About Us

Caminos Derechos is an innovative program designed to recruit and train qualified, culturally competent, bilingual graduates available to work in the criminal justice field. The shortage of qualified applicants who speak English and Spanish places strain on existing criminal justice system resources; and raises questions about the ability of the system to respond to basic human needs and rights. 

Our Goals

The Caminos Derechos program has a number of important goals and specific objectives to meet them.  

Produce culturally competent graduates to work in the criminal justice field in the Mid-South.

• Create a context for students to use their Spanish language skills.

  • Invite guest speakers to discuss Latino issues.

  • Offer cross-listed courses for criminal justice credit taught in Spanish.

  • Lead international cultural exchange opportunities.

• Recruit and retain qualified bilingual undergraduate and graduate students to study criminology and criminal justice.

  • Create targeted mentoring and recruitment of Latino high school juniors and seniors living in the Mid-South.

  • Recruit qualified bilingual native Spanish speakers to pursue graduate studies at the UofM.

  • Provide incentives for bilingual students.

Provide useful feedback and recommendations to Mid-South criminal justice and social service agencies on the needs of the Mid-South Latino population.

• Become relevant in the Mid-South as a credible source of information on Latino issues.

  • Become a clearinghouse of quality research on Latino issues living in the Mid-South, especially on issues of crime.

  • Pursue opportunities to disseminate accurate information on Latino issues.

  • Participate actively in organizational meetings that deal with Latino issues.

• Recruit and retain qualified bilingual undergraduate and graduate students to study criminology and criminal justice.

  • Make these agencies aware of unique cultural and social issues among Latinos.

  • Offer meaningful constructive assistance and consulting on policies and procedures when appropriate.

  • Pay attention to events in the community and seek opportunities to serve the community.

• Understand the Mid-South Latino community.

  • Depend on quantitative and qualitative data driven research.

  • Spend time in the community talking to neighborhood leaders, social service providers, and members of the criminal justice community (i.e., law enforcement, courts, corrections).

Serve the Mid-South Latino community by providing quality information and resources to create an improved understanding of American norms, social expectations, and laws.

• Produce accessible public service announcements (PSA’s) to the Mid-South Latino community.

  • Prepare releases for publication in Spanish language newspapers.

  • Provide talent for the development and production of PSA’s for radio and television.

  • Obtain and share publicly available resources from federal, state and local, resources.

  • Be available to make bilingual presentations about issues affecting the Latino population in the Mid-South.