Bridging academia and prison reform through teaching

Many branches can be taken when going into the criminal justice field. Corrections is one of these branches.

Corrections are the punishment, rehabilitation, supervision, and treatment of those who have been convicted of committing criminal acts.

Scott Henrie, a professor here at Utah State University Eastern, has had many years of experience in the corrections field. Henrie grew up in Sunset, Utah. Henrie moved to Carbon County in 1985. His family held down jobs as Machinists, which he followed in their footsteps. After several years of watching parts get carried down an assembly line, Henrie decided that he needed a change. After moving down to Price to be closer to family, he discovered a poster advertising for the local sheriff’s department.

Henrie worked for the sheriff’s department for seven years while attending the College of Eastern Utah, now known as Utah State University Eastern.

Henrie says that he isn’t one to settle on a certain thing for long periods of time, and that was apparent when he decided to leave the sheriff’s department to work for corrections, specifically adult probation and parole. This opened many doors for Henrie, allowing him to not only have a change of pace in his career but also to receive partial reimbursement for his tuition.

Henrie was the first person in his family to obtain a college degree. After completing his bachelor’s degree, he began teaching part-time and then decided to return to school to earn his master’s degree in administrative justice and security.

Henrie always had a strong desire to work in law enforcement and was determined to make that a reality for himself.

Henrie learned many valuable lessons during his time in law enforcement. One of these lessons was taught to him by a former supervisor, who expressed that money wasn’t everything. He said that some of the most valuable things he could receive from his job were the way he made

others feel. Henrie stated that he believed many of the people he dealt with were good people who made a couple of bad decisions.

Henrie loves teaching and watching students have that “light bulb” moment. He enjoys meeting with students and giving them advice on how they should move forward in their schooling. Henrie says that the portion of his life that he has spent as a professor has been much calmer than the portion that he spent in law enforcement. He has been teaching students longer than any other job he has ever had.

When asked if there was anything that he would change, Henrie said that he would have received his degree sooner. When he was attending school, both he and his wife were students and working part-time jobs to pay for their education. Henrie would take one class a semester, allowing his wife to get her teaching degree sooner.

Henrie says that it’s easy to stay up to date with current events in our society, due to the news and online sources that update within minutes. He says that there are also websites such as Police1 and Corrections1 that are helpful sources for law enforcement, as they also act as training opportunities. Henrie spent a couple of years creating some of these online classes for corrections students to use.

Henrie, along with multiple other professors on the USU Eastern campus, started a program for students to have the opportunity to travel to different places to experience and tour prisons around the world. They have been everywhere from Alcatraz in California to the Yuma Territorial Prison in Yuma, Ariz. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to expand their knowledge and see the world at the same time. Henrie encourages anyone who has a passion for corrections or law enforcement to attend this trip.

Henrie says that even though he’s retired from law enforcement, he still learns new things from his students. He has had many students who bring new ideas and topics to class that strengthen the discussion and occasionally enlighten him about a fact or an individual.

Henrie wishes that more respect were given to law enforcement in today’s society. Many individuals who look forward to going into this career path are scared away by how law enforcement is treated in the community. When law enforcement is dealing with an individual, most of the time, they are at their lowest. This creates a negative experience for the individual without the officer doing anything, and puts a bad light on these law enforcement workers. Henrie wishes that this were not the case and that there was more appreciation shown toward law enforcement.

Henrie believes that one of the most important skills that law enforcement personnel can possess is being a social worker. He says that “police officers who are half social workers, half police officers, make the best police officers.”

Henrie says that arresting an individual doesn’t always solve the issues at hand and that sometimes it’s more effective to talk to an individual and work out the conflict.

When asked if he had one piece of advice for students, Henrie said to find your passion. He says to find what you love and stick with it. He says that he never dreads going to work and that he hopes all students can find a career that they look forward to doing. Henrie believes that students should fail and try again, change their minds repeatedly, and chase what they love.