The majority of criminal justice professionals receive at least a bachelor`s degree. However, many schools offer multi-level criminal justice degrees, including master`s and doctoral programs for individuals interested in senior management positions or academic teaching opportunities. Criminal justice professionals tend to be detail-oriented, curious, highly organized, and have a natural affinity for leadership and problem solving. The following list contains some popular careers in the field of criminal justice. While law enforcement agencies and the courts strive to identify and intercept those involved in criminal activity, the prison system performs various functions simultaneously, such as segregating criminal populations, imposing penalties for misconduct, and promoting the rehabilitation of offenders. The U.S. correctional system alone is the largest system of its kind in the world. Although the United States is home to less than 5% of the world`s population, nearly 25% of the world`s prisoners are held – the highest per capita incarceration rate in the world. The United States has a high recidivism rate, which means that the probability of a convicted criminal returning to prison is relatively high.
This most often happens because individuals violate the conditions of their probation. A 2002 national study showed that nearly 68% of prisoners were re-arrested within three years of their release, and 47% were eventually re-sentenced. Juvenile courts generally have jurisdiction over matters concerning children, including delinquency, neglect and adoption. They also deal with “status offences” such as school absenteeism and running away, which do not apply to adults. State laws determine which persons are subject to the initial jurisdiction of the juvenile court. The highest age of juvenile justice in criminal matters is 17 in most states. Even after gaining a basic understanding of the objectives and structures of each major component of the criminal justice system, the question remains: how does the criminal justice system work with so many mobile parties and independent stakeholders? A standard set of steps – including investigation, indictment, first hearing, discovery, plea bargaining, trial, conviction and appeal – helps streamline the process, from prosecution to court to corrections. To ensure that discretion is exercised responsibly, government powers are often delegated to professionals. Professionalism requires a minimum of training and guidance that guides staff in decision-making. The professionalism of the work of the police is largely due to the desire to ensure the proper exercise of police discretion.
Careers in criminal justice include many legal and law enforcement specializations, including jobs that only require a high school diploma and on-the-job training, and those that require years of college education. The U.S. correctional system includes several state and federal correctional systems that act independently of each other, although they follow similar procedures and protocols. Prisons can be managed publicly or privately, and state and federal correctional systems most often interact when transferring inmates. Correctional systems use incarceration, community service, probation and probation to punish and/or rehabilitate criminals. Very few crimes fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government. The responsibility for responding to most crimes lies with state and local governments. Police protection is mainly a function of cities and municipalities. Corrections is primarily the responsibility of state governments.
Most judicial officers are employed at the local level. In some jurisdictions, offenders may be sentenced to alternatives to incarceration that are considered more serious than direct probation but less severe than imprisonment. Examples of such sanctions include training camps, intensive supervision often with drug treatment and testing, house arrest and electronic monitoring, denial of federal benefits, and community service. If the employee is released by a Parole Board decision or by mandatory release, the employee will be under the supervision of a probation officer in the community for the remainder of their unexpired sentence. This supervision is subject to special conditions of release and the released person may be returned to prison for violation of these conditions. The treatment of juvenile offenders is not entirely different from the criminal treatment of adults, but there are crucial differences. Many adolescents are referred to juvenile courts by law enforcement officers, but many others are referred by school officials, social services, neighbors, and even parents for behavior or conditions that require intervention by the formal system of social control. The criminal process begins when someone commits a crime. Law enforcement officers on patrol can directly observe a crime or be sent to answer a witness` call about a potential crime. Although the trial conducted in each criminal justice case complies with similar rules and guidelines, the specific stages of a case may vary depending on a number of factors, such as the jurisdiction of the state over the state, the seriousness of a crime, whether a suspect faces a minor or adult charge, and/or a suspect`s history. The following sections provide a step-by-step overview of the criminal justice process, starting with the act of committing a crime and ending with the execution of a corrective sentence.
For statistics on this topic, see –Processing of Criminal CasesDown to Federal Justice View Organizational Chart The following sections go into more detail about the structure and composition of the U.S. criminal justice system and how the criminal justice process works, from crime to corrections.