A.S. in Criminal Law or Police Science

My son has a few units in Criminal Justice but would like to complete a distance learning CJ or Police Science course with an A.S. degree. He is just turning 19, so he would like to finish before he turns 21 so he will have a leg up when he applies to the police academy. Any recommendations? I already know about Ashworth.

 

OK, how do I put this without sounding like a jerk? If he wants to get some education to apply for the police academy, I would suggest not doing any type of criminal justice program. In the law enforcement world, particularly in the Fed, CJ BA's/BS's are a dime a dozen, so what would that say for an AA. In my opinion he should wait until he gets his 4 year degree, because it will be extremely hard to get it once he is working all of those odd hours and shifts (not saying it can't be done, it is just more difficult). Also in todays world the majority of applicants getting hired have 4 year degrees (not always the rule but the fast growing trend). Alot of times candidates with degrees in fields such as accounting, computers, or language are ten times more desirable than the candidate with a CJ for the simple fact that once in the academy they will teach you about the law and what you need to know to be a law enforcement officer. The other skills learned by the above mentioned degrees are highly sought after icing on the cake.
The only reason he should do cj is if that is the only thing he is interested in, not simply because that particular degree will make him a better candidate. Law enforcement is a funny field where alot of times it doesn't matter what your degree is as long as you have one , and then the next month they require candidates to possess a chemical engineering degree and a different one the next month.
If he is just aiming to get the AA degree at this time, please have him get one that reasonably transfers into wide selection of BA/BS majors and doesn't pinhole him into the CJ path. I have seen alot of youngsters get turned down and become frustrated because they think they brought alot to the table because they studied CJ. The Law enforcement hiring process is a struggle like no other career path.
One day he might decide he doesn't want to work in LE that CJ degree might not help him out in other fields, and it might not help him much when he needs a good job while he waits for the year long LE hiring process to finish. I know guys that have waited three years before they got hired on. The Marshals Service made me wait 2 years from the time I applied until the day I started. Local agencies don't usualy take that long but it is not unheard of to wait a year.
Good luck. Once again the above statements are not concrete, they are just my observations over the last several years. I was lucky to get where I am without a 4 year degree (I am working on it). I am sure some of the other coppers on here will throw in their 2 pennies.


FED
P.S. I know that wasn't an answer to your question. I just want to help.

 

I can't speak for the Federal system, so I'll let fed406's comments stand....in regards to Federal law enforcement.

As far as local law enforcement (city/town police, county sheriff), having any type of legitimate CJ degree would be a huge advantage when applying. Entry level positions in those agencies have nothing to do with computers, accounting, language, or anything else except pure law enforcement.

Answering 911 calls is the true essence of a police officer, and training in computers, accounting, or language is useless in that regard.

However, an Associate's degree in CJ would at least give the person an idea of what to expect. My students are exposed to a liberal dose of "war stories", which gives them an idea of what they might have to encounter.

 

Thanks Bruce, for giving insight to the local realm, I guess I should have put more of a disclaimer in there. As far what goes on with the local PD's all I can shed light on is what I hear from the task force officers we work with. I believe that some CJ classes (ie, constitutional law classes) should be taken by those wanting to go into LE, but IMHO take them for electives in another degree program. Also, whether going FED, State, or Local, Take as much SPANISH as you can tolerate!!!!! I live in the midwest, not, the South, and I am thankful every day I know alot of Spanish.
I do however stand on the "Don't go with a CJ degree" stance if there is something else you might want to do that requires a completely different type of degree.

FED

 

I took Constitutional Law at both the undergrad and graduate level, and I can honestly say that I learned a lot more about Con Law in the Police Academy than I ever did in a college classroom.

I'll agree with that. However, I've found that taking out the handcuffs often triggers a miraculous understanding of English with suspects.