It is a social science that attempts to identify as well as explain the behavioral patterns of criminals, and analyze the society's ability to control delinquency and crime. It involves the study of criminals, crime and the criminal justice system with the help of different disciplines, like legal studies, political science, psychology, sociology, forensic science, philosophy, public administration and urban studies. Criminal justice concentrates on the causes and prevention of crime, the different legal processes in place to tackle crime and criminals, and treatment and rehabilitation of criminals.
This degree provides a person with basic skills and knowledge about criminal justice. It takes a period of 2 years to acquire an associate's degree in criminal justice. While the different police departments accept recruits and employees with some amount of formal college education, most other places expect new employees to have an associate's degree. The core courses include criminal behavior, criminology methods, public policy, specialized interpersonal communication, law enforcement operations, the working of courts and correctional institutions, juvenile and adult crime prevention methods, and criminal justice and ethical issues.
A person interested in joining the FBI or any other federal agency should have at least a bachelor's degree. Some of the courses that a student can elect include law enforcement operations, the courts and correctional institutions, private investigations, victim and juvenile counseling, white collar crimes, and leadership and supervision. Armed with a bachelor's degree, a person may have more luck in finding a job right after college. Even a person majoring in social work, psychology and education can attempt to find a job in the criminal justice industry.
After completing a bachelor's degree, a person can further enhance his or her knowledge and skills by completing a master's degree. The degree will equip a person to understand the nuances of criminology, law, ethics and incident management. This degree is ideally suited for those who want an administrative managerial role at their workplace.
Those aspiring to be criminal lawyers need a Juris Doctor degree. The courses encompass wide range of legal topics related to criminal law, like adjudication, constitutional law, obstruction of justice, criminal investigations, organized crime, money laundering and rules for search and seizures. It takes 4 years of study at an accredited university to get this degree and after completion, the person has to sit for the state bar exam to be able to practice law.
Getting a doctorate degree in law will allow a person to work in the field of public policies and human services. The person can become a professor or get into research. A doctoral student learns how to tackle issues related to public safety, governance and courts. The student has to submit a final dissertation on completing the doctoral program to acquire the degree.