Semester Project- Understanding the Criminal Justice Field
Due:
By August 29th, 2021, at 11:59pm. The project must be submitted on Moodle by the date and time previously given (but feel free to submit it earlier if you would like).
Project Guidelines:
Choosing a college major (and ultimately a future career) can be a daunting decision. How will you know what you like? How will you know what you want to do for the rest of your life? What if you decide you do not like the career you “chose”? Many students start their college career so sure of what they want their future career to be. However, sometimes plans change, and you may find that what you originally thought you wanted as a career, has also changed. The purpose of a good education is to prepare you for a job (any job) in your chosen field. One of the purposes of this capstone, is to get you thinking about your options.
Many students are overwhelmed and disappointed when their original “chosen” career does not work out. This project will give you a chance to explore other options in the criminal justice field. Most students know that you can become a police officer with a criminal justice degree, but what are some other job opportunities in the criminal justice field (some of the many options are listed at the end of this assignment)?
At the beginning of the semester you were asked to rank order criminal justice career options in order of field preference (Criminal Justice Careers Survey from Week 1 in Moodle). For the course project you will revisit the list you created. Instead of focusing on the career you were most interested in, this project will have you researching the career option you were least interested in. As previously mentioned, it is important to have a better understanding of the many opportunities available to you in the criminal justice field. As you complete this project you will learn more about employment in the criminal justice field, job specifics, and current issues facing those in the criminal justice system.
The first part of the project will allow you to learn more about the field you ranked last including: 1) occupational outlook, 2) job requirements, 3) typical duties, and 4) more about compensation and work environment. You do not have to discuss every single career option in the field you chose; you can look at the list at the end of these guidelines and focus on one. The following website is an excellent one for finding more information on careers: https://www.onetonline.org/.
For the next part of the project, you will research current issues impacting this area. Think about issues you have discussed in other classes that may be related to this field. Or maybe something you read about in the Johnston textbook was interesting to you. A Google or BHCC Library search is also a great way to read about some of the issues that are currently impacting these CJ fields. You will find one (1) current event article (from a scholarly/reliable source) that addresses an issue you feel is important to know more about for anyone entering the chosen career. You will discuss your article, the importance of the issue, and your thoughts on solutions/resolutions/future impacts (you should also include a link to the article you chose). When discussing the article, you should think about:
Identifying the critical issue from the article;
Discuss who is impacted and why/how;
Summarize why the issue(s) is important;
Is someone being hurt?
Is there an ethical issue?
Does this change something in the field?
And lastly, provide a potential solution to the problem identified.
Finally, you will have a chance to work on a valuable skill for any career: the ability to create a Powerpoint (or some other tool to present your project). This is your chance to be creative! You can create a Powerpoint presentation, a Prezi presentation, a YouTube video, etc.
I have posted an example project on Moodle under the assignment guidelines. This is an excellent example of what I am looking for! Your project does not have to look exactly like this, but this should help if you are having a hard time getting started. In one of the examples I posted the student chose law enforcement as her least desirable career and then for her project decided to focus on the job of a dispatcher. You can see she included information about the occupation and then found a current issue currently impacting those who work as dispatchers. She discussed the problem, the impact, and the solution.
Grade:
The project is worth 15% of your course grade. Points will be deducted when an assignment is submitted late. The only way you can get an extension is if you get permission BEFORE THE DEADLINE. I will only give extensions for unavoidable, unpredictable, serious, emergencies!
What Can You Do with a Criminal Justice Degree?
Careers in Law Enforcement:
Sworn Positions-
Officer (local, state, and federal level)
Fish and Game Warden
Campus Police
Nonsworn Positions-
Dispatcher
Property Clerk
Evidence Technician
Records Clerk
Crime (Data) Analyst
Careers in Victim Services:
Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Advocate*
Event and Fundraising Coordinator
Legal Advocate
Victim Services Specialist*
Victim Witness Coordinator
Social Worker*
* Victim services professionals can work in a variety of settings from police departments, courts and prosecutors’ offices, nonprofit organizations, and hospitals
Careers in the Courts:
Judge
Prosecutor
Defense Attorney
Arbitrator/Mediator
Court Clerk
Paralegal
Legal Assistant/Researcher
Court Security (often hired through law enforcement agencies)
Careers in Private Security and Investigations:
Security Officer
Private Investigator
Loss Prevention
Armed Security Officer
Careers in Corrections:
Correctional Officer (local, state, and federal level*)
* See below for some of the many opportunities offered by the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Probation Officer
Parole Officer
Home Detention Officer
Juvenile Rehabilitation Specialist
Parole Board Member
Corrections Counselor
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