Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
The United States of Drug Addicts
Posted by Site Administrator on 10/26/2011 | 0 Comments
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Criminologist Careers – a Different Type of Criminal Justice
Posted by Site Administrator on 08/16/2010 | 0 Comments
Criminologists are often compared to forensic scientists because of the similar work both careers involve, although criminology involves more of the societal aspects of a crime. Taking a break from the immediate vicinity of the criminal justice system, criminology involves looking at the study, causes, and control of criminal activity in society. As a result, most careers involve more research than careers in criminal justice, and understanding the behavior of criminals. Most criminal justice careers involve either apprehending a criminal or determining their guilt. Criminology careers instead focus on the societal impact of crimes and the reasoning behind criminal actions.
Because criminology careers involve a deeper understanding of criminal activities and criminal actions, the criminal justice field typically does not have as many career options as do sociology career areas. However, understandably, criminologists still deal very closely with law enforcement and policy changes that can affect criminal behavior. The many different schools of thought of criminology help determine which direction the crime will take; societal backgrounds are a great influence to many criminals, and this is one of the main areas of thought for most criminologists. The more sociological understandings of crime can in turn help law enforcement better prepare for future criminal offenses and future instances of new criminals.
Criminologists play this important role in both criminal justice and sociology because they can help prevent future crimes by determining the reasoning for present crimes. There are many outside sociological factors that lead to criminal behavior, and it is the job of criminologists to understand these many reasons and seek to prevent them. It may seem like a difficult career choice to deal with the messy mindset of many dangerous criminals, but it is a far easier career than being on the streets with these criminals like many law enforcement officers are. Therefore, criminologists work to better prepare law enforcement officers for these dangerous nights on the street by revealing what makes criminals commit certain crimes.
We all know the main gist of most major criminal offenses and the probable reasons behind them: people steal to gain what they don’t have or to make money off the stolen goods; people kill in retaliation or from mental deficiencies. However, there are many different reasons that people commit certain crimes. Some stem from outside influences, while others are part of gang initiation. Depending on the background of the neighborhood, background of the criminal, and the societal impacts, each criminal could have chosen a different way of life. Criminologists work to get this information from the arrested criminals and help to provide a better way of life for the rest of us.
Forensic Scientists and their Career Futures
Posted by Site Administrator on 08/16/2010 | 0 Comments
Forensic Scientists play an important role in the criminal justice system – they are not the people who collect the evidence or present it in the court room, but are the ones who analyze each bit of evidence, thereby resolving legal issues through scientific methods. Forensic scientists carefully study evidence found at the scene of the crime, and evidence taken off the accused, in order to determine whether they participated in the crime or are somehow related to the crime. This is an instrumental career in ensuring that our criminal justice system continues to run smoothly without any mistakes.
Forensics includes many different forms of analysis, stemming from biological samples to controlled substances. Forensic scientists are typically certified in a specific area of science which is used to detect traces of DNA or can be useful in reconstructing the crime scene through something as small as the splatter of blood. Many science students do not think of a career in law enforcement while they are in school, but it involves some of the most interesting scientific research that a person can conduct – you will have a person’s life in your hands. Further analytical techniques include document examination to ensure that every document is authentic and fingerprinting. While biological analysis is mostly what we hear about in shows like Law and Order, it only comprises a small part of the entirety of forensic analysis.
Forensic scientists regularly deal with the judicial system since they must provide the court with detailed analysis of each discovery they make, and must track their progress for each specific case. This may seem time consuming, but is extremely relevant and can help make the distinction between criminals and innocents. After examining the evidence and presenting their findings to the court, forensic scientists may also be called in as expert witnesses for the court and must be ready to withstand cross-examination.
This type of career within the criminal justice system has only increased in recent years because of the new need for corroborating evidence and the new technology that now plays a major role in most courts. Career opportunities are plentiful for many students who have a background in biology or science, moreso for students who have advanced degrees. While most local law enforcement agencies require crime lab technicians such as forensic scientists, there is a heightened demand for higher-level governmental jobs, although these come with stiff competition. As long as crimes continue to be committed, it seems safe to say that the demand for forensic scientists will only increase.
Criminal Justice Careers without the Pressure of Law Enforcement
Posted by Site Administrator on 08/16/2010 | 0 Comments
For most potential criminal justice students, law enforcement appears to be the end-all career choice at the end of a criminal justice degree plan. However, despite all pretenses, law enforcement positions do not have to be the only option available with a criminal justice degree. Career choices are nearly endless because of the vast governmental jobs that are available through the criminal justice system, not to mention the judicial element of criminal justice. Criminal justice careers include a wide array of specialties throughout many state and local government organizations. If you enjoy the administrative side of criminal justice without becoming too heavily entangled with the daily encounters with criminals, maybe looking into one of these organizations is the best choice for you.
There are many different types of regulatory agencies that deal with the criminal justice system on a daily basis. State commissions on jail standards help regulate county and state jails, encouraging the public to get involved with understanding the jail system. Public policy debates have dealt with many aspects of the criminal justice system, especially considering the bad press many state and federal jails have recently received. The overcrowding of jails has taken a toll on the criminal justice system, as well as the confinement of juveniles in adult prisons, albeit for heinous crimes, but still juveniles too young to be inside with adults. Even more shocking is the accusations of many county jails working too closely with law enforcement, seemingly changing the entirety of most jail systems. Helping change public policy is one aspect of criminal justice that is ever-changing because of the nature of criminals.
Legislature is not an easy thing to change and involves mountains of research, as well as deep digging, and it may not always be rewarding. However, while you may draft legislation that does not get passed in a state’s session, at least you are getting the issue out into the public. Many members of the public are not aware of the many public policy issues that plague the criminal justice system, and there are countless amounts of them to choose from within every state. Every state has its own hidden agendas for the criminal justice system, whether that be highly prevalent, or not noticeable at all. This type of career path can lead you down some interesting roads, without the stress of dealing with criminals on a daily basis, but instead hopefully changing the system for the best.
Top Ranked Criminal Justice Jobs
Posted by Site Administrator on 08/09/2010 | 0 Comments
Entering the criminal justice field is one step that will ensure you will have a stable career for the rest of your time in the industry. Due to the wide range of options available for criminal justice students, it seems like your options will never run dry for suitable criminal justice jobs. Many of the top ranked career choices include law enforcement officers, detectives, forensic analysts, probation officers, lawyers, and even criminal justice teachers.
Law enforcement officers are the most popular criminal justice job to choose from, and one which has a constant need for new recruits every year. Depending on what type of law enforcement you want to go into will determine what experience and schooling you will need to even apply for the position. Most local law enforcement positions require some background experience, such as working for a county prison or a criminal justice degree, while federal or state agencies require a more extensive educational background and years of work experience. Different levels of law enforcement additionally require different types of experience – potential detectives and forensics analysts will typically need to have a firm background in criminal justice before they will be promoted to this level. However, starting off your criminal justice career with a type of local law enforcement will allow you to gain the experience you need to increase your chances at working with a higher level of law enforcement.
Working with the judicial system is another highly ranked career choice within the criminal justice field. Once again, you will have many options to choose from if you go this route – ranging anywhere from attorneys to paralegals to court reporters. Every person in the courtroom plays a vital role in the criminal justice system, producing a high need for people who hold the skills necessary for this type of work. Clerks and court coordinators typically need to only hold a bachelor’s degree and background experience within a court system or even work experience in an office atmosphere. Many times, simply keeping yourself organized and on task are some of the main job requirements to work in a courtroom.
Finally, criminal justice teachers are another top choice within criminal justice jobs. This way, many students of criminal justice are able to keep updated on any new developments within the system and are able to pass on their love of the field to students every year. While there are job opportunities for both high school students and higher education, the majority of criminal justice teachers are professors at public universities. The field is in constant need of bright, new graduates, meaning that there will be a constant need for teachers in the field for years to come as well.
Different Opportunities Through Criminal Justice Degree Jobs
Posted by Site Administrator on 07/30/2010 | 0 Comments
Criminal justice encompasses such a wide variety of subjects that finding a job in the industry is relatively easy – it also affords criminal justice students a wide leeway when they are searching for jobs. Criminal justice degree jobs can range from law enforcement to the judicial arena, allowing students to pick and choose how much education they wish to fulfill over the course of their lives. Many choose to go the law route and spend a few more years in law school to become defense attorneys while others realize they can use their criminal justice degree in the courthouse without a J.D. by simply becoming a court reporter, court coordinator, clerk, or bailiff. While these jobs all require experience, it’s not as demanding as becoming a defense attorney.
Many criminal justice students start out (after graduation) in the law enforcement division since it is the next logical step for many students who earn a criminal justice degree. After spending years learning about the criminal mindset, entering law enforcement is the best way to put this knowledge to use through the many different options available. You can become a police officer, narcotics officer, detective, forensic analyst, and many other jobs depending on your city’s needs. Your background in criminal justice will help secure you a position on an law enforcement unit, which in turn will allow you to expand your knowledge on the subject. Additionally, students who take this route find that after a few years they want to practice law or become more involved in the legal side of criminal justice.
For these students who want to experience more of the criminal courts, their background in law enforcement will help them to succeed throughout law school. Many law students have found that waiting to begin law school affords them many experiences other students don’t have. Criminal law is especially easy for those students who were previously law enforcement officers: they already know many of the statutes and laws that are in place in their state. Entering the legal realm of criminal justice also allows students to explore different job opportunities ranging from public defenders to defense attorneys. Many great judges have experienced both sides of the criminal justice system and have worked as both prosecution and defense. While not everyone wants to defend both sides during their career, it is the mark of a good attorney when you are able to argue both sides and predict what the other side will argue.
Criminal justice spans many different jobs and career opportunities for students around the country, and it is only a matter of putting your degree to use. Just go out there and find something in the field that you enjoy doing! You can always change your career path down the line to work more with criminal defense or more with criminal prosecution – the field is endless!
Careers in International Criminal Justice
Posted by Site Administrator on 07/29/2010 | 0 Comments
We have always known about Haiti – the little country off our own great nation that tends to get ravaged by hurricanes and other natural disasters. However, the earthquake that struck the country earlier this year was a wake-up call to the international community that people live in this impoverished country, in intolerable conditions, despite the relative closeness to the United States. It was almost like we had never noticed the island, despite the many underreported news stories on the impoverished Haitian lifestyle. Since this point however, we have all been involved with efforts to save the nation and the Haitians in particular. However, as we began digging in the rubble, we dug into a new realization of the massive injustices that have been committed in this nation, despite their proximity to Western nations.
Criminal justice gurus have taken note of the injustices that have occurred before and after the massive earthquake that shook the nation. There have since been reports on child slavery, a virtually useless law enforcement agency, and the prominence of child rapes. The question has therefore been asked, what are we in the international community going to do about it? Haiti does have their own criminal justice system, but with only twelve prosecutions per year in the ongoing child rapes, it is obvious that their system is little more than just a show for the community. In the two months following the quake, statistics indicated that there were 230 known cases of violence against women or sexual misconduct, despite the massive amounts of aid that was coming into the country. These crimes do not go unnoticed by aid workers, but justice is never fully realized for the children and other victims of this type of abuse.
The international criminal justice system is complex to wrap your head around only because there are so many different nations, customs, and laws that we have to deal with. Careers in international criminal justice are forced to witness the daily atrocities that occur in impoverished areas like Haiti, or even Western nations like the United States. No nation is free of instances of abuse against children, women, or the elderly. However, nations like Haiti do not have the means to uphold justice in such a way that the perpetrators will no longer harm young children. This is where the international community steps in – in an attempt to correct past wrongs.
Haiti is an amalgamation of different cultures and customs: the first independent nation in Latin America and black-led republic in the world after its successful slave rebellion in 1804. The roots of the nation run deep in the slave trade, although young slaves still exist within the community. The many news reports that have focused on the unfortunate lack of criminal justice in Haiti have awakened a new international interest in the nation – one which will hopefully help bring justice to the nation that is struggling to stand on its own feet. It will take many new careers in international criminal justice to reach out and improve impoverished nations like Haiti, but with the help of the global community, we will see a better-standing Haiti within our lifetimes.
Are We Relying Too Much on Probation Officers?
Posted by Site Administrator on 07/29/2010 | 0 Comments
It is no secret that our nation’s prisons and jails are massively overcrowded, but the question remains as to whether this has had any impact on potential sentences of recent offenders. With laws on the books like California’s “three-strikes” rule and Texas sending everyone to the electric chair, it is a wonder that probation officers are still in existence; however, despite news reports, there is a large number of judges who are opting out of prison sentences and are instead returning criminals to the streets with only a few years’ probation. Is this justice or is this just an easy out for the government?
Probation officers are put into place to protect our justice system and ensure that minor offenders are not imprisoned, but still will not commit the same offense. However, this system can sometimes be abused when probation is given out too readily for felonies that deserve at least a few months of prison. We’ve now reached an era where some major felony offenders will only receive a year’s worth of probation before they are released back into society. Not every criminal court is like this, but with the growing amount of prisoners, many judges assume that probation is a better alternative than spending millions of dollars to create a new prison unit. It is confusing that our crime rates have supposedly skyrocketed in recent years – this is why the prisons are so overcrowded, but these statistics do not take into account the rising population and the rising numbers of law enforcement who are able to apprehend criminals.
Probation officers, it seems, are one career that is one the rise because of the increasing amounts of probation that are given to defendants in criminal court. While probation does not mean that defendants are necessarily allowed back into society without any consequences, it is a much less severe punishment than a few years of jail time. There are several courts throughout the country that are now known for their lenient policies and the number of defendants they release on probation. Criminal justice is a confusing system to work through, but any one of us is able to determine that a person who is guilty of a felony offense should be given at least a few months of prison time before they are put on probation. However, we have become increasingly reliant on this probationary system, and until we find some way to increase the space within our prison system, judges will continue to give probation to defendants who commit lesser felonies. I for one, do not feel as safe knowing that people who commit burglaries and robberies will only be given a probation officer instead of prison time because of this overcrowding.
All Political Groups Joining up in Criminal Justice Careers
Posted by Site Administrator on 07/14/2010 | 0 Comments
Considering the recent months, it is amazing, if not unthinkable, that the criminal justice system would bind our two political sects together on the side of the accused nonetheless. We are accustomed to hearing about groups like the ACLU or other civil rights organizations that stick up for the accused and demands that they be afforded the same rights. It is therefore highly unusual for us to hear about stark conservatives making a hubbub about the rights of criminals. Are we sure we’re hearing all this correctly?
Both sides have joined together in an attempt to quell “big government”, especially in the criminal justice region. A far contrast from the Nixon administration’s “tough on crime” policies, politicians now believe that the less government involvement with criminal justice matters, the better. It is amazing how much this trend has changed in only a few decades (although it is a common trend throughout political parties and mantras); one of the largest examples of this trend is the changing political outlook of former attorney general Edwin Meese III, who once called the ACLU criminals. Meese and his successor, former attorney general Dick Thornburgh, have both admitted that they would love to have the ACLU on their side now in their attempt to quell big government. Who would’ve thought they would see the day?
The over-criminalization that many politicians speak of stem from the rampant federal laws that overlap onto state laws, a clear violation of the separation of powers. Federal government prosecutors can indict criminals on little to no evidence, which is a far cry from the mountains of evidence that must be proven in a state criminal justice trial. While there should be more of a happy medium, it has always been the mantra of the criminal justice system that criminal justice laws should be construed narrowly to protect people from the state. The over-criminalization of people is clearly not protecting anyone from the state or federal government, but is instead treading on the toes of what is moral.
The intrusion of federal power into the state’s rights is a fundamental violation of constitutional rights that many politicians have noticed as Supreme Court cases concerning criminal justice reign on. While criminal justice cases have recently involved large corporations (an unfortunate fact for many politicians who are keen to join in against big government), most criminal justice careers do not involve the investigation of any of these corporate giants, but instead focus on the smaller client. The criminal justice system is a rapidly changing entity, and unbeknownst to many, with this change come changes in political standpoints as well.
Jobs in Criminal Justice for a New Decade
Posted by Site Administrator on 07/14/2010 | 0 Comments
Criminal justice jobs are an ever-evolving part of the criminal justice field, and in fact involve much more knowledge than many of us would ever assume. They deal with the underbelly of criminal justice, as well as the trial of defendants, and they focus on the prevention of most crimes. As a result, jobs in the criminal justice system literally abound from most areas in the country, as recent graduates have found out. Regardless of the courses you took or a specific topic you studied in depth, criminal justice is one field that is ever-inviting for students looking for jobs.
Jobs within the criminal justice field range from law enforcement to Supreme Court justice, and everything in between. This is quite a disparity, but it is amazing how quickly the justice system gets from point A (law enforcement) to point B (Supreme Court case). While not every criminal case makes it past the trial court’s decision, the Supreme Court remains a major pillar of the criminal justice system and indeed a major pillar of our country itself.
The many aspects of criminal justice involve the root of the crime. Law enforcement positions teach you how to recognize a potential criminal suspect and to do everything in your power to prevent the crime from happening, whether by a “stake-out” or through undercover work. Regardless, the goal of law enforcement is to uphold the laws of the community and to arrest those guilty of committing any violations of the laws, large or small. It is only after the arrest of criminals that the law gets involved. At this point, lawyers, judges, clerks, bailiffs, and everyone in the court room is involved with the crime that was committed. Now their responsibility is not to prevent the crime, but to uphold justice and ensure that the guilty defendants go punished, while the innocent are allowed to walk free.
This is a complicated system and is becoming more so with the inclusion of new laws by the decade, mostly from the federal bureaucracy. Many politicians and workers in criminal justice continue to complain about the overcrowding of large jails and prisons, and the differences in court between federal and state – the federal courts are nearly over-stepping their jurisdiction in many situations and getting involved in criminal cases that should largely be under the control of the state. Regardless of this debate, the criminal justice system continues on its same path, producing new fields for job prospects every year. As a student of criminal justice, you will be able to find a job in the field in law enforcement, law itself, and anywhere in between; it all depends on what sector of criminal law you want to find yourself in.
