Criminal Justice Degrees and Careers

What is Criminal Justice?

What exactly is criminal justice? There are three major parts of the criminal justice system. A criminal justice degree or criminal justice degree online can lead you to many career opportunities in one of these areas:

Legal

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. The legal field can be broken down into two parts: civil and criminal law.

• Civil laws are rules governing transactions and grievances between individuals. To resolve a civil lawsuit, there can be agreements between the parties, and the defendant can be forced to pay compensation but can't go to jail.
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• Criminal law is concerned with actions which are dangerous to society, and for which prosecution is carried out by the state rather than by individuals. It is only in criminal law that you can go to jail.

Without being a lawyer, there are jobs you can get with a criminal justice degree or criminal justice degree online: paralegal, legal secretary, law office manager, court reporter and legal nurse consultant are some.

Visit our Paralegal Career Center for more details.

Law Enforcement

Policing deals with crime prevention and the apprehension of criminals. But people with a criminal justice degree online don't only become cops. They can work for the FBI or the Department of Homeland Security (and other federal agencies). They can also become security guards, working for department stores, corporations or schools and universities to guard against theft and protect people from aggression. A criminal justice degree is also a great start in a career as a private investigator.

Other important parts of law enforcement are the fields of criminology and criminalistics (aka forensic science). Criminologists study crime and criminal behavior, and with forensic science, criminalists help police interpret the physical evidence they find at crime scenes. See criminalist vs. criminologist for more details on these careers that you can pursue with a degree in criminal justice.

Visit our Criminal Justice Home Page or check the links above for more information on law enforcement degrees and careers.

Corrections

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. Offenders are turned over to the correctional authorities after they have been found guilty of crimes in the court system. Many modern prisons offer schooling or job training to prisoners as a chance to learn a vocation and thereby earn a legitimate living when they have served their sentence and are returned to society.

From corrections officers who supervise the daily routine of prisoners, to higher-level correctional administration positions, and parole or probation officers who help people once they leave prison, there are various job opportunities for those with a criminal justice degree. There are also many schools that offer a criminal justice degree online so you can fit a much-needed criminal justice education into your busy schedule.

Visit our Criminal Justice Home Page or check the links above for more information on corrections degrees and careers.

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