Criminal
Justice Degree News
Criminal justice
Criminal justice refers to the system
used by government to maintain social control, enforce laws, and administer
justice. Police, courts, and corrections are the primary agencies charged with
these responsibilities. Criminal justice is distinct from the field of
criminology, which involves the study of crime as a social phenomena, causes of
crime, criminal behavior, and other aspects of crime.
The pursuit of criminal justice is,
like all forms of "justice" or "fairness" or "process", essentially the pursuit
of an ideal. Thus, this field has many relations to anthropology, criminology,
economics, history, law, political science, psychology, sociology, theology, and
ethics.
Rights
One question which is presented by
the idea of creating justice involves the rights of victims and the rights of
accused criminals, and how these individual rights are related to one another
and to social control. It is generally argued that victim's and defendant's
rights are inversely related, and individual rights, as a whole, are likewise
viewed as inversely related to social control.
Rights, of course, imply
responsibilities or duties, and this in turn requires a great deal of consensus
in the community regarding the appropriate definitions for many of these legal
terms.
Theories
There are several basic theories
regarding criminal justice and its relation to individual rights and social
control.
Restorative justice assumes
that the victim or their heirs or neighbors can be in some way restored to a
condition "just as good as" before the criminal incident. Substantially it
builds on traditions in common law and tort law that requires all who commit
wrong to be penalized. In recent time these penalties that restorative justice
advocates have included community service, restitution, and alternatives to
imprisonment that keep the offender active in the community, and re-socialized
him into society. Some suggest that it is a weak way to punish criminals who
must be deterred. These critics are often proponents of retributive justice.
Retributive justice or the
"eye for an eye" approach. Assuming that the victim or their heirs or neighbors
have the right to do to the offender what was done to the victim. These ideas
fuel support for capital punishment for murder, amputation for theft (as in some
versions of the sharia).
Psychiatric imprisonment treats
crime nominally as illness, and assumes that it can be treated by
psychoanalysis, drugs, and other techniques associated with psychiatry and
medicine, but in forcible confinement. It is more commonly associated with crime
that does not appear to have animal emotion or human economic motives, nor even
any clear benefit to the offender, but has idiosyncratic characteristics that
make it hard for society to comprehend, thus hard to trust the individual if
released into society.
Transformative justice does
not assume that there is any reasonable comparison between the lives of victims
nor offenders before and after the incident. It discourages such comparisons and
measurements, and emphasizes the trust of the society in each member, including
trust in the offender not to re-offend, and of the victim (or heirs) not to
avenge.
In addition, there are models of
criminal justice systems which try to explain how these institutions achieve
justice.
The Consensus Model argues that the
organizations of a criminal justice system do, or should, cooperate.
The Conflict Model assumes that the
organizations of a criminal justice system do, or should, compete.
Criminal justice system
The criminal justice system consists
of law enforcement (police), courts, and corrections.
Law enforcement
While the police work towards crime
prevention, they are also involved with crime control, and handle cases
initially when crime occurs. The police will conduct a crime investigation,
gather evidence, and identifying suspect(s). The first contact the offender has
with the criminal justice system is with the police who make the arrest.
Probable cause is necessary for the police to make an arrest, and take the
suspect into custody. The suspect undergoes booking, a process which may involve
fingerprinting, taking mugshots, and interrogation.
Courts
Given sufficient evidence, the case
will be handed over to the prosecutor who may then file a complaint. The case
will then go before a grand jury in a preliminary hearing. If the grand jury
finds probable cause, the suspect will be arraigned with formal charges filed,
and bail set. Following the arraignment, plea bargaining may occur with the
suspect pleading guilty in exchange for a more lenient sentence. Otherwise, the
case will move forward to trial. If the defendant is found guilty, disposition
is the next step with the sentencing determined. The case may then be appealed
at higher courts.
Corrections
Offenders are then turned over to the
correctional authorities. The offender may be sentenced to prison, jail, or
community supervision. Upon serving the sentence or through parole, the offender
is then released into the community.
Educational programs
The establishment of criminal
justice as an academic field during the 1920s is generally credited to Berkeley
police chief August Vollmer. By 1950, approximately 1,000 students were in the
field, 100,000 students by 1975, and approximately 350,000 by 1998. Today, you
can visit
getarealdegree.com- criminal justice to get started on your path
to a criminal justice degree.
References
Criminal Justice: Mainstream and
Crosscurrents. John Randolph Fuller. 2005. Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River,
NJ.
Crime and Punishment in America.
Volume 1. Richard C. Hanes and Sharon M. Hanes. 2005. Thomas Gale. Farmington
Hills, MI
Popular Justice: A History of
American Criminal Justice. Samuel Walker. 1980. Oxford University Press, Inc.
New York, NY.
Crime and Punishment in American
History. Lawrence M. Friedman. 1993. Basic Books. New York, NY.
The Emerging System of International
Criminal Law: Developments in Codification and Implementation, Lyal S. Sunga.
1997. Kluwer Law International. The Hague, The Netherlands.
The above is derived from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Here is a
broad selection of different colleges and universities and the types of criminal
justice related degree programs they offer.
American InterContinental University
Bachelor (Criminal Justice)
Bellevue University-
Bachelor *Corrections Administration and Management,
Criminal Justice, and Security Management)
Boston University
Master (Criminal Justice)
Capella University
Master (Criminal Justice)
Champlain College
Bachelor (Computer & Digital Forensics, information
Security)
Colorado Technical University
Bachelor (Criminal Justice)
Crown College
Associate and Bachelor (Criminal Justice, Paralegal and
Public Administration)
Eastern Kentucky University
Associate and Bachelor (Corrections and Juvenile Justice
Studies)
Indiana Business College
Associate (Criminal Justice)
Kaplan University
Associate, Bachelor and Master (Criminal Justice, Global
Issues in Criminal Justice and Policing)
Union Institute and University
Bachelor (Criminal Justice Management)
Keiser College
Associate and Bachelor (Criminal Justice and Homeland
Security)
Mountain State University
Bachelor (Criminal Justice Administration)
Norwich University
Master (Criminal Justice Administration)
Portland State University
Bachelor (Criminology & Criminal Justice)
Saint Leo University
Master (Criminal Justice)
San Joaquin Valley College
Associate (Criminal Justice Administration)
South University
Bachelor and Master (Criminal Justice)
University of Cincinnati
Master (Criminal Justice)
University of Phoenix
Associate, Bachelor and Master (Administration of Justice
and Security and Criminal Justice Administration)
Utica College
Certificate, Bachelor and Master (Economic Crime
Investigation, Economic Crime Management)
Villanova University
Certificate (Information Systems Management, Advanced
Security Management)
Virginia College
Associate, Bachelor and Master (Criminal Justice)
Walden University
Master and PhD (Criminal Justice and Public Administration)
Westwood College
Bachelor (Criminal Justice)
DeVry University
Bachelor and Master (Criminal Justice)
Everest College
Associate and Bachelor (Criminal Justice and Criminal
Investigations)
Remington College
Bachelor and Master (Criminal Justice)
Argosy University
Associate (Criminal Justice)
Chapman University
Bachelor and Master (Criminal Justice and, Administration
and Leadership of Criminal Justice Organizations, Criminal Justice Policy)
University of Alabama Criminal Justice Department
University of Alabama Birmingham Department of
Justice Sciences
Justice Center, University
of Alaska Anchorage
School of Criminal
Justice University at Albany
Appalachian State Criminal Justice Studies
Arizona
State University School
of Justice Studies
Criminal Justice Institute at University
of Arkansas, Little Rock
California
Lutheran University Sociology
and Criminal Justice Department
Metropolitan State College
of Denver Department Of Criminal Justice
East Tennessee State University Department of
Criminal Justice and Criminology
Fayetteville
State University Criminal Justice
Florida Atlantic University Department of Criminal
Justice
Administration of Justice George Mason University-Price
William
IUP Department of Criminology
Jacksonville State University Criminal Justice
Department
John
Jay College of Criminal Justice
Marymount
University Criminal Justice Page
University
of Missouri - St. Louis
Criminology and Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice - University
of Nebraska at Omaha
University
of North Las Vegas Criminal
Justice
North
Carolina Wesleyan College
Justice Studies
University
of North Carolina at Wilmington's
Criminal Justice Internship
Department of Public Service Rio
Hondo College
Rutgers
School of Criminal Justice
Sonoma State University Department of Criminal
Justice Administration
Saint Mary's College of Minnesota Criminal Justice
Department
George
J. Beto Criminal
Justice Center at Sam Houston State
University
Criminal Justice Studies at the University of South Dakota
University of South Florida Department of Criminology
Southeastern Louisiana University Program in Criminal Justice
Criminology at Southern Oregon University
West
Los Angeles College- Administration
of Justice
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Criminal Justice
Program
Xavier University Department of Criminal Justice
Associate's degrees (U.S.)
AA, ABS, AS
Foundation degrees (U.K.)
FdA, FdEd, FdEng, FdMus, FdBus, FdSc, FdTech
Bachelor's degrees
AB or BA, BSc or SB, BBus, BCom or BComm, BCS, BEng or BE, BS or BSc, BFA, BHE,
BJ, BPE, BHK, BCL, LL.B., MB ChB or MB BS or BM BS or MB BChir or MB BCh BAO,
BMus, B.Math, BBA, BAdm, MA (Oxon.), MA (Cantab.), MA (Dubl.), MA (Hons)
Master's degrees
MA, MS or MSc, MSt, MALD, MApol, MPhil, MRes, MFA, MTh, MTS, M.Div., MBA, MPA,
MJ, MSW, MPAff, MLIS, MLitt, MPH, MPM, MPP, MPT, MRE, MTheol, LLM, MEng, MSci,
MBio, MChem, MPhys, MMath, MMus, MESci, MGeol, MTCM, MSSc, BCL (Oxon), BPhil
(Oxon)
Specialist degree
EdS, B.Acc., C.A.S.
Engineer's degree
Ch.E., B.E., C.E., C.E., E.E., E.A.A., E.C.S., Env.E., Mat.E., Mech.E., Nav.E.,
Nucl.E., Ocean E., Sys.E.
Doctorate degree
PhD, EdD, EngD, DNursSci, DBA, DC, DD, DSc, DLitt, DA, MD, DDS, DMD, DMA, DMus,
DCL, ThD, JD, OD, DO, PharmD, DrPH, DPT, DPhil, DOM, OMD, DPM, PsyD, DSW, LL.D.,
J.S.D., S.J.D.
Law degree
B.A. Law, J.D., D.Jur., LL.B., B.C.L., LL.L., LL.M., LL.D., J.S.D., S.J.D.,
Ph.D.
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