"Crime in America is a growth industry. Although we have been experiencing a temporary slowdown in crime rates, I believe this is only temporary. We still have one of the highest rates of crime for an industrial country. There will be lots of jobs for people in most areas of Criminal Justice for the foreseeable future. We will need police officers of all kinds, federal officers of all kinds, corrections officers in institutions and on the street, plus support personnel of all categories." - J. M. Moynahan, author, Professor of Criminal Justice, former police sergeant, juvenile probation officer, jail officer trainer and jail consultant.
Law enforcement officers and other protective service workers face a strong job outlook for many reasons:
- We (in the U.S.) have about the highest proportion of our population behind bars, or on probation or parole.
- The American jail system processes more than 22 million people a year, with about half a million inmates in jail at any given time.
- We give among the longest sentences in the world, yet our prisoners serve some of the shortest sentences due to parole, good time, etc.
- The U.S. homicide rate is about 10 per 100,000 population.
- This is the highest in any industrial country and probably higher than third world countries except those in revolution.
- Recidivism rates for those released from jails run about 70%, while about 75% of those leaving prison break the law again and return to confinement.
Criminal Justice and Protective Service Occupations
This week, we'll introduce several careers within the large fields of criminal justice and protective service. The data below come from the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
- Sheriffs and deputy sheriffs enforce the law on the county level.
- State police officers (sometimes called State troopers or highway patrol officers) patrol highways and enforce motor vehicle laws and regulations. They issue traffic citations, serve at the scene of an accident. These officers also help other law enforcement agencies enforce criminal laws.
- Police officers who work in small communities and rural areas have a broad range of general law enforcement duties. A typical day might include directing traffic at the scene of a fire, investigating a burglary, or giving first aid to an accident victim.
- In large urban police departments, officers are usually assigned to a specific type of duty. Most are assigned to patrol a designated area to prevent crime. They identify, pursue and arrest suspected criminals, enforce traffic laws, and resolve problems within the community. Some specialize in chemical analysis, firearms identification, handwriting and fingerprint identification. Others work with special units such as mounted and motorcycle patrol, harbor patrol, canine corps, special weapons and tactics or emergency response teams, or task forces formed to fight specific types of crime.
Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Crimefighters in Career Planning is owned by . Permission to republish Crimefighters in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
