Carleton U, the police, and the new academic isolationism

The decision by Carleton University criminologists to eliminate student placements with police and correctional services is ill-advised.

Below is an excerpt from this article.

Recently my friends and colleagues at the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Carleton University introduced a series of initiatives designed to address white supremacy, systemic racism and settler colonialism. Many of their plans are laudable, including new student bursaries and anti-racist education measures. One particularly worrying development, however, has generated considerable attention: their decision to eliminate the opportunity for undergraduate students to do placements with either police or correctional organizations.

Such placements have been part of criminology programs in Canada for decades. Typically, they involve students receiving credit for volunteering with different social or criminal justice organizations, such as the police, prison reform groups, victim services organizations, halfway houses, homeless shelters, and the like. While such programs can attract students who want to work in the criminal justice system, neither the placements nor the programs themselves are job training. Instead, placements are one part of a broader liberal arts education and are designed to give students a realistic understanding of the topics they are studying.

As someone who graduated from Carleton University 30 years ago – where I completed two placements in this specific program – I find this current divestment strategy ill-advised. Before I detail why I believe this is the case, it is important to stress that I unreservedly support the racial justice agenda. I too watched in horror as George Floyd was murdered and have been encouraged by the surge in anti-racist activism. It is well past time to reconfigure policing and criminal justice. Unfortunately, Carleton’s placement decision is not a means to achieve that goal.

To continue reading this article visit here.