Criminology Coordinator & students take a bite out of The Big Apple

Criminology students headed to New York City are anticipating a lot of learning and a little bit of fun during a week-long trip to observe the city's community courts in action.

"I'm looking forward to seeing first-hand how American courts are and how they are different from Canadian courts. I also can't wait to tour the city that never sleeps," says student Michael Lawson.

Lawson is one of 25 Comparative Criminal Justice Systems students taking part in the trip to the Big Apple from June 7-13. The journey takes place before Canada's first community court opens this summer in Downtown Vancouver.

While in New York, the students will hone their field observation methods, then write a research paper on their return.

"These students will be the first observers from the College of this kind of innovative practice," says Criminology Instructor Heidi Currie.

Community courts sentence low-level offenders to pay back the neighbourhood through community service, while offering to help them with problems that are often at the root of criminal behaviour.

The tour includes a visit to the community courts in Midtown and Red Hook. Midtown Community Court, which opened in 1993, was the first community court in the US. It handles offences such as prostitution, graffiti, shoplifting and vandalism.

Other legal landmarks like the New York City Night Court and Police Museum are also on the itinerary.

"I am really looking forward to seeing how community court and night court work. At the community courts, I am curious to see first-hand the dynamics of the community and how they would relate to Vancouver," says student Jen Petrichenko.

Currie predicts her students will see a lot of similarities between Vancouver and New York. "There are similar social problems such as property crime, drugs and lack of support," says Currie.

The group has two leisure days and will also visit the World Trade Centre memorial, the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Natural History.

This is the first time in several years that Douglas Criminology students will be taking a field study trip and their first-ever trip to New York City. Currie decided the time to resurrect the trip was right after speaking with friend Stephenie Lewis, a BC Corrections Officer who had recently returned from a similar trip with provincial courts employees. Lewis will be accompanying Currie and her students on a volunteer basis to share her perspective.

"If I could have every criminology student engage in one field study course, that would be great," says Currie.

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