Law & Public Safety

The field of Law & Public Safety is an essential service, constantly evolving to meet the safety and social needs of our community. Our Pathway students enter a program that understands that the most successful public servants possess a deep knowledge of many, varied subjects with a wide range of skills; they understand the history of law enforcement and the needs of society, throughout our history and today.

Our students learn about our law enforcement agencies, at the local, state and national level, along with the forensic sciences employed by those agencies to ensure our safety. Students will also come to understand the courts and our systems of jurisprudence.

Throughout the pathway, students will be given opportunities to complete 80 hours of work-based learning, which along with the required course work and classes, will fulfill the requirements for the Law and Public Safety CTE Program.

Program Timeline

In addition to the suggested course timeline below, students must meet BHS’ graduation requirements.


Grade 9

Technology Explorations

1 credit


Grade 10

Criminal Justice: Social and Ethics Issues

0.5 credit


Forensic Science

0.5 credit


Grade 11

Law and Society

1 credit*


Grade 12

Introduction to Policing

1 credit*


*Opportunity to earn 3 college credits through Roger Williams University

What You'll Learn

  • In Criminal Justice, students learn about social and ethical issues in the criminal justice system today.

  • In Forensic Science, students apply science to matters of the law, which takes them from the crime scene to the courtroom, revealing the techniques that professionals use to identify and collect evidence, analyze it, and apply the results in an investigation.

  • Law and Society introduces and prepares students for possible career pathways in government, public administration, law, public safety and security.

  • In Intro. to Policing, students learn the fundamental principles of law enforcement at the college level, exploring the chronology of policing in the U.S.