A generation ago, pursuing a career in criminal justice usually meant either becoming a police officer
or working in a legal field. But today, the criminal justice field offers dozens of different opportunities to serve the public.
In fact, it can be very confusing when you discover how many different degrees are offered. It can be difficult to choose
what type of degree to get for the kind of career in which you're interested.
First, determine what kind of
criminal justice career you want to focus on. Perhaps you want to focus on being a police officer or a sheriff. In many parts of the country, you
can become a police officer or sheriff by going to a local academy without a college degree. However, a college education will help you earn promotions
more quickly. If you want to be a state (rather than local) police trooper, you may need to get a Bachelor's degree before
entering the academy. So, it's always a good idea to check the requirements by talking to officers in your area.
There are also several investigative careers that you might enjoy if you have good science skills. These include forensic
sciences, behavioral sciences and forensic psychology. Graduates with degrees in these specialties can work for crime labs
within police departments at the state and local levels, or work for the federal government through the FBI, CIA or the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
If the inner workings of the legal system appeal to you, perhaps a career as
a probation officer, juvenile justice worker or social worker would be a good fit. These are all positions where you help
implement the punishment or rehabilitation aspects of the criminal justice system. As a juvenile justice worker, it can be
very rewarding to turn a young life around, but it takes strong a personality. You need to be a person who can handle the
discouragement, as well.
The criminal justice field is growing rapidly, and college degrees are evolving to keep pace. With scientific investigative methods also constantly improving, new fields continue to emerge.
Be sure you talk to several schools and find one that offers a program that's a good fit for you. Some of the programs now offered include Criminal Justice/Forensic
Science, which focuses upon collecting and analyzing the forensic evidence at crime scenes. Blood, trace evidence, and gunshot
residue are examples of these types of evidence.
Criminal Justice/Juvenile Justice programs offer a thorough base
of knowledge in juvenile law, correctional counseling, and community outreach. The program enables graduates to be juvenile
counselors, probation officers or juvenile social workers. Criminal Justice/Private Security programs focus on discovery,
search and seizure as well as special investigations with an eye toward becoming part of a private security force for a school,
government or business.
The list of programs in which you can major is extensive, including various specialties
such as Homeland Security, Private Investigations and Fraud Examination. Criminal justice workers can find rewarding jobs
within the government, in the private sector or with a law firm. You'll work closely with others who, like you, respect
the law and want to contribute to upholding it while also earning a good living. Another perk is that others will look at
you with respect when they know that you've dedicated yourself to a career that stands for law and order.
The Parole or Probation Officer plays important roles in the criminal justice field. Those interested in
this profession will have active and exciting duties to perform. I will be discussing some of those roles and duties in this
article.
If you are indeed contemplating a career as a probation or parole officer, below are the duties you can
look forward to performing:
1. Don't let the names or titles fool you. In most criminal justice systems, parole
or probation officers perform the same roles and duties. In the few criminal justice systems where their roles are different,
the parole officer is involved after the offenders have served some of their time in prison while the probation officer works
with those who are given probation sentence. This probation sentence does not require serving some time in prison.
2. The probation or parole officer is involved in pre-sentence investigations. The courts need help when sentencing a convicted
criminal. The criminal's character and records are important. It would be unfair to sentence a person who just committed
a crime for the first time to the same sentence as a habitual offender.
This is where the parole or probation officer
must help the courts. He or she will investigate the offender's record. This can be done by talking to friends, family,
and digging into public records. The probation or parole officer must then present his or her findings to the court to help
guide the court's sentencing.
3. The parole or probation officer is involved in pre-parole investigations.
Again the investigation will involve digging into the convicted criminal's behavior and record while in prison. The parole
or probation officer will accomplish this by talking to warden's, relatives, complainants, and even the police.
4. The probation or parole officer is involved in the rehabilitation of the parolee. In this instance, the officer must
help plan the parolee's effective re-introduction into society. This will involve helping the parolee acquire job training, job, and social skills by recommending the appropriate resources. The parole or probation officer must also monitor how
the parolee in progressing in these resources.
5. Probation or parole officers have the power to arrest parolees
or probationers. If a parolee or probationer breaks the terms of the parole and the probation or parole officer feels it has
become necessary to send him or her to jail, then they must arrest the parolee.
This means parole or probation
officers can carry guns. While they are advised to seek police assistance if the need for arrest arises, there are times police
will not be readily available. So a gun may be needed in case the situation becomes dangerous.
As you can see,
probation or parole officers perform many roles or duties in the criminal justice field. It will be hard to cover all the
duties and roles in this short article. But I think you have enough information to help you make informed decision on this
profession. For those that are interested in getting into the profession, now is as a good a time as ever.
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