On a hot, humid August afternoon at Childs Soccer Field on Southern Wesleyan University’s Central campus, students are already breaking into a sweat before taking the first step on a training course, where they will run, jump, climb, crawl and move a heavy object as they navigate several obstacles.
The course, “Health and Fitness for Criminal Justice,” is part of a new class in Southern Wesleyan’s Criminal Justice Studies program and is designed to help prepare students for the physical challenges they will encounter on the streets.
The class was developed by James McDonald, an 18-year veteran of the criminal justice system and head of Criminal Justice Studies at Southern Wesleyan.
Before the first student enters the course, McDonald shares scripture from the book of Hebrews:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
The state’s Criminal Justice Academy requires that individuals complete the PAT (Physical Abilities Test), running through an obstacle-filled course, in two minutes and six seconds. PAT was established 20 years ago in response to a call for training that treats officer candidates equally, regardless of gender.
McDonald’s goal is that Southern Wesleyan’s Criminal Justice majors become aware of physical fitness expectations held by the academy and work to improve their time on the course. This goal also reinforces the importance of maintaining a level of physical conditioning.
“Students aren’t aware of the physical demands of criminal justice and they are totally clueless about the emotional demands,” McDonald said, adding that the class is built on three fitness components physical, emotional and spiritual.
The spiritual dimension, according to McDonald, is a key skill needed by law enforcement officers to emotionally survive when they encounter society’s darker side.
McDonald stresses that Criminal Justice is about much more than becoming a policeman, which challenges conventional perceptions held by many prospective students and the general public.
Details about the Criminal Justice Studies program can be found in the academics section of swu.edu.
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