Response1 by LOBO
While researching the field of criminal justice I discovered that police officers have a wide variety of duties to perform. Police officers have to perform both physical and administrative tasks. Officers are required to enforce laws, make arrests and prepare detailed written reports. A college degree would prove useful in many of the administrative responsibilities a police officer will handle in his or her career. Successful skills that a police officer should have include advanced writing abilities to prepare written reports and sufficient information processing capabilities to understand and apply various laws. The Bureau of Labor Statistics was beneficial in providing a detailed synopsis of the police officer profession. This agency broke down the professions responsibilities, work environment, salary, and steps to enter the profession. Careerinfonet.org was also a useful information source that provided statistics in education and training for this profession. From this source, I learned that about 30% of police officers have a bachelor's degree and that at least 50% have some sort of college degree. After conducting my research into the professional expectation of a police officer, I believe that a well-rounded degree plan should include sufficient English writing and comprehension courses as well as diverse courses within the concentration.
Response 2 OSTROWSKI
Throughout the criminal justice there are a wide range of jobs in which all play a critical role in the prosecution and effectiveness of the criminal justice system. The career path in which I choose to follow requires and certain skill set and knowledge base on the situations in which I will be dealing with. This career path is district/regional level loss prevention, upon further research or as many may call it in the criminal justice system "further investigation" I realized that my current degree plan is perfectly aligned with what is required. One portion in which is not mandated but I believe can help my future are management/business related courses. I would like to attempt to take a course or two in my current degree plan that can relate to those topics. I have spoken to both police officers and regional loss prevention managers and received similar feedback by both parties. They stated that the investigation aspect of both loss prevention and police are identical. Many times, loss prevention personnel's job can be a little tougher in the investigation side due to direct contact and professional friendships with the some of the employees being investigated for criminal activities. I am far too eager to obtain my degree and once that lifelong goal is achieved the opportunities are endless if I later decide I want to alter my career path down another route in the criminal justice system.
Response 3 main
I uncovered a bunch of information while researching the professional expectations of Probation Officers and correctional treatment specialist. There are many tasks which Probation officers need to perform. Anything ranging from meeting with probationers to conducting meetings with families or writing reports and maintaining case files, Clients may be dangerous or difficult to work with. Probation Officers have many court imposed dead lines to meet which can account for extensive paperwork. Making home visits with the probationers and conducting property searches to ensure the property is a safe environment. Typical entry level education is a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice, social work or behavioral science. On the job training is minimal. Having a job related experience can be helpful in finding a career in Probation. Many qualities such as communication, critical thinking, decision making and organizational skills are necessary to perform the tasks of being a Probation Officer.
Response 4lewis
In researching the professional expectations for criminal justice, I focused on the requirements for Probation Officer and Community Corrections. I searched on the New York State website for civil service requirements and found that most probation officers start out as trainees and then after a probation period, they may then be promoted from trainee to Probation Officer. The professional expectations are that the candidates must have a bachelor's degree in a social science and two years of experience in counseling or casework. The qualifications for trainee is the same without the two years of counseling or casework experience. I also accessed the NYS civil service guidelines for examination for Probation Officer and it was very informational on what is expected for the exam, the areas of knowledge you should be familiar with and the different areas of questions. I did discover that as a Probation Officer you are also a Peace Officer and must be qualified to hold this office. There are many training programs that Probation Officers must qualify in.
Please read all the question use the responses and also then respond for the responses why or why not you are agreed
1. What information did you uncover from your research into professional expectations which you found useful for planning your degree? -
2. What sources of information did you find most useful, and why? -
3. What useful skills and knowledge should you have for your profession? -
4. Are there any courses you might want to add to your degree plan that will help you develop the skills and knowledge you're expected to have as a professional in your field? Are there ways other than courses to address these expectations of you as a professional, and are there ways to pursue this learning in conjunction with academic work for your degree?