Tough work, vital mission is the slogan the Drug Enforcement Administration uses to describe their work.
Special Agent Doug Dorley said, “Tough work means doing jobs that a lot of people don’ t want to do, doing the jobs that are necessary for the betterment of society, and doing jobs that a lot of people don’t want to know about, but were still willing to do the job because its vital to the betterment of society and the United States.”
Dorley is assigned to the major crimes and enforcement group. The main duty of the group is to investigate conspiracies surrounding drug cartels. In addition, Dorley is involved in the marijuana ratification program for the state of Kansas to help the Kansas Bureau of Investigation destroy marijuana fields.
Twelve-year veteran, Special Agent Chad Robacker is in charge of recruiting for the DEA office for the Kansas City region. Robacker’s duties include contacting potential recruits, setting up panel interviews for recruits and conducting psychological tests. Various tests are administered to help determine what field of work the recruit would be the most successful in. Once the recruit passes these tests the physical fitness portion of the recruitment process.
“Once you get to the academy, that’s when it makes or breaks you,” said Robacker. “You arrive on a Sunday and take the test on Tuesday.”
Although becoming a DEA agent requires several steps, the process is worth it according to Robacker.
“Being a Drug Enforcement Administration agent is a rewarding job to me,” said Robacker. “We try to curb the distribution of drugs by working with the many State and Local agencies in our area of responsibility.”
The Criminology Club is led by president Ronnie Hernandez. Hernandez enjoys being president and wants to continue bring speakers to help educate members about career opportunities.
“I want to make sure who ever secedes me brings a variety of speakers,” said Hernandez. “For example, we have had a range of agents from the FBI to the DEA. Before I was president, the club had two to three speakers every year. We would also have events, but this group has a lot of potential to bring in more speakers for the club to learn more job opportunities.”
Crinimology Club member Joey Lutz, sophomore in Criminology, joined the club to learn more about his major.
“I wanted to learn more about all the different branches of law enforcement,” said Lutz. “In the future, I will be looking for a small town police officer or sheriff position.”
The Criminology Club’s next speaker will be a member of the Department of Homeland Security United States Secret Service on April 7 at 6 p.m.