Florida Visit to Experience Policing and Criminology at Chester
Students from Florida with an interest in our justice system visited the University of Chester to share knowledge and experience what the University teaches our current students.
Our Policing and Criminology subject areas recently hosted a visit from students from Orlando, Florida, so they could learn more about our justice system and experience what it’s like to be a University of Chester student. The different activities in their visit reflect the true student experience of Chester and were designed so that the students from America could compare their own university experience with what we teach.
On their first day, the group visited Police Headquarters in Winsford where they were given a tour of the Scientific Support Unit, which deals with many aspects of forensic evidence such as fingerprints, footwear impressions, and collision investigations. The students then had a lunchtime meeting with Dan Price, the Police and Crime Commissioner, who explained his role and took questions. This was followed by a visit to the Force Control Centre so the students could meet staff and gain an understanding of how calls from the public are received and how police resources are allocated to ongoing incidents. This reflects our policing student experience at the University, as our students have the opportunity to get into policing experiences via the fast-track voluntary special constable programme, where training is hosted at Winsford HQ.
On Tuesday, the students visited the Policing Museum in Warrington where they learned about the history of the Cheshire Constabulary. This highlighted the importance of how learning from our past can inform future processes, which we emphasise as part of our policing qualifications at Chester. Historical cases and law theory is interwoven into our modules, providing a solid foundation of knowledge that students can take forward into their professional lives.
The next day provided the opportunity for the students from Florida to attend a trial in Chester Crown Court so they could see our justice system in action. The Crown Court in Chester is located right next to our Wheeler campus. Our learning community is embedded into the legal landscape of Chester and current students have access to these spaces that the American students said was a highlight of their trip. One student said that “the courthouse is, number 1, beautiful but it’s also ancient by American standards” and another said that seeing “the judge and the barrister’s wearing wigs and wearing the traditional regalia is so great as you can see that they love tradition”.
During their final day at Chester, they were invited to experience a Criminology lecture alongside current undergraduate students. Criminology Lecturer, Simone Benhafsi, went through modern murder cases and how they were investigated, along with the charges.
Policing then hosted an enlightening session on cybercrime, which is taught on our undergraduate courses. Lecturer in Policing, Meirion Davies, talked about how criminals can access the average user’s information online, along with what the Police do to investigate cybercrimes. These sessions gave insight into what students at the University of Chester learn as part of their courses in Criminology and Policing, as well as an expert perspective into the landscape of the United Kingdom’s justice system.
Although the students from Florida only got a taste of what it’s like to learn at Chester, you can check out our course pages in both Policing and Criminology to find out how you can apply to study and get the full experience at the University of Chester.