Criminal Justice Schools in Illinois

I believe that what departments are looking for in a student varies for the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs. In all cases, departments want students who are self-motivated, interested in learning and in criminology and criminal justice, hard-working, do the work, are good writers, willing to participate in class, reliable, reasonable verbal articulation/presentation skills, and capable of succeeding in the program and ultimately the work environment. Standardized test scores and prior GPA can provide some indications of a students’ capacity to succeed in a college setting. Personal statements can shed light on whether the student has a clear direction and motivation, as well as providing an indication of writing skills and maturity as a student.

For master’s level applicants, departments are interested in the students with strong critical thinking skills, those that performed at the highest levels in their bachelor’s program, and those that their professors advocate can succeed in graduate school. Doctoral students should possess all of these traits, but especially should be able to document clearly in their personal statements their topical areas of interest, research experience, goals for application of the degree, and any specific alignment of research interests with current faculty. Writing, research, analytical and critical thinking skills and independence are essential for success as doctoral students.

There are so many reasons studying criminal justice is rewarding. Crime is a major social issue. Aiming to understand its nature and causes and developing an evidence base about how to reduce and prevent it is inherently valuable. There are many facets to studying crime, criminology and criminal justice and the field fairly new and is growing. It combines concepts from a variety of other fields such as sociology, political science and psychology and so there tends to be something of interest for everyone. Many careers stem from this area of study and expertise including law enforcement-local (loss prevention, sheriff’s deputies, detectives, police officers, security, corrections, dispatchers, crime scene, victim advocates), County/State (e.g., probation) and federal (e.g., DEA, U.S. Marshals, Secret Service, FBI, Border Patrol, Immigration). It can be a jumping off point for forensic science degrees, law degrees, social work, etc. Those with advanced degrees have even more opportunities including in policy careers, think tanks and academics.

Students will succeed when they are self-motivated, practice good study behaviors, attend class and do the work required-including following instructions, have good critical thinking skills, can write and speak well and are willing to apply themselves.

Safety has always been a concern for those interested in pursuing a career in criminal justice, particularly for aspiring police officers, probation officers, corrections officers, and those pursuing federal positions. This remains an important issue for those aspiring to serve in these fields and in light of recent events, with officers being targeted and ambushed, I can understand these concerns. Of course, officer safety is also a critical component of training in those careers (beyond the degree). Advances in technology and tactics continue to occur (e.g., reality-based training, foot and vehicle pursuit training and policies, body armor, firearm skills, working with mentally ill subjects, situational awareness training, predictive policing, less lethal weapons, use of force policies). Frankly, some research suggests that as officer experience on the job increases (up to a point), their risk of injury declines. Furthermore, the risks vary in different geographic areas and different contexts even within the same jurisdiction.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, in 2015, 123 officers were killed in the line of duty. However, this figure is much lower than we saw in this country in the 1920s and 1930s. In 2014, officers endured 15,725 assaults. Furthermore, an article in Time Magazine in May of 2016, drawing from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, reported that police and sheriff’s deputies had the fifteenth most dangerous job in the United States (among those measured), based on fatality rates. They fall behind such jobs as roofers, airline pilots, taxi drivers, truck drivers, farm workers, construction laborers, groundskeepers, maintenance workers and others. Law enforcement remains a noble and necessary position in society. While safety is and should be a consideration for those contemplating pursuing this career, many officers have expressed to me over the years that their motives for entering the profession are a desire to help people. This is not likely to change. However, I believe that the profession and the population more generally is realizing the importance of working to promote better police-community relations, which should also increase officer safety.