Alumnus Rounds Out Police Career in Webster

Alumnus James “Rusty” Lovel (MS ’12) is getting well-rounded experience in various positions at the Webster Police Department, hoping one day to use all his skills to become a police chief.

Professor Investigates Parent-Child Visitation in Prison

It’s not “cupcakes and lollipops” for most children who visit a parent in prison, with two-thirds reported to have negative experiences including fear, anger, anxiety, and related reactions, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Justice by Dr. Melinda Tasca of Sam Houston State University.

CJ College Produces Third Journal on School Violence

A third journal – this one on school violence -- will be co-produced by faculty at the College of Criminal Justice, adding to the number of peer-reviewed publications on qualitative criminology and psychology in criminal justice already edited by professors at the institution.

Dr. Ryan Randa, who has published scholarly articles on bullying and cyberbullying, was recently named co-editor of the Journal of School Violence, which he will produce along with Dr. Brad Reyns of Weber State University in Utah. The journal examines urgent issues involving school violence, such as threat assessments, hostage situations, stalking behaviors, and student safety. It helps to guide administrators and policy makers on effective ways to deal with school safety issues and provides insight on social policy, staff training and international cross-culture studies.

“If it is a contemporary issue involving schools, it is what people are writing about,” said Dr. Randa. “I’ve been enjoying it. It is a different experience being the first to see real cutting edge research.”

The journal is published four times a year and recently included such topics as bullying, the perspective of teachers in hitting students back, psychosomatic complaints in bullying, and cyber peer aggression.

“Taylor & Francis is excited to have Ryan Randa, Sam Houston State University, and Brad Reyns, Weber State University, co-editing the Journal of School Violence,” said David C. Hamilton, Managing Editor of Behavioral Science and Social Care publications at Taylor & Francis. “Ryan and Brad have great ideas for the journal and we look forward to the continued success of the Journal of School Violence.”

Although the journal primarily has been targeted to an educational audience, Dr. Randa hopes to expand its offerings and articles into the fields of criminal justice and criminology. To that end, the journal will participate in conferences for the two top professional organizations in the criminal justice field this year, including the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the American Society of Criminology.

Dr. Randa also hopes to grow the journal by applying for an official impact factor score, a component of a comprehensive ranking system among peer-reviewed journals in academia. The score is tallied by Thomas Reuters and is based on a journal’s circulation, how often its articles are cited, and the quality of the publications that cite them. The higher the score, the more prestigious the journal.

Having three academic journals produced at the College of Criminal Justice provides wider national exposure for Sam Houston State University in the academic world.

In addition to the Journal of School Violence, College faculty also produce Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice (APCJ) and the Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology (JQCJC), edited by Dr. Randy Garner and Dr. Willard Oliver respectively.

APCJ is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal that examines the intersection between psychology and criminal justice. JQCJC, a publication of the Southwestern Association of Criminal Justice, focuses on high quality research that consists of original qualitative research, articles that deal with qualitative research methodologies, and book reviews relevant to both qualitative research and methodologies.

Intern Wants to Protect and Serve His Community

From a young age Cirilo Portales was always taught to give back to his community, and now that he has graduated from Sam Houston State University he wants to do this by becoming a police officer for the City of Rosenberg.

Forensic Classes Offered to Teachers Over Summer

Middle and high school teachers will get hands-on experience in forensic science this summer, whether they are interested in working with their students in the laboratory or at a mock crime scene.

Parole and Probation Officers Get Lessons in Impaired Driving

Despite ongoing flooding in Texas, approximately 40 adult and juvenile probation officers braved storms to attend the newest training offered by the Impaired Driving Initiatives on how to detect drug and alcohol impairment among their clients, families and friends in an effort to keep Texas roads safer.

More Than 300 Graduate CJ College in Spring

Hundreds of students graduated from the College of Criminal Justice on May 9, including five doctoral students who earned Ph.D. degrees.