Category: Uncategorized

Criminal Justice is a very open major and can involve a lot of different jobs then people think. Its not just either police or lawyer. Even though most of law enforcement jobs you do have to start from being a cop and move up the ladder there is still so many options. I will focus more on the homicide aspect of this blog because when i was very young I was always so fascinated with homicide detective work and solving cases. unfortunately i do not want to be an officer so I wont fulfill my dreams in becoming a homicide detective but i will always express my love for the amount of work that is poured into this job.

In order to solve a Homicide you need hard core evidence. this evidence can be a videotape or making shoe patterns but the best kind of evidence is DNA. Colin Pitchfork was the first person ever convicted of murder from DNA evidence in the UK and it was groundbreaking. I think it is very important to understand the history we have on those groundbreaking cases that helped us develop technology that has help us convict murders. Like when fingerprinting was invented and helping us match those lines with other peoples fingers but also finding out that we all have different patterns. Everyone is so fascinated with murder documentaries but no one ever talks about what work is being done in those documentaries to find the killer and convict them. I think an interactive museum would be so cool and make it catered to solving a mystery. Like those escape rooms but murder mystery and have something interactive in that aspect. Also include something cool like the Cabinet of Curiosities style and when you open a “cabinet” you can see the science behind solving, for example have a physical example of DNA strand and showing how it matches to someone. Another “cabinet” can be someones finger prints and being able to see all the lines up close.

DNA testing for a murder investigation, 1987.

(Magnum Photos)

This Museum will not only give people the hands on experience of learning how detectives go about solving cases but it also shows people what I think it the most important part is evidence. The process of gathering evidence and how important it is. You’ll also learn important cases and how technology is growing in helping solve homicides. “Approximately 50% of murder cases in the U.S. go unsolved, with the national clearance rate dropping to around 51% to 54% in recent years, a significant decline from over 80% in 1965.” (LegalKnowledgeBase.com Editorial Team). Cold cases are also just as important to understand and see how the lack of evidence and DNA can make a case completely unsolvable. After people experience this Museum I hope that it would spread more advocacy on how important it is to collect evidence and that we leave evidence of us everywhere we go.

cites:

LegalKnowledgeBase.com Editorial Team. “Do Cold Cases Ever Get Solved?” Legalknowledgebase.Com, LegalKnowledgeBase.com, 10 July 2026, https://legalknowledgebase.com/do-cold-cases-ever-get-solved. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

Juan Ignacio Blanco. “Colin Pitchfork | Photos | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers.” Murderpedia.Org, 2020, https://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/pitchfork-colin-photos.htm. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

Every day, we use our brains to navigate life. At Plymouth State, we learn four key tactics that help us use our brains and navigate our lives: purposeful communication, problem-solving, integrated perspective, and self-regulated learning.

Purposeful communication is very important to me. It means communicating with meaning, whether through a text message or spoken words. I am usually the friend who speaks up when there is an issue or behavior that needs to be addressed. Sometimes I hold back and say nothing because it can be exhausting being the only person who stands up. I often communicate through texts because it is difficult for me in person. Before I send a text or have a deep conversation, I think carefully about the context, my tone, and how the other person may feel.

Problem solving is another habit of mind that is key and important to understand in life. “Problems range widely in scale and scope—small to large, local to global, well-defined to ambiguous, simulated to real-world—and problem solving may be undertaken individually or in collaboration with others” (Members). Making decisions is the most important part of life. You make decisions every day: what to eat for lunch, when you are going to do homework. These also shape who you are. I made the decision to send a text message to someone so I could get my point across because of rumors that are being made up; that decision, and thinking about what I will say, even when I will send the message, all played factors. Even factoring in whether I should even send the message, would it have a different outcome? I am not at base camp with this habit of mind; I am faced with challenges and problem-solving every single day.

Integrated Perspective is another habit of mind. “Integrated Perspective is a habit of mind characterized by the recognition that individual beliefs, ideas, and values are influenced by personal experience as well as multiple contextual factors—cultural, historical, political, etc.” (Members). My self-awareness is through the roof; it is one of my best qualities. It may take me some time to realize how I’ve affected someone, but most of the time I am always thinking before I act. For example, I am very self-aware of when not to bring my boyfriend around and can be told by my friends if they just want a girls’ hangout, unlike some people I know who lack that self-awareness that maybe we don’t want to see your boyfriend and have him hang out with us during a girls’ night. Collaboration is also one of my strong suits. I very much take in what others are telling me, but I also do stand my ground if I am firm on what I believe in.

“Self-Regulated Learning is a habit of mind that encompasses the desire to learn, the ability to set personal goals for learning, and the capacity to engage in a self-monitored learning process” (Members). We have a responsibility for our own learning, just as it is my responsibility for how and when I study for my LSAT and learn the material. If I study responsibly for the LSAT, then I am committed and have that engagement of going to law school and becoming a lawyer. The last point is that it is also important to know your strengths and weaknesses; this is a huge learning curve that can help improve not only education-wise but who you are as a human. I can acknowledge my weaknesses and strengths when it comes to being a friend; knowing my weaknesses can help me improve at being a good friend.