Renowed Police Officer Turns to UC Irvine for Online Degree

May 2012

UC Berkeley police officer Allison Jacobs was in on a meeting with a co-worker who was talking to Phillip Garrido and two young girls that he said were his daughters. Jacobs ran a background check on Garrido and found out that he was a registered sex offender, had been convicted of rape and kidnapping and he did not have any children. Garrido had fathered the girls with Jaycee Dugard, whom he had kidnapped 18 years earlier.

After Garrido's arrest, a media frenzy ensued and Jacobs became a much-sought-after speaker at police conferences and colleges. In part to boost her credentials, she enrolled in UC Irvine's online program for a Master of Advanced Study degree in Criminology, Law and Society. Jacobs says of UC Irvine's pioneering online masters degree program: "The access we have to some of the most amazing minds in Criminology-our professors-assures me that I'm getting the best of the best when it comes to my education."

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