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Criminal Justice Research Paper

Saint Peters University

Alyssa Notaro, Mariangelica DeCastro, & Rosely Espaillat

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The process of choosing a college major is similar to the steps an individual makes when

choosing a career path. College majors are the foundations for long-term career options. The

importance of choosing a major is for students to specialize into a specific field of study whether

it be in the fields of business, science, law, or the arts. To best choose a major, individual needs

to discover what it is they love to do and pursue it. Students need to be focused when it comes to

planning their career paths and whatever it is they decide to choose, holds the future to the kinds

of careers and lifestyles they will likely be involved in. Deciding on a major that a student is

genuinely satisfied with, all depends on his or her ability to self-explore and be open minded to

options. Choosing a career path can also be a by-product of an individuals talents, interests, and

abilities.

A person that has a passion for helping others and enjoys the idea of ensuring safety,

fairness, and justice towards a community might have the interest of majoring into the field of

criminal justice. Criminal Justice is a unique major that is known to help students truly make a

difference in society and continues to challenge their thinking everyday. Career wise, criminal

justice has a world of possibilities when it comes to job opportunities. The curriculum that Saint

Peters provides for this particular major, consists of a variety of options for students to explore

into. The criminal justice program comprises of several diverse areas such as: law and justice,

corrections, police administration, investigative sciences, criminal research/ intelligence analysis,

and computer science/ crime forensics. Career opportunities with a criminal justice major are

expansive and pursuing a long-term career in this field of study also has its benefits of allowing

an individual the chance to be connected with the community as well as empowering others.

While researching more information about criminal justice, the group had the opportunity

of interviewing two great people from the criminal justice field. The first person we interviewed
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was Meliton Cordero, an agent from the D.E.A. We asked him to describe his job and he said, I

investigate domestic and international drug trafficking and money laundering to include complex

and historical conspiracies by enforcing U.S. Code Title 21 among other laws. The second

person we interviewed was Kari Larsen, the Director of the Graduate Criminal Justice Program

and Chair of the Criminal Justice department here at Saint Peters University. We asked

Professor Larsen if she could describe her job and she responded, Yes! I have a great job. I

teach two courses in the classroom and I teach one online course, so I teach two sections of

criminal justice ethics which is a writing intensive course. I teach a section of criminal procedure

online and I have some administrative duties because Im the chair of the department as well. So,

my typical day is, if Im teaching I go in and teach my two classes and then I come to my office

and take care of any students that have a problem that have either left paperwork for me or there

here to see me personally and then I go home. Both interviews display how two people in the

same field are doing two completely different things. This is also a perfect example of how there

are no specific traits to work in this field. A great thing about majoring into criminal justice, is

that a person is given the chance of combining another major if he or she decides to do so later.

For example, Dr. Larsen explained that she works in the criminal justice field but also teaches on

the side. These were two things that she mentioned she loves doing.

Both interviews went very well and throughout this process, the group learned that most

people in the criminal justice field love their job. Dr. Cordero told us about different jobs that are

available in his department. He states, My agency offers jobs in a number of areas to include

positions as criminal investigators, intelligence analysts, forensic chemists, regulatory/diversion

investigators, and administrative positions. The group was also interested in what a typical day

of work could look like for someone in his field. Dr. Cordero responded, My day at work
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consists of attending case coordination meetings whether domestically or internationally,

conducting criminal record checks, street surveillance, meetings with other law enforcement

officers or Assistant U.S. Attorney's, report writing, and evidence analysis among other items.

Success in this field is loving your job and doing it to the best of your ability. Waking up and

going to sleep, knowing that youve made a difference in this world is a great feeling to

experience. Dr. Cordero and Dr. Larsen are people that the group consider to be very successful.

Since Dr. Larsen is the chair of the criminal justice department, we asked her what she thought

being successful in this major meant and she stated, Success in the major I think is fully

understanding and articulating the material that was learned in each and every one of the courses

and to have a successful internship experience. In regards to successful traits in this major, Dr

Cordero stated how there are no specific traits, but rather being well-rounded and being able to

think outside the box is important as well as analytical and logical skills. In the groups

research, available internships that we discovered in the criminal justice field are: NJ State

Police, FBI, and DEA.

Within the Criminal Justice program at Saint Peters University, six concentrations

are available. There is the Law and Justice Concentration, Corrections Concentration, Police

Administration, Investigative Sciences and Profiling, Criminal Research & Intelligence Analysis,

Cyber Security and Computer Forensics, which provide the students with different areas to

explore within the criminal justice world. If students dont like an aspect of the

criminal justice major, they are still given the chance to pursue something they are passionate

about through the Saint Peters program. All six concentrations translate into different job

opportunities after college and some people may be exposed to the different fields even earlier
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through internships. Some locations for available jobs are in the local precincts, the

courthouses or the federal and state agencies.

When people think criminal justice, they picture police officers, detectives, and lawyers

but there is lots of other options. They range from probation officers to a fish and game warden,

who work to make sure the forests, waterways, national parks and other protected areas and

animals that live there are kept safe. Forensic Science Technicians are another option for

someone with a major in Criminal Justice. They oversee collecting all evidence from a crime

scene. They work in labs on processing the different evidence, and to try to make conclusions

based on the data. Working together with the law enforcement to solve the case is a primary

goal. Correction Officers is another job available, working with people in the correctional

system.

Other major jobs that come to mind when people think of criminal justice are the

different agencies. Such as the Drug Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation,

National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and many others. Within these

agencies, there is even more jobs and opportunity to move up the ranks. Each agency is focused

on a different problem and all work differently to reach their goals, so they attract different kinds

of people to them. For example, the DEA works towards stopping drug trafficking and use in the

United States. The CIAs mission is to gather information from countries around the world so

that the government can make important decisions about the countrys security.

After sitting down for an interview with Kari Larsen, chair of the Criminal Justice

program at Saint Peters University, she said 40% of the students look for jobs in law

enforcement. The most popular concentration is Police Administration and students pursue jobs

with the municipal police departments, New Jersey state police, sheriff departments, federal
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agencies such as the FBI, DEA, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Students who go into the Law

and Justice Concentration look for work in the Traffic Violations Bureau, in courthouses as

clerks, who administers oaths and keeps records for the court, or mediators. A recent graduate of

Saint Peters University now works with the reentry corporation. He works with newly released

prisoners to reintroduce them to society and provide them job training and counseling. Other

graduates choose to go into the Department of Children and Families or The Division of Child

Protection and Permanency. Students interested in Cyber Security usually go into the Masters

program at the university.

References

20 Jobs You Can Get with a Criminal Justice Degree. (n.d.). Retrieved December 04, 2017,
from https://www.criminaljusticedegreeschools.com/criminal-justice-degrees/jobs/

Criminal Justice Careers 2017. (n.d.). Retrieved December 04, 2017, from
https://www.criminaljusticedegreeschools.com/criminal-justice-careers/

Saint Peters University. Criminal Justice, www.saintpeters.edu/academics/undergraduate-

programs/criminal-justice/.