FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2017, 8:00 a.m., CDT
Contact Jason Hogue, Peru State College, Marketing and Communications, 402-872-2429
Peru, Nebraska- Eight Peru State students participated in the 2017 National American Criminal Justice
Association / Lambda Alpha Epsilon Conference in Austin, Texas from March 26 to March
31. The theme for this year’s conference was the problem of Human Trafficking.
The students were accompanied by Danny Hayes, instructor of criminal justice, and
Dr. Amber Mahan, assistant professor of criminal justice; both serve as advisors for
Peru State's chapter of ACJA / LAE, Kappa Omicron Rho. LAE is a national criminal
justice honor's society.
Mahan said, “Being involved with this organization allows the students a realistic
view as what is to come when choosing a career in the criminal justice field.”
Those who participated at the ACJA / LAE Conference worked with experts from the Texas
Attorney General’s Office and Traffick911 who are working to end human trafficking.
Triffick911 is a Texas-based non-profit organization working to free American youth
from sex trafficking through prevention, identification and empowerment.
Participants also heard from current Austin Police Chief Brian Manley who addressed
many of the challenges facing law enforcement today. Chief Manley has been with the
Austin Police Department since 1990 and during this time he has served in and supervised
many areas including Patrol, Narcotics, Child Abuse, Homicide, Highway Enforcement,
Internal Affairs, Special Operations & Homeland Security, and Recruiting & Training.
Samantha Carlson, vice president of Kappa Omicron Rho, said, “The conference and being
a part of LAE allows me to make connections within the organization that will assist
me in the future.”
Attendees also had a chance to participate in written examinations (criminal law,
police management, juvenile justice, corrections and LAE knowledge), a crime scene
investigation, firearms and physical agility competition. The participants were split
into three categories: 1) a lower division for students with under 70 credit hours;
2) a upper division for students with over 70 credit hours; 3) and a professional
division. Those who placed within the top three in their category were recognized
and received a trophy.
Peru State College participants earned six national trophies this year including three
first place trophies in the professional division. Peru State’s Chapter, Kappa Omicron
Rho, placed fifth nationally for number of trophy points earned.
Hailey Bouwens of Lincoln won second place in the lower student division for the Police
Management examination. Bouwens is majoring in criminal justice and psychology.
Dr. Amber Mahan won first place in the Physical Agility competition for women between
the ages of 26 and 35.
Danny Hayes took first place in the Physical Agility competition for men over age
36, first place in the examination for Lambda Alpha Epsilon Knowledge and second place
in the examination on Corrections. Hayes has a history of regional and national awards
in these areas including another national first place award in Physical Agility from
2015.
For more information about ACJA / LAE at Peru State, contact Danny Hayes at dhayes@peru.edu or Dr. Amber Mahan at amahan@peru.edu.
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(Left to right) Treasurer Hailey Bouwens, President Evan Davies, Vice President Samantha Carlson, Sergeant at Arms Grant Jensen, Secretary Samantha Daake, Faculty Advisor Dr. Amber Mahan, Shawn Gaskill, Sarah Morales, Derek Faxon, Faculty Advisor Danny Hayes.
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