The Law and Public Service career cluster focuses on planning, managing, and providing legal services, public safety, protective services, and homeland security, including professional and technical support services. This career cluster includes occupations ranging from police officer and firefighter to political scientist and lawyer.
For details about Programs of Study and courses offered within the Law and Public Service career cluster, see the Program of Study title below.
Course Information: Courses below are not tied to grade levels. Not all courses have a required prerequisite.
Level 1
Principles of Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security (1 Credit) Grades 9-10
This course introduces students to professions in law enforcement, protective services, corrections, and fire and emergency management services. Students will examine legal and ethical roles and responsibilities of the professions and will recognize the importance of interagency cooperation. Students will identify the roles and functions of police, court systems, the correctional system, private security, and protective agencies of fire emergency services.
Level 2
Law Enforcement I (1 Credit) Grades 10-12
This course is an overview of the history, organization and functions of local, state. and federal law enforcement. This course includes the role of constitutional law, the US legal system, criminal law, law enforcement terminology, and the classification and elements of crime. Students will understand ethical behavior standards for enforcement personnel. Students will study court cases and analyze the impact of court decisions, custody and interrogation, procedural and substantive criminal law, the rights of victims and witnesses, and reasonable suspicion and probable cause. Students will use field note-taking and report-writing skills and will employ procedures to protect, document, and process a crime scene.
Must have taken Principles of Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security
Level 3
Law Enforcement II (1 Credit) Grades 10-12
This course provides the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare for a career in law enforcement. This course includes examining ethical and legal responsibilities, operation of police and emergency telecommunication equipment, and courtroom testimony. Students will evaluate body language, gestures, verbal tone, and inflection and will facilitate field note taking and report writing. Students will prepare testimony for court and during a mock trial. Students will demonstrate the use of anger management techniques to resolve conflicts. Students will study law enforcement procedures for serving writs, warrants, and summons, procedures pertaining to alcohol and beverage laws, driving while intoxicated and driving under the influence, and strategies for crowd management. Students will investigate and document a simulated motor vehicle accident.
Must have taken Law Enforcement I
Criminal Investigation (1 Credit) Grades 10-12
Criminal Investigation is a course that introduces students to the profession of criminal investigations. Students will understand basic functions of criminal investigations and procedures and will learn how to investigate or follow up during investigations. Students will learn terminology and investigative procedures related to criminal investigation, crime scene processing, evidence collection, fingerprinting, and courtroom presentation. Through case studies and simulated crime scenes, students will collect and analyze evidence such as fingerprint analysis, bodily fluids, hairs, fibers, shoe and tire impressions, bite marks, drugs, tool marks, firearms and ammunition, blood spatter, digital evidence, and other types of evidence.
Must have taken Law Enforcement I
Level 4
Forensic Science (1 Credit) Grades 11-12
This course uses a structured and scientific approach to the investigation or crimes of assault, abuse and neglect, domestic violence, accidental death, and homicide. Students will learn terminology and investigate procedures related to crime scene, interviewing, criminal behavior characteristics, and scientific procedures used to solve crimes. Using scientific methods, students will perform fingerprint analysis, ballistics, hari and fiber analysis, DNA profiling, forensic toxicology, forensic entomology, and blood spatter analysis on evidence collected from simulated crime scenes. Students will learn the history, legal aspects and career options for forensic science.
Must have taken Biology plus IPC or Chemistry or Physics to enroll