{"id":4403,"date":"2016-05-24T11:00:57","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T16:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/?p=4403"},"modified":"2016-12-06T09:55:35","modified_gmt":"2016-12-06T15:55:35","slug":"5-ways-criminal-justice-degree-is-important-in-law-enforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/5-ways-criminal-justice-degree-is-important-in-law-enforcement\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways a Criminal Justice Degree is Important in Law Enforcement"},"content":{"rendered":"

If many law enforcement jobs don\u2019t require a degree, why spend the money and time on higher education? According to Steven Brancazio<\/a>, faculty chair for Capella University\u2019s Criminal Justice Undergraduate Studies, and Dr. Micheal Kemp<\/a>, faculty chair in the School of Public Service Leadership, there are many reasons to obtain a degree, and those reasons are getting increasingly more important.<\/p>\n

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A Changing Field<\/h4>\n

\u201cPolicing is changing,\u201d says Brancazio. \u201cIt used to be authoritative, reactive, a very strict hierarchy and chain of command.\u201d Meaning lower-level employees were expected to follow orders. But that\u2019s shifting.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, officers are given more authority and are more involved in the community,\u201d says Brancazio. \u201cThey need better critical thinking skills. More decision-making responsibility at lower levels means a law enforcement officer needs to know what\u2019s involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Increased Visibility<\/h4>\n

\u201cPolice work is under intense scrutiny right now,\u201d says Kemp. \u201cAny misstep is going to be very public. It\u2019s important for officers to have a whole toolkit of skills to make the best on-the-job decisions possible. Higher education in criminal justice can get you those skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brancazio agrees. \u201cOfficers on the street are the face of the organization to the public,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd the public forms an opinion based on what these front line officers are doing. I can\u2019t emphasize enough how critical it is for front-line officers to be prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Increased Safety<\/h4>\n

\u201cCollege teaches you ethics, conflict resolution, and critical thinking\u2014all those soft skills that can help you be proactive rather than reactive,\u201d says Brancazio. \u201cIt can mean the difference between a situation that escalates badly and one that is resolved peaceably. That\u2019s what a degree brings. When you come in with more knowledge up front, you\u2019re less likely to make mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe degree helps you gain that theoretical knowledge, and it helps you learn how to translate theories into practical solutions,\u201d Kemp adds. \u201cThat mastery of knowledge gives you more tools in decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Successful Public Interaction<\/h4>\n

While TV crime shows depict police officers in constant pursuit of criminals, the reality is much different, which is why a broader educational base is valuable. \u201cOver 90% of what officers do has nothing to do with criminal apprehension,\u201d says Brancazio.<\/p>\n

Crime prevention and community relations are a major part of a police officer\u2019s portfolio. They\u2019re negotiating disputes, making presentations at schools, communicating with community groups\u2014all of which require a different set of skills than you might typically associate with police work.<\/p>\n

Critical thinking is necessary for officers to analyze a situation on the fly. \u201cThere was recently a case of a police officer who pulled someone over whose kids were in the car without a car seat,\u201d says Kemp. \u201cThat\u2019s a violation. But the officer, in talking with the driver, learned that the driver couldn\u2019t afford car seats. So he helped the driver get car seats to keep the kids safe. What good would ticketing the driver do, if he can\u2019t afford the car seat? Now you have an outcome where the kids are safe and the driver feels good about the situation. It\u2019s a win-win. But you have to know how to assess that kind of situation and make a quick decision about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Better Career Options<\/h4>\n

Both Kemp and Brancazio note that although many entry-level criminal justice positions don\u2019t require a degree, a candidate who has one has an edge over the competition, and is likely to earn more as well\u2014up to 22% more*. \u201cBeyond a doubt, agencies are looking for degrees,\u201d says Brancazio.<\/p>\n

If someone aspires to move up in the criminal justice field, a degree becomes even more critical. \u201cIf you\u2019re moving into administrative roles, you should even consider an advanced degree,\u201d says Kemp. \u201cIf you\u2019re going into management, you need additional skills,\u201d Brancazio adds. \u201cRunning a department is basically running a business. You\u2019ve got budgets, HR issues, the whole works.\u201d Knowing what works out on the street is not enough to know how to run an entire department.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bottom line is that a criminal justice degree can improve your prospects in law enforcement,\u201d Brancazio shared. \u201cEducation is probably the most powerful weapon any officer carries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Learn more about Capella\u2019s online <\/em>criminal justice degree programs<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

See graduation rates, median student debt, and other information at <\/em>Capella Results<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/h6>\n
*SOURCE: Burning Glass Labor Insight 2013.<\/h6>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe bottom line is that a criminal justice degree can improve your prospects in law enforcement.\u201d Two Capella faculty chairs share five reasons why it\u2019s becoming more important to have a degree. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":4510,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[316],"tags":[317],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4403"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4403"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5355,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4403\/revisions\/5355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}