The latest graduating class from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation State Academy has a clear picture of the evidence.

MTSU spent about $11,000 providing law enforcement officers from around the state who successfully completed a six-week course at the academy Nov. 1 with professional cameras for taking photos at crime scenes.

Dr. Benjamin Stickle

“This would capture a much higher quality of picture,” said Dr. Ben Stickle, an assistant professor of criminal justice administration who lectured at the academy in September. “It would also allow them to do a variety of things that are necessary for crime scene photography such as shooting in very low light and taking very close-up pictures of fingerprints and things like that.”

In cementing a reciprocal relationship with the academy, MTSU hopes to provide working law enforcement officials with even greater opportunities for professional development.

The academy was created for officers who wish to continue and enhance their skills and knowledge. Attendees must have a minimum of five years of experience as a full-time commissioned officer of a Tennessee law enforcement agency to attend the academy. Stickle said MTSU professors found the curriculum enlightening.

Some members of the Nov. 1, 2018, graduating class at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation State Academy pose with the more sophisticated cameras provided to them by MTSU’s Department of Criminal Justice Administration to complete their course work. (Photo submitted)

“We were highly impressed,” Stickle said. “Many of the individuals they bring in to speak are highly recognized in their fields.”

The department was so impressed that TBI State Academy graduates now can receive up to nine hours of undergraduate credit for their time at the academy if they enroll at MTSU. The credits are for courses in criminal investigation, crime scene investigation and special issues in criminal justice.

MTSU offers a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration entirely online with concentrations available in law enforcement and homeland security. A master’s degree in criminal justice also is available totally online to accommodate working peace officers.

The Department of Criminal Justice Administration faculty members have experience in police departments, probation and parole, juvenile justice, prosecution, criminal defense, corrections, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service.

Stickle, a former officer with the Bowling Green, Kentucky, police force, said there has been a push since the 1950s to get more college-educated police officers into the field.

For more information about MTSU’s criminal justice programs, contact the department at 615-898-2630 or go to www.mtsu.edu/criminaljustice. For more information about the TBI State Academy, call 615-744-4374 or visit the website.

— Gina Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)

The members of the Nov. 1, 2018, graduating class at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation State Academy, who received sophisticated cameras from MTSU’s Department of Criminal Justice Administration to complete their academy courses, are shown here in a group photo. Seated from left to right are Detective Jason A. Williams, Portland Police Department; Detective Brian Wolters, Metro Nashville Airport Authority; Detective Bobby F. McCoy, La Vergne Police Department; Meyata Thomas, Tennessee State University student; Detective Sgt. Richard Mitchem, Jefferson City Police Department; and Lt. J. Shawn Brown, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. Standing are, from left, TBI Director David Rausch; TBI Special Agent in Charge Melanie Garner; Detective Richard Brinkley, Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department; Detective Sgt. Kenneth R. Cherry Jr., Crossville Police Department; Investigator Gary Green, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office; Investigator Brandon Tomberlin, Manchester Police Department; Sgt. Tommy Ferguson Jr., Jackson Police Department; TBI Assistant Director Richard Moore; and TBI Deputy Director Brad Nealon. (Photo submitted)