New Criminal Justice Program Slated to Begin September 2022
Plans are underway at Bath Tech for a new criminal justice program set to begin in September 2022. The program will take advantage of classroom and lab space that was included in the new Morse High School campus specifically for such a program.
“I took my job knowing that the criminal justice program would be coming,” says Educational Technology Teacher David Beauregard. Beauregard, who retired from the Bath Police Department after 25 years and will be the instructor for the criminal justice program, says it will fulfill a need in the area.
“When I applied for my job as a police officer, there were 25, 30, 40 candidates for each job. Nowadays, we’re lucky if we get one qualified applicant,” says Bath Chief of Police Andrew Booth. “I’m hoping this program will help attract more qualified candidates.”
The Bath Tech program will cover the basics of constitutional, criminal, and civil law as well as forensics and field work topics, like crime scene investigation, vehicle safety and compliance, fingerprinting, evidence collection, and how to testify in court. It will include training for healthy habits, too, including mental health, dietary practices, and physical fitness.
“One of the biggest barriers to entry for the police academy is the fitness test,” says Beauregard. “We can’t force students to adopt healthy lifestyles, but we can show them ways to get and stay active and care for themselves. It’s important for everyone, but essential for police work.”
“Overall,” Beauregard says, “the intention of the two-year program is to expose students to the field of criminal justice and prepare them for eventually working in a variety of jobs in the criminal justice field —police officer, sheriff deputy, game warden, attorney, judge, secret service, or the FBI to name a few.”