NCJ Number
78559
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1980) Pages: 25-41
Date Published
1980
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Major philosophical considerations in criminal justice education are probed by analyzing the landmark Police Foundation Report and the history of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a pioneer institution.
Abstract
The Police Foundation Report emphasizes the importance of fusing traditional liberal arts courses with subjects dealing with knowledge crucial for effective performance in criminal justice occupations. The report, however, appears to back away from this position in its statement that 'A broad general education should provide just as sound a preparation for police work as majoring in criminal justice (as either a liberal art or a professional education) and perhaps an even better basis for institutional change, since general education may do a better job of teaching students to use knowledge to solve problems.' John Jay College of Criminal Justice, over its 15-year experience as a pioneer institution in police and criminal justice education, also evidences this view among its faculty. Many faculty members apparently consider that a college which focuses on the field of criminal justice, no matter how broadly and deeply the field is defined, cannot be a quality institution in the liberal arts, regardless of extensive basic liberal arts requirements. This view, reflected in the Foundation report and the John Jay faculty, apparently reflects the bias that a criminal justice major is inherently inferior to traditional fields of study. This snobbishness stands in the way of a creative fusion of liberal arts and other professional disciplines with specialized criminal justice knowledge to produce a curriculum uniquely tailored to the demands of criminal justice occupations. The John Jay College criminal justice curriculum is appended, and two footnotes and three references are listed.