Since September 11, 2001, the United States started treating criminal justice studies more carefully. This brought about a surge of young students aspiring for criminal justice careers. Gone were the days when working as a criminal justice agent meant simple working as a law enforcer or a detective in brown overcoat and huge glasses. TV shows show stark evidence of the popularity of criminal justice like C.S.I. and various other detective dramas.
It’s safe to say that because of this, criminal justice careers have also grown more diverse throughout the years. As a reaction to the “new interest”, people have started considering career paths in this field. Since the justice system has widely incorporated other disciplines of study in its new wake, it has made room for people who have a different “base knowledge” or background. Those involved in the industry of crime fighting are most likely scientists, artists, or psychologists as well.
If you’re planning to have a career in crime fighting, and you’re worried that you’re not much into the whole cloak-and-dagger action, there’s no need to worry. Below are the most popular and multidisciplinary crime fighting jobs you can look into.
Criminologists and Criminalists
The difference between the two jobs is basically time-related. Criminologists try to predict how and when crimes will take place, while Criminalists examine all the physical evidence that a crime leaves after it happens. Criminalists must have knowledge about physical sciences, while Criminologists specializes in the social or behavioral sciences.
If you’re planning to be a Criminalist, you need to have prior knowledge about Forensics, Computer Forensics, Crime Scene Investigation, Forensics Behavior Analysis, Biology, Laws of Evidence, Chemistry, and other sciences. Aside from these, you need to be very detailed and highly analytical.
Criminologists need to specialize in Criminal Behavior, Sociology of Law, Psychoanalysis, Crime Prevention, Causes of Crime, Logic, and other related subjects. Compared to Criminalists, the Criminologists are the bookworms of the bunch. Criminal Profilers are included in this group of professionals. Like the Criminalists, they need to be analytical, and highly imaginative but logical.
These two crime fighting professions are among the best paid of the lot.
Narcotics Officer
One of the greatest crimes committed in the United States are drug trafficking and drug use. This puts the Narcotics Officer post on top of our list. A Narcotics Officer must be very analytical and resourceful in gathering intelligence reports on illegal drug traffickers and users or abusers. This job is highly risky because it requires much field work, including dealing with big drug lords and organizations. Since the working environment for this profession is less than comfortable, it requires a lot of brains and brawn.
Juvenile Probation Officer
One of the more interesting sides of our justice system is the progressive techniques of correcting juvenile delinquents. As a Juvenile Probation Officer, you will be put in charge or rehabilitating the teenager’s behavior. This includes investigating the juvenile offender’s background thoroughly, preparing his/her psychological profile, making court recommendations for his/her correctional dues, planning his/her therapy and education, and many more. Juvenile Probation Officers must also have a good background on behavioral sciences.
Popularity: 95%
