Criminal Justice: The Unethical Cash Cow

[sanantone]

As a Psych/Education major, this is the exact reason why I enjoyed the CJ classes I took, and wished I could have wedged a few more in there. I have no desire to go into law enforcement, except possibly as a consultant, but I find the classes in CJ fascinating. And I do believe that todays LEOs should have a background and an understanding of the underlying theories concerning criminology, victimology, and other areas. But yeah, from what I've seen, these fly-by-night AAS programs only cover the theory portion, not actual protocols or other practical portions. But isn't that what the academy is for?

I had great fun in my Criminology course, which as you said was a straight out examination of social theories. If things go as planned in the next month, I might be able to take 'Forensic Psychology' graduate classes at one of the big For-Profits for free since none of their other offerings appeal to me. Psychology of Criminal Behavior, Maladaptive Behavior and Psychopathology, Interrogation & Interviewing, Police Psychology and Correctional Psychology all are fascinating to me. Would I do anything with an actual degree in Forensic Psych? Probably not, but as I tell my own students, take the 'fun' courses when you can.

That's the problem. Most of the undergraduate students are not like you. They don't want to hear about the court cases that affected due process and use of force policies. They don't want to learn about how the Broken Windows Theory has been applied to patrol functions. They want to go to a gun range, drive patrol vehicles, and learn how to whack someone with a baton. Learning about the programs used to rehabilitate offenders and policies created to prevent crime is boring to them.