SOUTHWESTERN ASSOCIATION
OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Arkansas - Arizona - Colorado - New Mexico - Oklahoma - Texas
AWARDS
Felix Fabian Founder's Award
The Felix Fabian Founder's Award is awarded to SWACJ members who are deemed deserving of special recognition for their outstanding contributions to SWACJ and the profession.
Selection criteria:
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Active member in good standing of SWACJ for at least five (5) consecutive years
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Active involvement in criminal justice education and research for the preceding five (5) years.
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Through service activities, has made a substantial contribution to SWACJ and to the discipline of criminal justice.
Dr. Ronald "Chip" Burns (Texas Christian University) is the recipient of the 2023 Felix Fabian Founder's Award. More information about this prestigious honor as well as past recipients can be found by clicking the links below.
Student CSI Competition
This competition occurs annually as part of the SWACJ Annual Meeting. Teams of up to five (5) members photograph, sketch, and document a processed crime scene. Teams may not include professional, reserve, or former peace officers or crime scene technicians regardless of status as students.
Results of the 2023 Student CSI Competition at the SWACJ Annual Meeting in Little Rock, AR:
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University of Arkansas (Team #2)
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Prairie View A&M University (Purple Team)
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Prairie View A&M University (Gold Team)
More information about the 2024 Student CSI Competition coming soon!
Undergraduate Student Quiz Bowl
The Quiz Bowl consists of two relays followed by a championship round. For the two relays, teams will be divided as evenly as possible and relay assignment will be done by random selection. The winning team from each relay will compete in the championship round. The two teams in the championship round will not carry over any previous points from the first relays. The team with the most points in the championship round will receive the first price ($250); the remaining team in the championship round will receive the second prize ($150). Prize money for the first and second place teams will be given to the faculty advisor for the winning teams to be used as they determine.
Teams in the first relays will be quizzed from the following categories: law enforcement, corrections, U.S. judicial system, criminal law, and criminal procedure. In the event of a tie, applicable teams will be quizzed on major supreme court decisions.
Teams in the championship will compete for first place and will be quizzed from the following categories: criminology and history of the criminal justice system. In the event of a tie, the tie-breaker will include questions on research methodology.
Results of the 2023 Undergraduate Student Quiz Bowl at the SWACJ Annual Meeting in Little Rock, AR:
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Texas Christian University
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University of Arkansas (Team #2)
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Prairie View A&M University
More information about the 2024 Undergraduate Student Quiz Bowl coming soon!
Undergraduate Student Paper Competition
Interested undergraduate students are encouraged to submit a paper on a criminal justice topic that is both relevant and current to criminal justice. There is a wide variety of types of papers that could concieveably be entered into this competition, which include:
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A literature review of a research topic that demonstrates the ability to synthesize current findings and interpret future research needs
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A policy review of a crime-related topic that incorporates an understanding of how policy impacts practice
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A legal analysis of a relevant and current court case
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A research proposal to study a crime and justice-related topic
Submissions are judged on the following criteria:
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The student's ability to synthesize research relevant to their topic
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The student's ability to justify the proposed study
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The student's ability to develop an appropriate research design or organize a literature review
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The student's ability to draw conclusions about their outcomes based on current research/literature
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The student's ability to write effectively
The authors of the top three submissions may be awarded $150 (1st place), $100 (2nd place), and $50 (3rd place).
Results of the 2019 Undergraduate Student Paper Competition at the SWACJ Annual Meeting in Houston:
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Carlos Bourne (TAMUCT)
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Rachel Dugan
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Kat Curtis (TAMUCT)
More information about the 2024 Undergraduate Paper Competition coming soon!
Graduate Student Paper Competition
Interested graduate students are encouraged to submit a paper on a criminal justice topic that is both relevant and current to criminal justice. There is a wide variety of types of papers that could concieveably be entered into this competition, which include:
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A literature review of a research topic that demonstrates the ability to synthesize current findings and interpret future research needs
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A policy review of a crime-related topic that incorporates an understanding of how policy impacts practice
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A legal analysis of a relevant and current court case
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A research proposal to study a crime and justice-related topic
Submissions are judged on the following criteria:
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The student's ability to synthesize research relevant to their topic
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The student's ability to justify the proposed study
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The student's ability to develop an appropriate research design or organize a literature review
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The student's ability to draw conclusions about their outcomes based on current research/literature
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The student's ability to write effectively
The authors of the top three submissions could be awarded $250 (1st place), $150 (2nd place), or $100 (3rd place). Any prizes may be awarded or withheld at the judges' discretion.
Results of the 2023 Graduate Student Paper Competition at the SWACJ Annual Meeting in Little Rock, AR:
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ChristiAnna Page (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)
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Allison Escobedo (University of Texas at Dallas)
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Katelin Matusevich (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)
More information about the 2024 Graduate Paper Competition coming soon!