Crime and Punishment Grab Students’ Interest : Schools: More than half of next year’s Camarillo High seniors choose to take a course that explores justice system, related careers.

Here’s a pop quiz: Which lecture sounds more appealing--a discussion of the three branches of American government or how O. J. Simpson’s DNA might nail him for double murder?

The overwhelming answer for students at Camarillo High School is O. J. all the way.

A new course that explores the U.S. criminal justice system and its corresponding careers has proven so popular that instructors intend to offer it six times next school year--the first time the class is available.

About 275 students are opting to take this new criminal justice / pre-law course instead of a class on American government, said teacher Jim Steele. That’s more than half of the entire senior class, he said.

The course is open only to seniors and is worth five credits, more than many high school classes, Steele said. Seniors can apply the credit to their social studies course requirements, he said.

Educators decided to offer the course in response to growing student interest in careers involving the law and its enforcement, Steele said. Besides introducing students to careers that require a college degree--such as an attorney--the class lets them get a feel for jobs that don’t require as much additional education, he said.

Those positions include legal secretaries, court reporters, sheriff’s deputies and police officers. Speakers from those fields will be invited into the classroom, as well as prosecutors, public defenders and paralegals, Steele said.

The guests will explain their occupations, describe what skills are necessary to get jobs such as theirs and answer students’ questions, he said. The course will also touch on constitutional rights and, of course, will briefly address the legislative, executive and judicial branches of American government, Steele said.

A second semester of field study is being planned for those who show strong interest in a particular career, Steele said.

For instance, a student interested in collecting crime evidence could spend several hours a week with a specialist in the county’s crime lab, he said. A would-be police officer could ride along in a patrol car during a shift.

And future Judge Itos might spend time observing a trial in Ventura’s Hall of Justice, Steele said, adding that he will be contacting police officers and justices this summer to complete arrangements.

“It’s a way for kids to interact with someone who can answer their questions about the latest trends in a chosen career,” Steele said. “We want to make sure that what we’re teaching in the classroom has some real-life applications.”

Educators are looking for new ways to steer students to vocations, and the criminal justice / pre-law course is one of several vocational education programs springing up in Ventura County schools.

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Oxnard High School offers a two-semester hospitality and tourism program that introduces students to jobs in the tourism industry: chefs, hotel managers, marketing executives and travel agents.

And Moorpark High School, jointly with Moorpark Community College, offers a course on law enforcement that is taught by a police officer. This class on administration of justice is taught at the high school campus and can be used for college credit, officials said.

Steele’s class at Camarillo High is modeled after a similar criminal justice course started at Ventura High School in 1980 by teacher Don Haskell. Buena High in Ventura also began offering the course in 1984, Haskell said.

In Haskell’s class, students learn about criminal and civil law and hear from a variety of speakers. They also visit the California Youth Authority in Camarillo, go to the Hall of Justice to watch a trial and put on their own mock trial, Haskell said.

About six of his former students have gone on to become police officers, he said.

“The students are interested and that’s half the battle,” Haskell said. “You’ve got students there because they want to be there.”

Stacey Corwin is one Camarillo High student who is looking forward to Steele’s class. The 16-year-old sophomore said that she decided to become a criminal analyst as she watched the O. J. Simpson murder case unfold.

“All of the criminal work with the O. J. case, the crime stuff, really fascinates me,” she said. “So this course fits right into the category that will get me started for college.”