Students lose out on key opportunity

I read with dismay the decision of Carleton University’s Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice to end student placements with institutions like the Ottawa police, RCMP, Correctional Service Canada and the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre.

Nobody is suggesting that criminologists have a duty to encourage students to work in what they consider punitive institutions. Their duty is to educate the youth and let them decide if they would like to serve within these institutions. To label every aspect of these institutions as a bad career choice is ridiculous. Many students pursuing an education in criminology feel a calling toward serving in law enforcement. This is honourable, and not to be taken lightly.

They talk about opening new possibilities for students but at the same time are eliminating possibilities. By providing work placements, students get to build a resume, make valuable contacts and realize if this job is for them. The university is not pushing students toward these career paths. These are young adults actively seeking out these placements.

Perhaps if the university teaches its students well, they will be the young progressives of change in these “punitive” institutions. After all, not all criminologists can be professors. We need well-educated youth to serve in what I still consider honourable institutions of law and justice.

Melissa Wilson, Ottawa