Law-enforcement educationPolice experience enlivens classroom teaching

Dennis Marsili spent twenty-seven years as a police officer in the Pittsburgh area, and has attained a vast amount of knowledge which he is now passing on to people who want to work in law enforcement in the future.

TribLivereports that Marsili currently teaches a law enforcement class as part of the Apollo-Ridge Education Foundation‘s Everyday Enrichment program. Marsili’s class could be the first step to a career in law enforcement for some people, and for others it could just be a more informative way of knowing the law and your options outside of crime dramas on television.

“This is a class for anyone who wants to know what police officers really do, or is interested in starting a career in law enforcement,” Marsili, a retired New Kensington police officer who is the program coordinator at Indiana University of Pennsylvania‘s Criminal Justice Training Center told the Tribune-Review.

Chris, the head of community engagement for the Apollo-Ridge School District hopes, more people see the benefits of the class, especially for young adults and high school students.

“We hope this attracts people who have some interest in what law enforcement is and want to know the basics,” Kostiuk told the Review. “This is a great opportunity for our community, considering most of the people who attend classes like this live right in the Apollo-Ridge School District.”

Kostiuk said all ages are welcome to the class, but high school students who are considering law enforcement careers have signed up for the class. The registration fee for the class is $50.

Marsili said in addition to teaching the law, he wants to clear up some misconceptions about how a police officer goes about a case compared to what people see on TV shows such as CSI and Law and Order.

“Part of this is the ‘CSI effect’,” Marsili told the Review. “You have a good, professionally investigated criminal case brought to trial, and the public has this perception that everything should be proven to an absolute. That there is so much certainty, there is very little doubt left in a case.”

Marsili said the “CSI effect” causes people to believe that if DNA is not used to prove a case then officers did not do their job and the case cannot be proven or that the suspect is innocent.

“You‘re not always going to be able to get DNA at a scene,” Marsili told the Review. “Sometimes, weather conditions or something else just don‘t allow you to obtain it.”