When it comes to solving crimes, UTM Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Brian Donavant says it takes more than what meets the eye.
For 21 years, Donavant was a police officer working various roles, such as patrol officer, supervisor, tactical officer and more. However, he said there came a point when his career changed, and he moved into the teaching realm, hoping to give back to the academy.
“I retired [from the Gulf Port Miss. Department] in fall of 2005. At [that time], I had been teaching part time at a community college. Katrina had hit, and I had the opportunity to retire at that point and was offered a job at the community college,” Donavant said.
From there, Donavant was unsure of his job stability, so he began searching for other universities and found UTM. Now, Donavant helps students understand the many elements of the criminal justice world, teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses at UTM.
As students carry this knowledge into their profession, Donavant said that hearing of their success is one of the most rewarding parts of his job.
“I really enjoy when we have students who graduate from here and contact us and tell us that they learned something from us that they could apply. They might say, ‘At the time I didn’t understand, but now I do.’ Also, we [have] students in grad school call us and tell us that they were prepared. So that’s really rewarding,” Donavant said.
As for students thinking of going into the criminal justice program, Donavant emphasized two major points.
“Number one – figure out what your goal is 10 years from now. Understand what it is that you want to involve yourself in in the profession. We have students come in and I’ll ask them why they want to do criminal justice, and they’ll say, ‘Well, it sounds cool.’ Well, it is cool, but you need a little more reason than that. Number two – criminal justice is going to require students to be a little more responsible than the average college-aged student. Students need to understand that they have to hold themselves to a higher standard,” Donavant said.
As for those simply interested in learning about criminal justice, Donavant encouraged students to come explore the lower level classes, such as the Intro to Criminal Justice, which is a good overview of the criminal justice system.
“[Intro to Criminal Justice] is a good way to figure out if [criminal justice] is for you. Even if you don’t major in it, everyone is going to find involvement in criminal justice in their life, so it’s still going to impact their life,” Donavant said.
Overall, Donavant wants to teach students the reality of criminal justice and how it is more than just the dramatic stories that are portrayed on television; it requires a broad and deep understanding of law and ethics.
“We need professional police officers who know how to interpret the law and apply the law. I want to teach that so they can give back to the profession. I try to give students an understanding of the reality of the criminal justice system, not what you see on television. … We try to show both sides of the profession, so our students can gain a broader understanding of what criminal justice is all about, … and encourage [them] to examine things in their totality and not just go with the initial knee-jerk reaction,” Donavant said.
