What Is Criminal Justice? We see criminal justice every day on TV and in movies, but its fictional portrayal is often very different from its day-to-day reality on the streets, in court and in prison. Criminal Justice careers can be organized into three categories, each one playing a distinct role in our society. - Legal Careers—In the legal field, lawyers—and those supporting them— work in the court system to decide on the guilt or innocence of accused people or corporations.
- Law Enforcement Careers—Policing deals with crime prevention and the apprehension of criminals.
- Corrections Careers—The corrections system punishes and/or reforms criminals, and after they finish serving their sentences, helps keep them from recommitting crimes and reintegrates them back into society.
 Legal Career Center While lawyers are the highest profile members of the legal world, you don't have to go to law school to work in the legal field. Whether you want to be a paralegal, legal assistant or legal secretary, you'll find answers to all of your education and career questions here.
The paralegal field is one of the fastest growing in the legal industry. As lawyers learn that they can find competent paralegals to do much of their work while saving the client money, the paralegal field continues to grow with no end in sight. Find out if a challenging and dynamic paralegal career is right for you. Paralegal Industry Information Paralegal Education More Articles of Interest for Potential Paralegals Learn more about paralegal training and careers. Other Legal Professional Careers There are other legal career options besides becoming a paralegal. Here are some of the most popular career choices: Law Enforcement Career Center Policing includes both crime prevention and law enforcement. Whether you want to work as a police officer, a forensic scientist, as a federal law enforcement agent, or a private investigator, find out the education requirements, salary and career path for jobs in our law enforcement career center. Visit our Criminal Justice Degree Resources to read about online criminal justice degrees, find out what you'll study, learn about criminal justice degree options, and more. Those who work in forensics and criminology help law enforcement agents prevent and solve crimes. Criminologists study crime, criminals and criminal behavior, and corrections. Forensic scientists use science to help solve crimes. Whether it's ballistics, computer forensics or DNA analysis, forensic scientists are always on the cutting edge the most recent scientific trends. There are other fields of forensics to consider as well: forensic psychology is the intersection between psychology and the legal system, while criminal psychology is the study of the criminal mind. Learn about career opportunities in forensics and criminology: Or visit our Forensic Science Career Center for more information on forensics education and careers.
Corrections Career Center Once criminals go to jail the work doesn't stop...it's just beginning. Criminals are in jail to pay their debt to society, but there is a lot of work that happens in jail to reform criminals and make sure they don't recommit crimes once they're released. Learn more about corrections career options: Criminal Justice Home
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