As a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), John Jay College is fully committed to supporting our Latinx students. Incorporating their rich cultural heritage into our curriculum and programming is an essential element to empower their voices and encourage their personal and professional growth. This commitment goes far beyond our New York City College campus. For the last three years, John Jay has worked in partnership with the National Academy of Public Security (ANSP) and the José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA) in El Salvador, to develop the Academy for Security Analysis (ASA). The Academy is a regional capacity-building program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, and offered to individuals, teams, and institutions working in law enforcement or the criminal justice system. The program promotes the use of research, data, and scientific methods to identify and implement evidence-based policies to reduce crime and violent behavior in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, collectively known as the Northern Triangle region of Central America. Led by John Jay professors Hung-En Sung and Rosemary Barberet, the Academy has successfully graduated 144 decision-makers from 36 security and justice institutions in its three years of operation.
“John Jay works in Latin America and Latin American voices are essential to the John Jay Community.” —President Karol V. Mason
On a recent visit to El Salvador, where she delivered a speech during the ASA graduation on January 24, Karol V. Mason, President of John Jay College, spoke of how working with institutions in Latin America perfectly aligns with the College’s role as an HSI and its mission of creating the next generation of fierce advocates for justice. “John Jay works in Latin America and Latin American voices are essential to the John Jay Community,” said Mason. Delivering her remarks in both English and Spanish, she noted the valuable role research data plays in reducing crime. “We know that the combination of providing higher education for criminal justice professionals in your countries, and using research and evidence-based approaches to tackle criminal justice issues, produces long-term positive and sustainable results,” said Mason. “It’s my belief that by sharing our best practices across countries, examining the results and impact of various policy decisions, we can design better, more humane, and fair systems across the globe.”
Continuing in that collaborative spirit, Mason then signed a Declaration of Shared Interests with both ANSP and UCA, extending the College’s partnership role at each of the institutions. At ANSP, John Jay will enhance its cooperation in police modernization, with the new stage of the partnership including a three-week long Police Leadership Program offered by John Jay instructors to Salvadoran police officers in June 2020.
Under its Declaration of Shared interests, John Jay and UCA will enhance their collaboration in teaching, research, and justice reform. Already, John Jay faculty converted contents from the ASA curriculum contents to create a master’s degree program in Criminology that will be offered at UCA. The program is the first in the Northern Triangle region and will launch January 2021.
Read President Mason’s ASA graduation speech in English and Spanish below
Her Speech in English
Esteemed Father Andreu Oliva, Vice Chancellor Lidia Salamanca, Director Carlos Ferrufino, Licentiate Rosamaría Colorado, guests and students: Thank you for inviting me to participate in this graduation ceremony for our final class of graduates from the Academy for Security Analysts. John Jay College of Criminal Justice is honored to be a partner in this work to build institutional capacity to address criminal justice issues in the Northern Triangle. Together we’re using an evidence and research-based approach to tackle the most challenging criminal justice issues facing the region.
I want to recognize our partners in this work, José Simeón Cañas, Central American University, and the National Academy of Public Security. And, I especially want to thank the United States Agency for International Development, who made this vital collaboration and program possible.
We live in a world that is clearly interconnected, and this partnership has allowed the Northern Triangle to work together in an evidence-based approach to designing, implementing and evaluating policies in the region projected to reduce crime—particularly violent crime.
The good news is, even though you are graduating from this program, you’re leaving with our highest expectations and aspirations: We expect and hope that you will continue to collaborate with each other and with the earlier graduates of the Academy.
We’re confident that you will continue to develop and launch pilot projects and share information with our Academy partners.
The roots of John Jay College of Criminal Justice date back to the mid-1950s when a New York City Police Science Program was established in response to growing concerns over relations between the New York City Police Department and civic leaders. The program grew rapidly, and in 1964 a committee convened by the Board of Higher Education recommended the establishment of an independent school of police science. This was a time when the New York City Police Department was in the doldrums because the Knapp Commission had exposed systemic corruption within the department. The idea was to create a city university dedicated to educating those involved in the criminal justice system.
Now, more than 50 years later, New York City is proud to have what is considered the best big-city police department in the world. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this corresponds with the growth and maturity of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. John Jay College of Criminal Justice has long had a dedicated NYPD Leadership Program, which “provides New York City police officers and supervisors with skills that enhance public safety, service delivery and police management in a multiracial and multicultural city.”
This is why John Jay College of Criminal Justice is so interested in partnering with each of you. We know that the combination of providing higher education for criminal justice professionals in your countries and using research and evidenced-based approaches to tackling criminal justice issues produces long-term positive and sustainable results.
John Jay is committed to being an ongoing partner in helping the Northern Triangle develop, test and evaluate new innovations to address your pressing criminal justice issues. As the premier criminal justice school in the United States, one of the ways that we can enhance our partnership is for many of you to pursue degrees at John Jay. For example, our International Criminal Justice Program provides students with the opportunity to explore comparative criminal justice, cross-national variations in criminal justice systems. Our International Criminal Justice students have the opportunity to examine the similarities and differences in policing, judicial systems and corrections in other countries. It’s my belief that by sharing our best practices across countries, examining the results and impact of various policy decisions, we can design better more humane and fair systems across the globe.
Through the Academy, we have built the foundation for sharing best practices, so that the United States as well as our partner countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and the Honduras, can learn from each other to our mutual benefit. Collaborating by developing graduate programs for your criminal justice professionals at John Jay, and with regional partners such as the Central American University in Central America, is a proven way to expand the development and sharing of best practices.
There is another important reason why John Jay is responding the call to work in Latin America. John Jay is proud to serve a diverse student body of 15,000 students. Currently, our undergraduate student body is 46 percent Hispanic, and the United States government recognizes John Jay as a “Hispanic Serving Institution”.
John Jay is a Hispanic-Serving Institution expressly because our Hispanic students chose to make it one. It’s our continued goal to ensure that our Hispanic students feel welcomed and respected, and we strive to authentically incorporate our students’ Hispanic heritage into our programming and curriculum.
It makes me so proud that Lidia Vasquez, a Salvadoran daughter who has served as an instructor in the Academy for Security Analysis in the past two years, is now pursuing her doctorate at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. John Jay works in Latin America and Latin American voices are essential to the John Jay community.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of this wonderful program that we have built together. As the President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, I look forward to the opportunity to learn how we can continue to partner with you as we jointly equip our law enforcement professionals to respond to criminal justice issues in a rapidly changing and interconnected world.
Estimados Padre Andreu Oliva, Vicerrectora Lidia Salamanca, Director Carlos Ferrufino, Licenciada Rosamaría Colorado, invitados y estudiantes: Gracias por invitarme a participar en la ceremonia de graduación de nuestra última promoción de la Academia para el Análisis de Seguridad. Es un honor para la Universidad John Jay de Justicia Penal ser parte de este proyecto que promueve la capacidad institucional para tratar temas de justicia penal en el Triángulo Norte de Centroamérica. Juntos utilizamos un enfoque empírico y basado en la evidencia para combatir los problemas más desafiantes que enfrenta la región.
Quiero hacerles un reconocimiento a nuestros socios en este proyecto: la Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas y la Academia Nacional de Seguridad Pública. También, quiero darle un agradecimiento especial a la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional por hacer posibles esta colaboración vital y este programa.
Vivimos en un mundo que está claramente interconectado, y esta colaboración ha permitido que los países del Triángulo Norte trabajen juntos, utilizando un método basado en evidencia, para diseñar, implementar y evaluar políticas públicas que aspiran a reducir el crimen en esta región—particularmente los delitos violentos. Aunque se estén graduando de este programa, la buena noticia es que se están yendo con nuestras mayores expectativas y aspiraciones: Esperamos que continúen colaborando entre ustedes y con los estudiantes que se graduaron de la Academia en años anteriores.
Estamos seguros de que seguirán desarrollando y llevando a cabo proyectos piloto, y de que compartirán la información con nuestros socios de la Academia.
Las raíces de John Jay datan desde mediados de los años cincuenta. En aquel tiempo se estableció un programa de Ciencias Policiales en Nueva York ante la creciente preocupación sobre las relaciones entre el Departamento de Policía de Nueva York y los líderes sociales. El programa creció rápidamente. En 1964 un comité, convocado por el Consejo de Educación Superior, recomendó que se estableciera una universidad independiente para los estudios de ciencias policiales. En aquellos tiempos, el Departamento de Policía de la ciudad de Nueva York pasaba por un momento duro después de que la comisión Knapp revelara la corrupción que existía dentro del departamento. La idea era crear una universidad de la ciudad que estuviera dedicada a educar a los miembros del sistema de justicia penal.
Hoy, más de 50 años después, la ciudad de Nueva York se enorgullece de tener el mejor departamento de policía de una gran ciudad en todo el mundo. No creo que sea sólo una coincidencia que John Jay creciera y se desarrollara durante este periodo. Desde hace mucho, nuestra universidad tiene un Programa de Liderazgo para miembros del Departamento de Policía de Nueva York. Este programa “les proporciona a policías y a supervisores las habilidades necesarias para mejorar la seguridad pública, el servicio que ofrecen y sus tareas de dirección en una ciudad multirracial y multicultural”.
Por estas razones es tan importante para John Jay colaborar con cada uno de ustedes. Somos conscientes de que hacen falta dos ingredientes para obtener resultados sostenibles y positivos a largo plazo: el primero es ofrecer entrenamiento a nivel de educación superior a profesionales del ámbito de la justicia penal en sus países; el segundo es usar métodos empíricos basados en evidencia para enfrentar problemas de justicia penal.
John Jay se compromete, como socio constante, a seguir ayudando al Triángulo Norte a desarrollar, probar y evaluar nuevas innovaciones para combatir los problemas de justicia penal más apremiantes. Dado que somos la principal universidad de justicia penal en los Estados Unidos, una de las formas en que podemos reforzar nuestra colaboración es animándolos a estudiar en John Jay. Por ejemplo, nuestra Licenciatura en Justicia Penal Internacional les da a los estudiantes la oportunidad de comparar distintos sistemas de justicia penal y analizar sus diferencias. Nuestros estudiantes también tienen la oportunidad de analizar las similitudes y diferencias en tácticas policiales, sistemas judiciales y sistemas penitenciarios de otros países. Estoy segura de que podemos crear sistemas más humanos y justos en todo el mundo, si compartimos las mejores prácticas de varios países y examinamos los resultados y el impacto de sus distintas políticas.
Por medio de la Academia hemos sentado las bases para compartir las mejores prácticas, con el fin de que los Estados Unidos, al igual que nuestros países asociados El Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras, aprendamos unos de otros y nos beneficiemos mutuamente. Una de las formas más eficaces de poder expandir y compartir estas mejores prácticas es colaborar en la creación de programas de postgrado para sus profesionales de justicia penal en John Jay, y con socios en la región como la UCA.
Hay otra razón importante por la cual John Jay está respondiendo al llamado de trabajar en Latinoamérica. Es un orgullo para John Jay contar con un cuerpo estudiantil diverso con quince mil estudiantes. Actualmente, el cuarenta y seis por ciento de nuestros alumnos de licenciatura son hispanos y el Gobierno de Estados Unidos reconoce a John Jay como una “institución al servicio de la comunidad hispana”.
John Jay es una institución al servicio de la comunidad hispana porque nuestros estudiantes hispanos así lo han elegido. Es nuestra meta continua que nuestros estudiantes hispanos se sientan bienvenidos y respetados. Nos esforzamos por incorporar la herencia hispana de nuestros estudiantes en el currículo y en los programas de la universidad de una manera auténtica.
Me enorgullece mucho que Lidia Vásquez, una hija salvadoreña que ha sido instructora en la Academia para el Análisis de Seguridad en los últimos dos años, esté realizando su doctorado en John Jay. John Jay trabaja en América Latina y las voces latinoamericanas son esenciales para nuestra comunidad.
Gracias por darme la oportunidad de celebrar los logros del programa tan maravilloso que hemos creado juntos. Como rectora de John Jay, aspiro a que encontremos nuevas oportunidades para continuar nuestra colaboración con ustedes, mientras entrenamos juntos a profesionales de la seguridad pública, dándoles las herramientas necesarias para que puedan responder a los problemas de justicia penal en este mundo interconectado que cambia con tanta rapidez.
