Hawthorne High School’s Criminal Justice class, a new elective this year taught by Joshua Kabrel, visited the Hawthorne Police Shooting Range to learn about the lethal force of guns on October 16, 2013.

Detectives Joseph Carr and Robert King, as well as Officers Nicholas Robert and Benjamin Veenema, presented handguns, shotguns, assault rifles and machine guns to the students to display the destructive force guns have. The officers explained the procedures involved when using a lethal weapon, and the students were allowed to fire off a round from a handgun and a machine gun. Hawthorne High School sophomore Michael David said, “It was very, very fun, and I learned a lot.”

This field trip coincided with Kabrel’s lessons about the proper uses of force by the police. Detectives Carr and King both came to the classes during school to speak to the students about their training with these weapons and real-life situations involving deadly weapons.

The detectives have also been talking to the classes about other possible field trip locations, including the county jail and a court room. According to Kabrel, other likely events might include guest speakers from the state police, Port Authority, or private investigators.

Kabrel attested that these experiences “are very important for students, to get a full idea of the criminal justice system, and hearing it from real live people makes it more interesting and gives a better idea of what is involved in law enforcement.”