their “muscle”, and having access to fi****ms.

Once the interview was complete, the Students were sent to a “School Yard” where a group of volunteer role players were acting as high school students. The officer had to identify one role player based on the description given by the parent during the interview portion. While talking to the role player, the officer discovered that there was a firearm and detailed plans for an act of violence located in the role player’s backpack.

Following the scenario, Officer Pat Williams of the Town of Niagara Police Department spoke to the students regarding Operation Safe Schools and the importance of not only recognizing the signs, but notifying someone as well.

At the conclusion of the workshop, the students had a better understanding of the importance of situational awareness and are more knowledgeable on recognizing the signs of potential gun violence and reporting it accordingly.

Once again we are thankful to our training partners in the community for helping us put on this extremely important workshop, and our appreciation goes out to the volunteer role players who assisted in making it a success!

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Congratulations to the OCTEC Crime Scene Investigation team for their 3rd place finish at the SkillsUSA Regional Competition held at Alfred State College yesterday. Next stop, Syracuse!!!!!

We are grateful to our community training partners in the Lockport Police Department for being a guest instructor this evening.

In today's workshop, students learned about DWI investigation and how to conduct standardized field sobriety tests in order to build probable cause for a DWI arrest.

After a lecture and demonstration using sober individuals to observe baseline reactions, the students then had the opportunity to practice FSTs on role players. Adult volunteer roleplayers were intoxicated in a safely controlled environment so that the students could observe the realistic effects of Alcohol on an individual's motor coordination and reaction time.