course focus

Law Enforcement & Emergency Preparedness is the 2nd course in the Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement and Leadership program at Seneca Valley High School. This course focuses on Emergency Management, within the criminal justice context, but also responding to natural and technological emergencies. This course also examines several particular criminal justice topics--forensic investigations, juvenile justice, and others--in greater detail. Finally, this course spends an extended unit researching and analyzing the law and rules of Criminal Procedure: searches, seizures, warrants, interrogations, and more.

Students are eligible to take this course if they have EITHER:

• previously enrolled in and passed Foundations of Law Enforcement, OR

• are simultaneously enrolled in Foundations of Law Enforcement. 

Upon completing this course, students can take the final course, Administration of Law & Justice, the following year.

Curriculum

• Introduction to Emergency Management (Q1-Q2)

  • • • Phases: Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, Recovery

      • Hazards: Natural (meteorological, environmental), Biological, Terrorism

      • Emergency Response: Organizational & Individual

      • First Aid/AED/CPR

• Policing Special Topics (Q2)

  • • • Overview of Juvenile Justice

      • Overview of Forensic Science

• Introduction to Criminal Procedure (Q3-Q4)

  • • • Searches and Seizures

      • Warrants and Exceptions

      • Rules of Evidence - Exclusionary Rule

      • Interrogations

      • Right to Counsel

      • Pre-Trial Determinations (Bail, etc.)

experiential education

• Field trip to the ECC (Emergency Communications Center, aka 911 Dispatch) and EOC (Emergency Operations Center)

• Field trip to Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy (PSTA)

• Certified training in: First Aid, AED, and CPR

• Law Enforcement professional skills trainings

• Emergency response simulations and table-top exercises

• Moot Court legal role-play simulations of Supreme Court cases involving the laws of searches, seizures, and interrogations

• Guest Speakers

  • • • MC Emergency Responders, MC Emergency 911 Dispatchers, National Guard

      • Juvenile Justice system workers (MCPS, Dept of Juvenile Services)

      • Local Law Enforcement (Gaithersburg Police Department, Montgomery County Police Department)

      • Criminal lawyers

      • Appellate (Appeals) Judges

If you have any questions about the Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement and Leadership (CJLE) program at Seneca Valley, please email Mr. Weisberg at matthew.weisberg@mcpsmd.net.