NCJ Number
79443
Date Published
1981
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Professor Richard Myren, Dean of Criminal Justice at American University, reviews the state of criminal justice education and suggests improvements.
Abstract
The criminal justice system is working more effectively today than in the past because of new research projects and more university inquiries; the enhanced status of criminal justice training programs exemplifies the health of the criminal justice system. This system cannot be isolated from other justice systems since all are interrelated; training programs must be integrated even though some States resist integration. Criminal justice education has been system oriented since the 1960's and entrenched in the 1970's, with the growth of many new programs and professional associations of criminal justice educators. The increasing concern for quality has led to the concept of accreditation for the field. Also during the 1970's the realization arose that criminal justice agencies were a part of other systems as well. For the 1980's universities must establish colleges of justice and not just of criminology or criminal justice. They should establish sharper definitions of the parameters of the justice system, including the civil and military systems in the new curriculums. A question and answer session follows the lecture.