TJC’s criminal justice, paralegal and public administration programs hosted the 2023 Community College Criminal Justice Educators of Texas (CCCJET) Annual Training Conference this week.
CCCJET is a state organization made up of criminal justice educators from the state’s 50 community and junior colleges. The group meets annually in May.
Jason Waller, TJC Law and Public Service Careers department chair, served as organization president this year, and his duties included hosting the conference and scheduling speakers and presenters.
From left: James Ledet, TJC; Steve Morrison, Sam Houston State University; Brad Richardson, Navarro College; Sharon Johnson, Weatherford College; Mike Bishop, TJC; Wayne Tisdale, Del Mar College; LaRhonda Hamilton, TJC; Jason Waller, TJC; Jim Berry, Cisco College; Robyn Ring, San Jacinto College; Mary Pyle, Grayson College; and Mark Dickerson, Panola College.
Educators attended from Panola College, Navarro College, San Jacinto College, Cisco College, Del Mar College, Grayson College, Weatherford College and Sam Houston State University, as well as TJC. The event included speakers from the three components of the American criminal justice system: police, courts and corrections. Presentations were given by members of the Homeland Security Investigations Division, the United States Secret Service, the Smith County Juvenile Justice Services Department, and the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
TJC’s criminal justice faculty members discussed mentoring in law enforcement and in the criminal justice classroom, and the conference concluded with presentations on Gov. Greg Abbott’s Texas Anti-Gang Center and a case-study presentation by the Smith County Criminal District Attorney’s Office on the serial-killer nurse case that was recently prosecuted in Tyler. A roundtable discussion was also held on improving recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers and how it impacts criminal justice programs across the state of Texas.
“It has been a tremendous honor serving as president of this great organization this past year, and we hope to continue the hard work in growing the organization, along with our respective criminal justice programs,” Waller said. He also credited the hard work put in by the TJC faculty members who helped identify, arrange and coordinate the conference speakers and presentations.