In 1998 the early iterations of the University of Winnipeg Criminal Justice Students Association started. At this time the Department of Criminal Justice had yet to come about, and was still referred to as the Studies in Justice and Law Enforcement Program. The student association was started by Mathieu Blanchette and was referred to the Justice and Law Enforcement student association (JALE). The primary goal of this group was to engage in social gatherings for the students. They also had a limited run of T-shirts with JALE logo. 

 

The initial iteration of the CJSA ran for about four years and then became dormant. The Studies Justice and Law Enforcement program changed its name to Criminal Justice in 2004. A new student group then initiated the ‘Criminal Justice Students Association”.  The newly named Criminal Justice Student Group was led by By Teresa Chernecki, a transplanted business major. She made her mark on the CJSA by operating a “downtown watch” volunteer student group, developing this in discussions with University of Winnipeg President, Lloyd Axworthy, and CJ Chair Dr. Michael Weinrath. Students could volunteer to walk the campus, and area that surrounded the University of Winnipeg as student ambassadors, replicating many of the monitoring features of the Downtown Watch. The program provided red and black uniforms. This program operated for two years but given the limited area to cover and the lack of problems, the program did not last.. Interestingly, Ms. Chernecki was the only president to date who was able to schedule a CJSA funded trip to visit the RCMP depot in Regina, something most Criminal Justice majors would be interested in seeing! She graduated with a Bachelor of Criminal Justice, Honours. 

 

After Ms. Chernecki, the president became Honours Criminal Justice student Gavin Donatelli. Under the direction of Mr. Donatelli, the program saw its first shift to being centered around issues of social justice and activism. Notably, many students and Criminal Justice faculty walked down to the Manitoba legislative with CJSA students in 2010 protesting Bill C-10. This bill also titled the Safer Streets and Communities Act, was passed by the federal Harper Conservative government to increase the amount of time an individual spent in either adult or youth incarceration.

 

 The CJSA leadership was then assumed by  President Garrett Lecoq and Vice President Josh Walker, who generated a significant amount of CJSA/ Criminal Justice merchandise. This allowed the CJSA to raise funds and contribute to much of the CJSA’s income each year with each president that followed. In 2014 Ben Donald took over and this iteration saw the students again focused on many social, community, and funding events. 

 

Double Honours student, RainShyne Morpheus (Psych/CJ) took over the CJSA from Mr. Donald. Under Mrs. Morpheus, the CJSA focused on fundraising and scholarships. This chapter made a significant impact through the sale of merchandise, bake sales and a Bud and Spud Fundraiser which saw many Criminal Justice professionals gather in support of the CJSA. They also established a CJSA website. Ms. Morpheus also made a significant contribution to raising and donating funds for Criminal Justice undergraduate scholarships. The student group raised $9,000 towards the Wendl-Friesen CJ Scholarship in 2016.

 

In Spring 2018, the current President of the CJSA Joyce Jugo took over with her team. Much like many of the recent CJSA Presidents, Ms. Jugo is also a Criminal Justice Honours student. Her vision is for the CJSA to provide students with events through networking, social and community events. Joyce and her team had hundreds of pieces of CJSA merchandise sold, completed two bake sales, and successfully planned the 2nd Annual “One Last Slice” where students can gather with both faculty and staff in Criminal Justice and greater University community over pizza and drink.

 

On June 1, 2019, Ms. Belisle became the first Master of Arts student to be President of the CJSA. With her Vice President, Victoria Oliveira, and their Executive team, they held various events such as "Meet The Profs", a corrections panel in addition to a law panel for students interested in the fields, and multiple bake sales. They also participated in a variety of charity events. Both Ms. Belisle and Oliveira are proud to have started the Director of Indigenous Affairs position to promote diversity within not only the CJSA but those who have been harmed by the legacy of Criminal “Justice” in Canada.

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Ms. Belisle handed over the CJSA to Ms. Sara Pelland on May 1st, 2020. 

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We thank all of our previous presidents, as well as executive and sitting members for the contributions they made to criminal justice and student life for their cohorts. The contributions made, no matter how small, were definitely not lost on the students you served.

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