Chaminade University of Honolulu

Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration

Student Research Project

Pam Oda presents her research findings in Texas

It’s just the beginning stages of her research, but Pam Oda ’24 has already presented her preliminary findings at the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology (SPCP) in Arlington, Texas, thanks to monies from the Alliance Supporting Pacific Impact through Computational Excellence (ALL-SPICE) grant. Standing in front of her presentation board, Oda explained the importance of education in the law enforcement field, which has long been debated. While many agencies have historically required little to no college coursework for entry-level positions, research suggests a positive correlation between education and job performance at all levels of law enforcement.

With the mentorship and encouragement of Dr. Kelly Treece, Criminology and Criminal Justice director and associate professor, Oda’s study evaluated disciplinary actions taken against Honolulu Police Department officers. With access to open records, Oda was able to obtain the types of allegations of police misconduct, which are divided into four sections: administrative investigation, criminal investigation, quality assurance and accreditation.

“Most of the violations were for administrative reasons,” said Treece, a former sergeant and trainer with the Pewaukee Police Department in Wisconsin. “Pam did a really good job with her presentation, and she handled herself very well in front of a lot of professionals.”

Pam Oda stands next to her poster board in Arlington, Texas.

The recent calls for police reform—combined with mounting evidence that an educated police force can have positive effects—have sparked a nationwide conversation about raising education requirements for police officers.

“Currently, the minimum qualification to become an HPD officer only requires having a high school diploma or your GED,” Oda said. “I think we need to raise that standard in Hawaii.”

In her presentation, Oda noted that 51.25 percent of officers received a High School Diploma or GED, 27.5 percent held a bachelor’s degree and 15 percent have received their associate’s degree or completed 60 semester credits or more. The numbers are consistent with national statistics, which show that only one percent of local police departments across the U.S. require their officers to hold four-year degrees and only eight percent call for officers to have attended any college at all.

Oda further noted that early research indicates that there is a broad performance difference between officers who have a college education and those who do not.

Citing a paper written by S.M. Smith and M.G. Aamodt (1997) in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, the co-authors found that police officers who possess college degrees are better performers than those with only high school degrees, including overall performance, communication skills and decision-making ability. 

According to Oda, this type of research has been ongoing yet most departments are not implementing these findings into policy and practice. In addition, in a study conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum (2019), officers with a four-year college degree had significantly fewer civilian complaints than those with only a high school diploma. 

Oda also pointed out that research shows higher education has significant benefits for law enforcement officers, including the ability to navigate the complexities of modern-day policing, which consists of critical analysis, enhanced communication abilities and a comprehensive understanding of the criminal justice system (S. Christopher, 2015, in Policing: A Journal of Police and Practice). 

Now in her fifth year at Chaminade, Oda will complete a double major in Criminology and Criminal Justice and Data Science, Analytics and Visualization with minors in Computer Information Systems and Psychology in December. The Hilo native hopes to continue her research with Treece at Chaminade while pursuing her graduate degree in Criminal Justice.

“That’s the plan right now,” said Oda, who serves as the president for the Chaminade Student Government Association, as well as the president of the Restauranteers Club. “Since starting in fall 2019, I have taken advantage of the countless opportunities that Chaminade has to offer, from student clubs and organizations to research and internship opportunities to student employment and the ‘ohana spirit.”

Treece, too, plans to expand the research to include the Sheriff Division of the Hawaii Department of Public Safety, which will then include statewide statistics and a broader representation. By doing so, she and Oda will be able to capture a more robust picture of the correlation between education and law enforcement.

“The next step is to write a paper, which I’ve asked Pam to help me co-author,” Treece said. “She’s a little hesitant and nervous about it, just like she was when I first approached her about presenting in Texas. I think she’ll do great.”

Top Cop Scholarships

Three Silverswords recognized for their commitment to criminal justice

Now in its 38th year, the Annual TOP COP Award Ceremony honors law enforcement and security professionals from several sectors, including law enforcement, private security, military and non-profit agencies.

“We are excited to be together in the same space and time to celebrate the dedication of our law enforcement and security professionals in the State of Hawaii,” said Law Enforcement and Security Coalition of Hawaii president Jeremiah Pahukula, Jr., during his opening remarks. “Your presence here today demonstrates your commitment to the safety and security of our island home and we are grateful for your support.”

Equally grateful are this year’s Top Cop Scholarship recipients, including Chaminade senior Chasity McKean ’24, who will graduate with a major in Criminal Justice and minor in Psychology. Receiving the ASIS Region 1D Scholarship, the Kapolei native plans on pursuing a career with the Honolulu Police Department.

“My initial plans post-degree is to join HPD and once I get in, work my way up the ladder to become a canine officer,” wrote McKean in her essay outlining her interest in a Criminal Justice degree. “However, I’m still keeping my options open since having a Criminal Justice degree is very broad and there is much I can do with it. I’ve been doing research and applying for internships to get different work experiences within the criminal justice field.”

Earning the Bob Flatting Scholarship was fellow Silversword Benjamin Carlin, who is working towards his Master’s degree in Criminal Justice. The U.S. Army Police Officer aspires to advance from an enlisted soldier to a commissioned officer with the United States Army’s Military Police Corps, which provides expertise in policing, detainment and stability operations in order to enhance security and enable mobility.

Aligned with the goals of the U.S. Army’s Military Police Corps, the Law Enforcement and Security Coalition of Hawai‘i adopted the Hawaiian expression of “E Pupukahi,” which holds the symbolic meaning of “working together as one to make Hawai‘i a safe place to live and work.”

“Working with these talented individuals who value the accomplishments of those who protect our communities has been my pleasure,” said Pahukula, Jr. “I look forward to their continued support.”

Chaminade senior Alisha Gifford’s lifetime ambition is to serve and protect her community. As this year’s Top Cop Scholarship awardee, Gifford is currently in the selection process of being an intern with HPD. Her longterm goal, however, is to pursue a career with the United States Air Force.

Silversword Reunion Blooms

Criminal Justice alumni reunite at Vi and Paul Loo Student Center

Dr. Greg Mark makes it clear that Criminal Justice reunions involve more than just those who may have been one-time dorm mates or who may have taken classes together. Because attendees come from varied disciplines with different majors, the event holds a lot more meaning and makes for a qualitatively powerful experience, according to Mark.

“There’s lots of spirit and camaraderie,” says Mark, a former Criminal Justice professor with Chaminade from 1977-1989. “I’ve been involved with a couple of reunions, one eight years ago at The Willows and a second on campus, which took place right before COVID.”

When Mark taught at Chaminade, the program was called Justice Management until he took over the chairmanship of the department. Because he obtained his doctorate in Criminology—a degree not many people in the country held at the time—and simultaneously taught Ethnic Studies, the then young 20-something-year-old professor decided to change the name to Criminal Justice, which was more accurately reflective of what they were teaching at Chaminade.

Dr. Babington welcomed Criminal Justice alumni and faculty back to campus.
Chaminade President Lynn Babington, Ph.D., welcomed Criminal Justice alumni and faculty, including, from left Pulasi “Sam” Puletasi, Frank Okamura, Kevin Shimoda and Dr. Greg Mark.

“I took fragments of Management Justice and developed a criminology curriculum,” says Mark, who recently attended a Criminal Justice mini reunion held at the Vi and Paul Loo Student Center on campus. “It was a very exciting time to be part of the Chaminade faculty.”

A Criminal Justice major who graduated in 1986, Frank Okamura remembers taking Mark’s Criminal Justice Agencies class and describing him as fair and just like “one of us.” This may be true since some of the students—like Okamura, already a father of two and working as a U.S. Customs Service Inspector and bartender—were closer in age to Mark.  

“I think he (Mark) felt sorry for me because he named me ‘Outstanding Student’ or something like that,” laughs Okamura, who also attended the recent reunion on campus and had a chance to spend some time with his former professor. “I really enjoyed his class, which provided me a better understanding of the different law enforcement agencies.”

A tight-knit group, Criminal Justice alumni members will often socially meet either for lunch or dinner, reminiscing about their days as Silverswords, updating each other on their kids and grandkids, and their achievements since graduation.   

“During my time at Chaminade, we did so many things together, which brought us closer together,” says Mark, referring to students and faculty. “There was a lot of aloha among people in the department and it was a dynamic time.”

At the mini reunion, Okamura was impressed that Chaminade President, Dr. Lynn Babington,  had showed up to welcome them back to campus, making them all feel like they were home.

“Chaminade provided me with a path that I would have never known,” says the 62-year-old retiree and grandfather of five grandkids. “Whenever I needed help, my professors were always there; they were always so supportive and attentive. I am just so appreciative and grateful for my time there.”

Asked if they plan to attend the October Silversword Reunion, Okamura and Mark unhesitatingly said “Yes.” “It will be another chance to talk about each other and some of the work we did together,” Mark says. “Teaching at Chaminade was a great experience. It’s where I grew up professionally, and it’s where I developed my academic and administrative skills.”

A Family Affair

As a child, Tesia Chang, MSJCA ’15 was always intrigued by detective and cop shows. Her father used to read her Nate the Great books, a children’s detective series about a young boy who solves mysteries written by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat.

“I always knew I wanted to become an investigator,” says Chang. “I wanted to follow in my mother’s footsteps.”

Chang’s mother passed away when she was three-years-old. It was always her goal to carry on her mother’s legacy.

Her mother had started as a clerk, until one of her supervisors recognized that she had an ability to do even more and go on to bigger things. Her supervisor encouraged her to seek higher education, so she got her college degree and advanced to become an investigator with the State of Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

There was a time in Chang’s life, toward the end of her undergraduate career, when she considered becoming an attorney and going to law school. She studied hard, took the LSAT and applied for law school—but those doors didn’t open.

She didn’t know it at the time, but it was a blessing in disguise. She’s now an investigator with the State of Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, just like her mother used to be.

After graduating from college and realizing she was not going to become an attorney, Chang felt lost. She got a job working at a law firm as a file clerk while she tried to figure out her next move and worked at McDonald’s on the side. She used the opportunity to gain life skills, and to try to change the way she had been thinking about things.

“The one major thing that the whole process taught me was to think about things differently,” says Chang. “It helped prepare me for my current line of work. We’re often confronted with a wide range of complaints—some are very simple and others are very complex. It regularly requires analyzing things from a different perspective.”

Then, one day her father let her know about Chaminade’s Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration program. He had friends in the law enforcement community who highly recommended it.

Chang enrolled, and got accepted. She kept her job at the law firm, and through Chaminade’s program she found an internship at the Honolulu Police Department in the Crime Scene Unit.

“I was shadowing evidence specialists,” recalls Chang. “There’s a lot of thought about how the scene was when you found it, and you have to use a lot of science and deductive reasoning. That was a really great opportunity.”

The experience re-ignited her passion for becoming an investigator and set her back on the career path she had always thought she’d follow.

Today, Chang talks about how the program gave her direction and believes it can give other students direction also.

“If you go through Chaminade’s program, it will definitely give you better direction or at least confirm where you want to be,” she says. “This is definitely the program that’s going to help you realize what you want to do.”

Toward the end of her time at Chaminade, she became a student helper at the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and when she graduated, the folks at the department let her know about a temporary emergency hire—someone from the unit was being deployed and they were looking to fill the position in the interim. A few months later, she became a permanent employee and has been there ever since.

Chang spends her days investigating consumer complaints about unfair and deceptive acts.

“We investigate a broad spectrum of different scams,” describes Chang. “Mortgage rescue fraud scams, refund and exchange laws and more. If a store doesn’t post proper signage, then that could be considered an unfair or deceptive act or practice.”

Chaminade taught her how to process information and think critically about a subject. She learned how to pick a topic and research it, and how to go about gathering information to support or disprove a theory. She finds herself using that knowledge on a daily basis.

“It’s the same process when you receive a complaint,” she says. “You analyze it and process it into pieces, and that allows you to analyze the evidence effectively. Based on that, you can draw a pretty good conclusion.”

She particularly remembers her courses with Professor Collin Lau, a lecturer of criminology and criminal justice.

“His classes forced you to cut down on the flowery stuff and get straight to the point and to the meat of the issue,” says Chang. “The complaints we receive give all sorts of information and you need to be able to cut through to get the who, what, when, where and why. Professor Lau’s courses taught me to dissect through all the information.”

Chang truly believes the experience she had at Chaminade has helped make her a better investigator. “I honestly feel like I wouldn’t be as effective of an investigator if I hadn’t gone through Chaminade’s masters program, and I can see that as I continue to work here.”

She thrives on the thrill of her job. She loves that it keeps her on her toes, and she never knows what kind of complaint she’s going to get next. Her favorite complaints involve refunds and exchanges, because she often goes undercover on site inspections.

“Being incognito is part of the fun,” says Chang excitedly. “We can dress up and pose as customers. We’re able to have a different experience that’s pretty close to how a customer would experience it.”

Her job has definitely impacted the way she shops and it’s made her a much more wary consumer. She’s learned to ask a lot of questions, something she always encourages other consumers to do. She believes questions are one of the best defenses against scams.

“If there’s one thing this job teaches you, it’s to not take anything at face value,” says Chang. “This job definitely opens your eyes to a lot of things that you wouldn’t have been aware of if you were just a consumer. Knowledge is definitely power.”

Despite all of the excitement and thrill she finds on a daily basis at work, Chang’s reasons for loving her job are very personal. Knowing that she’s carrying on her mother’s legacy has been way more meaningful than she ever anticipated. She’s found a closeness to her mother that she hadn’t known before.

“Because I was so young when she passed away, the reality of not having her in my life didn’t really kick in until I started working here,” shares Chang. “Once I started working here, I could actually imagine working with her.”

Sometimes, she plays through different scenarios in her head about what it would have been like to work with her mother.

“Sometimes I think ‘wow, if we worked in the same office, we could have been taking lunch breaks together, come to work together, left work together,’” says Chang. “It definitely helps me in my mind create a stronger connection to her.”

When she gets sad, she tries to focus on the fact that she’s helping people, just like her mother did.

“Whether we’re helping someone get some sort of restitution, or helping them by filing a complaint, our office is able to take action and stop the respondent from hurting anyone else,” she says. “It feels great when we’re able to help a consumer.”

Finding Her Home Away From Home

When Melanie Legdesog Veltri originally came to Chaminade University as an undergraduate from Micronesia, her plan was to get a degree and then go back home to help her community. She wasn’t expecting to find a Micronesian community in Hawai‘i that needed her just as much.

Melani Legdesog Veltri '06, MSCJA '08

Veltri had always wanted to attend university in Hawai‘i, and she was attracted to Chaminade’s small class sizes and intimate community. 

“My parents and I both thought it would be a good transition after coming from a small place,” explains Veltri. And they were right. Veltri found a home at Chaminade. “I had just moved here and I didn’t know anything about what living in the U.S. was like—I really learned from Chaminade. I took a lot in since I was so young and impressionable.”

It wasn’t long before Veltri became a very active member of the Chaminade ‘ohana and Campus Ministry.

She graduated in 2006 with a degree in criminology and criminal justice, and immediately got a job working in the Records office on campus. She also enrolled in the master’s in Criminal Justice Administration program and would go to classes in the evenings. 

She really liked the perspective she gained through the master’s program, and the fact that so many of her peers were already professionals in the criminal justice field.

“I was able to take classes with people who were professionals, a lot of military members who did various things and were able to contribute to whatever we were studying academically,” describes Veltri. “Hearing from their first-hand experience gave me a whole other level of learning.”

But her plan had always been to become an attorney—Micronesia needed lawyers and doctors and her plan at the time was to go back home to help her community. So after graduating in 2008 with her master’s degree, she left her job in the Records office and enrolled in law school. 

“I didn’t really see myself doing business law or working in an office, I wanted to do something that directly impacts people,” says Veltri. “Becoming a public defender is what I was interested in since the beginning.”

Upon becoming a J.D. in 2012, she spent some time working for the Hawai‘i State Legislature as a staff attorney for the House Judiciary Committee while she waited for a position as a public defender to open up. She wanted to get some work experience and utilize her networks in Hawaii before she headed back home. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long, and by 2013 she had landed her dream job. 

Veltri was drawn to working with underserved and underrepresented communities. She spends her days advising people who normally wouldn’t have access to an attorney or be able to afford legal advice. She helps them navigate a very complex and often overwhelming legal system.

“If I didn’t give them advice, they’d be lost,” describes Veltri. “It’s overwhelming for them. But when I help, I can see their appreciation.”

Veltri sees firsthand that the biggest issues on O‘ahu are the prevalence of drugs and the high levels of homelessness.

“People just can’t pay for rent and can’t get stable,” says Veltri. “We have a drug problem here that keeps people cycling in and out of the jail system. Especially with the rising cost of housing, I don’t see this problem solving itself in the near future.” 

Veltri doesn’t know what the solution is on a policy level, but she knows that the work she’s doing is making a difference for the people who are struggling. 

“If it’s a drug issue, maybe I can help divert them to the right program,” says Veltri. “Or if it’s a mental health problem, I can direct them to case management. I guess I’m trying to do something about the problem in a way that I know how. For me, it’s how I know how to help and it’s how I can contribute to the solution.” 

Veltri says she draws on her Chaminade experiences and education all the time. She shares a lot of the values that Chaminade instills and she has taken those into all aspects of her professional life. She embodies the Marianist focus on community service and does what she can to serve her community wherever she is. 

But Chaminade has also shaped her personal life. She and her husband got married at Chaminade, and her son was baptised at the Mystical Rose Oratory. She also encouraged her siblings to follow in her footsteps and attend Chaminade.

“I keep getting drawn back to Chaminade and I want to maintain that connection,” says Veltri. “It has had such a profound influence on who I am today. A lot of the decisions I make, I just keep coming back to Chaminade.” 

So much of her network in Hawai‘i is because of Chaminade. 

“It is very much a family-oriented school,” says Veltri. “You just feel this connection with your peers and classmates. The classes were so small, I know of my classmates—a lot of them are in the criminal justice field—and I still see them in the community. I guess it’s just, we grew up together.” 

The tight-knit community is part of what has kept Veltri in Hawai‘i. But the fact that Veltri has found so much need in Hawai‘i has also kept her in the islands longer than she had planned. 

“When I initially came out here to go to school, my goal was always to go back home and to help my community,” says Veltri. “But ever since I started doing the work I’m doing I find it hard to leave.” 

Veltri has found that even though she’s miles away from home, she’s still helping her community. A 1986 agreement between the Federated State of Micronesia and the United States provides Micronesians with the ability to work, study and live freely in the U.S, and today, Micronesians are Hawai‘i’s fastest growing immigrant population. In 2018, it was estimated that there were 18,000 Micronesians living in Hawai‘i, and that number was growing rapidly. 

At work, Veltri is involved in a project to support the Micronesian community. Through the program she works with legal aid, immigration attorneys and legal clinics to help educate the community. 

“The most recent project had to do with all of these emergency order violations and violating quarantine,” says Veltri. “They were just ticketing everyone and a lot of people in the Micronesian community were getting these tickets and didn’t know what to do with them.” 

To help educate the Micronesian community about new laws and regulations, they have started partnering with community leaders and relying on them to help disperse information. Recently, they held a virtual Q&A session to answer questions about the new regulations. 

“It’s a project that I’m proud to be part of,” says Veltri. “We’re becoming more and more active and people are starting to reach out to us to ask for help.”

Veltri still does want to go home at some point, but not until she feels like her work here is done. “There’s still a lot to do, and there are still a lot of ways that I can help where I am,” she says. “I love that I get to help the Micronesian community—those are my people and that’s where I come from.”

A Passion for Criminal Justice Reform

At the age of 16, Shekina Boling had her first experience with the criminal justice system. It was, as she describes it, unfavorable. She had been sexually assaulted, and the criminal justice process that followed her attack was lengthy and uncomfortable, to say the least. 

After a drawn out and emotional trial, Boling’s attacker was ultimately found guilty. She is one of the lucky few—according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), only 3 out of 4 sexual assaults are ever reported. And for every 230 sexual assaults that are reported to the police, only 46 reports will lead to arrest and only 5 cases will lead to a federal conviction. 

“I’m very thankful my assailant was found guilty,” recalls Boling. “My attorney had kept prepping me that it’s not very often these types of individuals are convicted. It shed light on something that I hadn’t realized took place.”

Shekina Boling, Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration

The experience was what first made Boling interested in a criminal justice career. And it’s what drove her to pursue her undergraduate degree in public administration and justice administration.

But as an undergraduate taking criminal justice classes, she discovered another side of the criminal justice system that she became even more passionate about—wrongful convictions.

“After learning these things, I found it was something I felt really strongly about,” describes Boling. “It was always something that saddened me, knowing that wrongful incarceration was a very common occurrence in the U.S. And there still haven’t been a lot of reform efforts to reduce these kinds of things.”

Upon graduating, she knew she wanted to get her master’s in criminal justice. The Waipahu native didn’t know what to expect enrolling in graduate school, particularly since she lands on the side of criminal justice reform.

She decided to enroll in Chaminade’s Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration program partly because of Chaminade’s well-known and well-respected forensic science department. Ultimately, she’d like to work for the Innocence Project, helping to overturn wrongful convictions, and she believes having an understanding of forensic science plays a vital role in proving innocence.

“A lot of the time forensics is used as this infallible idea and it’s not questioned,” says Boling. “I believe the legal system has flaws and in order to propose effective solutions you need to understand the system to the fullest extent.”

Despite her initial nerves, she’s found a welcoming and friendly environment at Chaminade. She knows her calls for criminal justice reform are not always popular within the field, but that’s why she loves Chaminade’s program so much. The classes are small and intimate, and make for a really transparent environment to have lively and informed discussions.

“People are all very passionate and are willing to have discussions even if you have contradicting beliefs,” says Boling. “So far everyone has been very respectful, even if they have a different opinion.”

She likes the inclusivity that Chaminade promotes, and loves how her professors constantly present ethical dilemmas and questions that force her to reevaluate her position.

“Without a doubt, I would say it’s helping me solidify my beliefs on everything and helping me find my voice,” says Boling. “Every class provides a safe space for voicing your opinions and backing them up.”

Boling thinks it’s the perfect time to be pursuing a Master’s in criminal justice, with so much of the nation’s spotlight on criminal justice reform. And she’s really enjoying that her professors are not shying away from talking about current events.

“Not only is there such an abundance of information that keeps coming out every single day—we’re moving into such a divisive period of American history—but every day illustrates themes that we learn about in the program,” explains Boling. “It’s a way for students to really hone their beliefs and see where they really stand and what they’re for and what they’re against, and find the reasons why they believe what they do.”

This last year in the program has helped Boling solidify her own stance on things and have the substance to back up her own positions. She’s also really enjoyed having friends and classmates that she can text when she sees things in the news, and has enjoyed sharing her passions and interests with them. 

Boling will graduate in March, and then wants to get her Ph.D. in forensic analysis. She’s looking at programs across the mainland for next fall, while keeping a close eye on the COVID-19 situation. 

“Because of where we are right now with the pandemic, I’m a little hesitant to want to move,” admits Boling. Since Hawaii does not currently offer a Ph.D. in forensics, she’s also exploring local internship opportunities in case she chooses to stay local and wait out the pandemic. 

Long term, she would like to become a State Policy Advocate with the Innocence Project and contribute to policy reform in Hawaii. To become eligible and competitive for the position, she needs at least three years of experience working with the legislative system. For now, if a Ph.D. program doesn’t work out for the fall, that’s where she plans to start.