NCJ Number
86502
Journal
Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 10 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1982) Pages: 315-325
Date Published
1982
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This essay considers the criminal justice education issues of curriculum, colleges, faculty, and accreditation as they have been debated in the aftermath of the Sherman Report on the quality of police education (1978).
Abstract
One of the major issues confronting police education is that of liberal arts versus vocational curricula. While some want a liberal arts program that entirely excludes vocational courses, a blend of liberal arts, field work, and technical courses appears more functional. Another issue that has been extensively discussed is the need for broadly-based education for criminal justice. There are those who argue for a broad-based education that will enable criminal justice personnel to handle complex, abstract problems of human relations and organization; however, if criminal justice is to have an educational identity, it must develop its own unique curriculum which can offer a relevant combination of subjects from other fields as well as criminal justice subjects. A criminal justice system orientation versus a criminal justice component orientation is also an issue. The Sherman Report suggests that the system approach is inadequate, because much of police work falls outside the criminal justice system. This view fails to appreciate that the system approach considers component interests while providing an understanding of the interdependencies of the various components. Issues associated with colleges include whether college credit should be offered for training and life experience, whether criminal justice students should be enrolled full-time instead of part-time, and whether 2-year degree programs in criminal justice should be offered at community colleges. Faculty issues are (1) full-time versus part-time faculty, (2) academic credentials versus criminal justice experience, and (3) the retooling of PH.D.s from the arts and sciences disciplines to teach criminal justice. In the area of accreditation, the primary concern is whether a single body should be responsible for accrediting criminal justice curriculums. Forty-seven references are listed.