NCJ Number
69994
Date Published
1977
Length
11 pages
Annotation
A compartmentalized approach to curricula and courses at different institutions, fostered by limited-scope professional organizations and single interest groups, is one of the major problems in criminal justice education.
Abstract
A collective effort on the part of all components of the criminal justice delivery system is needed to promote cooperation and professionalism in criminal justice education by devising curricula and courses which address the needs of the criminal justice system as a whole. Law enforcement, correction, courts and criminal law, and causation-oriented endeavors, must all be equally represented in criminal justice education curricula. Professional organizations (e.g., the American Criminological Society, Police Foundation and International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the American Bar Association) must cooperate in establishing a systems concept for criminal justice education. A consortium approach will prevent duplication, overlapping, and wasted efforts. The accreditation guidelines developed by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in the areas of faculty qualification, curriculum, and professional development of faculty should be used at least as one of the tools for evaluating criminal justice education programs. Environmental relationships are crucial as components of a criminal justice education system. Other major problems to be solved, utilizing a total system approach to criminal justice education, include establishing the proper role of research, developing funding sources with no strings attached, recruiting highly qualified faculty and students, and devising a proper control mechanism (informal or formal) that can eliminate fragmentation of efforts.