| A lot of students considering a civil service career | | | | prison will seem a more secure niche, unexpected |
| think that a criminal justice degree is only good for | | | | surprises can develop – particularly in the |
| being a law enforcement officer or, in combination | | | | intake zone. And when things get out of hand in a |
| with a legal degree, a criminal lawyer. Here are a | | | | prison, they tend to escalate quickly. |
| whole range of criminal justice career choices that | | | | Homeland Security |
| many degree-holders overlook, but are well worth | | | | Responsible to prevent, detect, respond to, and |
| consideration: | | | | recover from acts of terrorism. Currently a |
| Social Work/ Personal Cases | | | | high-profile job to say the least, and not for the faint |
| These may include child support and child protective | | | | of heart, but you can count on lots of federal |
| services, missing persons, domestic violence and | | | | support during this time of national crisis. You'll be |
| spousal or elderly abuse. Domestic legal social work is | | | | working with other federal agencies as well, such as |
| often identified as having extreme pros and cons to | | | | the FBI and CIA, military counter-intelligence, and the |
| it. On the one hand, you're working to make | | | | NSA. The specialties with the Department of |
| everyone's home life better. On the other, the work | | | | Homeland Security include collecting and sorting data |
| can be stressful when confronting a perpetrator or | | | | on potential threats, surveillance, investigation, and |
| heart-wrenching when confronting a victim. Social | | | | assessing and alerting other agencies to potential |
| workers will work with law enforcement officers to | | | | threats. |
| assess a domestic situation, monitor a case to ensure | | | | Private Detective/ Investigator |
| that the desires of the court are carried out, and | | | | The number-one most mythologized profession, |
| make further recommendations to the court for the | | | | misrepresented in movies and television about equally |
| disposal of cases. | | | | with spies. As opposed to the high drama and |
| Criminal Investigators and Special Agents | | | | dangerous intrigue portrayed in fiction, your typical |
| Also known as "the Feds". Working in federal | | | | jobs as a private investigator might include tracking |
| investigations is a whole new ball game compared to | | | | cheating spouses, gathering evidence for private |
| municipal police work. As for special agents, these are | | | | attorneys in civil cases, or investigating spurious claims |
| not limited to the FBI; nearly every federal agency | | | | for an insurance company. Leave your Magnum, your |
| has some type of special agent. These include the | | | | Porche, and your nubile blond mistresses home |
| Department of Homeland Security, the Environmental | | | | – but always carry a notepad and pen. |
| Protection Agency, the Internal Revenue Service's | | | | Criminal Intelligence |
| Criminal Investigation Division, the United States | | | | Well away from any street work, the criminal |
| Marshals Service, the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal | | | | intelligence agent works behind the scenes, gathering |
| Inspection Service, and the National Park Service. | | | | data on gang members, fugitives, and organized |
| Special agent work is a way to combine a criminal | | | | crime and logging it into databases where it will be |
| justice career with many other fields of government | | | | accessible to officers and detectives in the field. This |
| work and specialty interests. | | | | is often an under-recognized profession but obviously |
| Immigration and Customs Inspectors | | | | essential; when the officer types a gang member's |
| These are the public servants who control access of | | | | name into the computer in his patrol car and |
| persons and property into and out of the United | | | | discovers the identities of the other five members of |
| States. Quite a high-profile job lately, with today's | | | | that gang, a criminal intelligence worker at the base |
| concerns over terrorism. A challenging job, with being | | | | made this possible. |
| able to speak multiple languages fluently a big plus (in | | | | Computer Crime |
| some cases a requirement). Sometimes your biggest | | | | Not a specific specialty just yet, but dealing with the |
| concern will not be stopping a terrorist, but | | | | cyber-side of criminal justice is one of the most |
| preventing a confused, but innocent person from | | | | in-demand fields as the number of computers in |
| being mistaken for one! In addition, you maybe on | | | | society grows each year. You'll of course need to |
| the spot to check or clear visiting diplomats and | | | | combine your criminal justice degree with a computer |
| dignitaries from other lands. | | | | science degree. Crimes committed through or with a |
| Police Detectives | | | | computer may include fraud, offensive content, |
| This is usually an after-the-fact officer. The law | | | | harassment and hate groups, drug trafficking, and |
| enforcement officer does the arresting; you just | | | | cyberterrorism. If you imagined computer viruses or |
| solve the crimes. Be aware that it's hardly the | | | | email scams were perpetrated by individual kids, think |
| glamorous job Hollywood movies would have you | | | | again: Computer fraud and data theft is actually an |
| believe; your reality will be day-to-day mundane tasks | | | | international organized crime operation and a |
| such as collecting forensic evidence, checking | | | | multi-billion dollar per year industry! Police departments |
| background records, interviewing witnesses, and | | | | also need forensic data analysts on hand to find and |
| testifying in court. Police detectives are of course | | | | recover evidence which may be on a suspect's |
| categorized into many department specialties. | | | | computer and may have been encrypted or deleted. |
| Robbery and burglary alone accounts for a very large | | | | In the future, a special department may be created |
| portion of police detective work. | | | | within the criminal justice system to deal with this |
| Correctional Officers and Jailers | | | | special category, as currently many police |
| Well, that's pretty self-explanatory, isn't it? You'll be | | | | departments have to outsource their |
| responsible for the care, custody, and control of | | | | computer-related work. |
| inmates, whether they have been arrested and are | | | | This list hardly scratches the surface of every career |
| awaiting trial or have been convicted of a crime and | | | | opportunity available in the criminal justice field, but |
| sentenced to serve time in jail. A prison or jail is a | | | | should provide a broad sample of what's out there. |
| controlled environment which in many ways is a | | | | Far from regular street police work, there are career |
| microcosm of a society, with it's own challenges to | | | | opportunities to satisfy every interest and skill set. |
| face. While the controlled environment of the jail or | | | | |