{"id":2372,"date":"2015-07-21T14:53:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-21T14:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/developmenttwo.marymount.edu\/blog\/officer-explains-policing-to-high-school-students-at-marymount-summer-institute\/"},"modified":"2015-07-21T14:53:00","modified_gmt":"2015-07-21T14:53:00","slug":"officer-explains-policing-to-high-school-students-at-marymount-summer-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marymount.edu\/blog\/officer-explains-policing-to-high-school-students-at-marymount-summer-institute\/","title":{"rendered":"Officer Explains Policing to High School Students at Marymount Summer Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"
Sergeant Patrick Loftus, a seven-year-veteran of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, likes to engage with young people, give them a positive role model in law enforcement and debunk stereotypes about his profession.<\/p>\n
The 2013 Marymount University graduate had the perfect opportunity on Friday when he spoke with 11 high school students enrolled in his alma mater\u0092s annual Criminal Justice Institute, an intensive two-week program that explores the complexity of the field and exposes students to a broad range of career opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u0093I asked how many of them actually knew a police officer,\u0094 Loftus said. \u0093Many of them didn\u0092t.\u0094<\/p>\n
During a wide-ranging town hall style meeting on campus, Loftus, an instructor with the Metropolitan Police Academy, spoke to students about contemporary issues facing law enforcement, such as the use of force and cameras in policing, along with media relations and current events.<\/p>\n
\u0093He\u0092s very engaging and likes to talk with students,\u0094 said Dr. Stephanie Ellis<\/a>, chair of Marymount\u0092s Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and one of Loftus\u0092 former professors. \u0093He\u0092s really bright and was a great student.\u0094<\/p>\n Loftus, who joined the force after his junior year in college, also explained the hiring process to students and discussed various career options in law enforcement.<\/p>\n \u0093I started college in 2005 and joined the force after my junior year,\u0094 he said. \u0093It took me four years after that to finish my degree part-time.\u0094<\/p>\n During his career he\u0092s worked everything from narcotics to crime scenes and mountain bike patrol. He was inspired to become a police officer because of all the crime he saw while growing up in Washington\u0092s Capitol Hill neighborhood.<\/p>\n \u0093Police have the opportunity to help people every day, in both large and small ways,\u0094 he said. \u0093On a given shift you can go from helping to find a lost child to answering a call about domestic abuse or a car crash. You have contact with a lot of people.\u0094<\/p>\n