Question I need answered...

[roxx]

Hi, great website...

Here is my situation. I already have my Associates in Business, and will have my Bachelor's 8 months.

I am in Ohio, and I have been in contact with the University of Tiffin, which has instructed me that with my 3.9 GPA and other awards, that I can transition into their Master of Science in Criminal Justice with no problem.

I love the area of business where I deal with the public.... but I have ZERO interest in sitting in a cubical and crunching numbers all day.

Law enforcement has always been a passion of mine, but to be honest, I have no interest in being a regular police office.

I am very interested in being a plain clothes detective for my local department, or some sort of counselor/administration/truant officer..etc..etc.

So in a nutshell, I am very interested in law enforcement, but my wife, kids, friends, and family are all right here in Lima, OH (population 50,000)...and I have no plans of leaving.

What will my opportunities be if I were to obtain a MS in CJ in my local community, and is it truly possible to have a nice paying, quality job without first becoming a uniformed police officer?

As a side note... Tiffin University is considering doing a online doctoral program in the future, which I would be extremely interested in, as the idea of teaching later in life excites me a great deal.

A fantasy career path for me would be to be a detective/corrections officer at for the local PD, then after some time...later getting into teaching as well at the University level.

Is what I am thinking realistic?

Of course the idea of working for the FBI..etc..etc is all great, but I doubt if I can do that and be home every night with my kids.

Note: there is nothing wrong with being a regular uniformed officer I just feel it would not be a good fit for me the way other CJ positions would be.

[Citicop]

Uniformed Patrol is the backbone of Law Enforcement.

If you are working at the local level, there is no position you can obtain that does not first require some time in patrol, learning Law Enforcement from the streets. There is nothing you can learn in a classroom that will substitute for that experience.

Most departments require 3-5 years in patrol before you are eligible for transfer/promotion to an investigative position. Your education may help you get that position when you meet the requirement, but it will not shorten the time at all.

The alternative would be something federal. Many Federal Agencies have strictly investigative positions with no "patrol" requirement at all. The disadvantage there is that you will almost certainly have to move to meet the needs of the agency.

Perhaps you could look into your state's department of Probation or Parole... that may give you what you are looking for.

-Citicop.

[roxx]

Uniformed Patrol is the backbone of Law Enforcement.

If you are working at the local level, there is no position you can obtain that does not first require some time in patrol, learning Law Enforcement from the streets. There is nothing you can learn in a classroom that will substitute for that experience.

Most departments require 3-5 years in patrol before you are eligible for transfer/promotion to an investigative position. Your education may help you get that position when you meet the requirement, but it will not shorten the time at all.

The alternative would be something federal. Many Federal Agencies have strictly investigative positions with no "patrol" requirement at all. The disadvantage there is that you will almost certainly have to move to meet the needs of the agency.

Perhaps you could look into your state's department of Probation or Parole... that may give you what you are looking for.

-Citicop.

Hi Citicop,
Let me ask a few other things that you may know the answer to:

In the case of myself, lets say I never become a patrol officer, yet I come out of school with a BS in BUS, and MS in CJ.....what kind of jobs would I be looking at?

You see, and I know this happens to more people than me.....everyone is always looking for a job that fits into a perfect preconceived notion of an ideal job, what I mean is...jobs like: teacher, farmer, astronaut, pharmacist...etc..etc.. are all jobs that have an exact means to an end.

However, once in a while (maybe once every 2 months) I will see a job posted in my local newspaper, which sounds like a terrific job, and it's requirement will say "MS in Criminal Justice Preferred".... and 9/10 these jobs sound very exciting, and sound as if the pay and opportunity are very good...yet, they will just linger in the paper for 2 weeks because in a town of only 50,000, finding someone with a Master in CJ takes time. These type of positions never list anything about having experience as a patrol officer.

So it seems as though there are jobs for MS in CJ students, just not as uniformed & plain cloth officers and detectives....is this correct? I mean, I know you can have or not have any degree and be a patrol officer if you meet the requirements.... but you are saying NO ONE is going to just start as a detective on day one. Right?

You are probably correct. But this makes hardly any sense to me...as many CIA, Secret Service, FBI, and US Marshall's never spent a day as a uniformed officer, yet a detective on a local level needs 3-5 years in uniform.

[mcsap]

In order to do any " specialty" in your typical Law Enforcement position , you MUST be a well rounded street officer FIRST. Being a good detective, K9, forensic, motorcycle , SWAT officer ETC, requires a good working knowledge of the street.

There is NO way around this. If you dont want to work the street as a patrol officer than you truly wont fit into any Law Enforcement position.

[ruby0711]

You could look into the office of probation. I know in my state, a BA-MA in CJ, Psychology, sociology..ect, could qualify you for the position.

I must warn you, everything you have learned from a book or a class room will mean absolutly nothing until you have worked in your field.

trust me..

[Kimble]

In the case of myself, lets say I never become a patrol officer, yet I come out of school with a BS in BUS, and MS in CJ.....what kind of jobs would I be looking at?

Patrol officer for the first few years if you apply with a local PD or SO. Doesn't matter what your degree is in, or what "specialized experience" you bring to the table, you have to learn to crawl before you can walk, and you develop your investigative and interviewing skills on the streets - with real criminals.

You are probably correct. But this makes hardly any sense to me...as many CIA, Secret Service, FBI, and US Marshall's never spent a day as a uniformed officer, yet a detective on a local level needs 3-5 years in uniform.

Different agencies have different standards and hiring practices. If you prefer the hiring methods of federal agencies, perhaps that's where you should focus your applications. Also, if you have no desire to work patrol, working for a local PD or SO should probably not be your focus.

[jrg]

I second that.
Always best to look at the requirements of the agency.

When I worked as an intern, the best trooper I worked with was a business major. The agency will hire you if you have a Bachelor's degree in any field.

In IL it can range from HS diploma, Associate's+exp, or just a bacehlor's.

[Creeker]

Don't forget that a lot of these Educational Institutions are throwing advertisements around for degrees to be able to do certain jobs just to spark a potential Student's interests.

Students Interests = Institutional Income.

I'm getting really tired of hearing and seeing ads that offer to train and certify you to become a P.I., Forensic Examiner, Law Enforcement Officer, etc. when all of these jobs in my state require first that you have already attained employment in one of those fields.

I am beginning to look at many educational "offers" as timeshare sales people.:rolleyes:

Be very leery of obtuse degree offers and what future income they dangle in front of you with that degree. There is scant use for a Criminal Justice degree of any type outside of Law Enforcement, and to be a LEO does not require any specific degree.

You could get the "Nth" Degree of Education in Criminal Justice, get a LEO job and decide in 2 or three years that LE is not your bag... or become medically unable to work as a LEO, but you are now stuck with that "Nth" Degree that will not really help you out in the business world.

As a (medically) Retired Cop with a CRJ Degree, I urge anyone and everyone Not to obtain a CRJ specific Degree... and lately I'm leaning more towards Military Service as being a better preparer for LE than anything more than some English and writing courses.

[Kimble]

Don't forget that a lot of these Educational Institutions are throwing advertisements around for degrees to be able to do certain jobs just to spark a potential Student's interests.

Students Interests = Institutional Income.

I'm getting really tired of hearing and seeing ads that offer to train and certify you to become a P.I., Forensic Examiner, Law Enforcement Officer, etc. when all of these jobs in my state require first that you have already attained employment in one of those fields...

Could not agree more. There are some VERY deceptive (if not outright bullshit) advertising by some colleges and their criminal justice degrees. Saw one recently for a local private tech college that guarantees employment upon graduation in being a "federal agent" or "homeland security officer." If anything, there are NO guarantees in employment in law enforcement.

As I said before: http://forums.realpolice.net/showthread.php?t=48236

[LittlePinky82]

Uniformed Patrol is the backbone of Law Enforcement.

If you are working at the local level, there is no position you can obtain that does not first require some time in patrol, learning Law Enforcement from the streets. There is nothing you can learn in a classroom that will substitute for that experience.

Most departments require 3-5 years in patrol before you are eligible for transfer/promotion to an investigative position. Your education may help you get that position when you meet the requirement, but it will not shorten the time at all.

The alternative would be something federal. Many Federal Agencies have strictly investigative positions with no "patrol" requirement at all. The disadvantage there is that you will almost certainly have to move to meet the needs of the agency.

Perhaps you could look into your state's department of Probation or Parole... that may give you what you are looking for.

-Citicop.

I would also suggest looking in for what your state says. You'd probably have to do some sort of patrolling for two years since detectives in plain clothing are cops. They do have to go out on the street's. You'd have to probably do some training before as well through some type of academy training. There are clips up on Youtube you can check out to see if that's for you.

[Kimble]

I would also suggest looking in for what your state says. You'd probably have to do some sort of patrolling for two years since detectives in plain clothing are cops. They do have to go out on the street's. You'd have to probably do some training before as well through some type of academy training. There are clips up on Youtube you can check out to see if that's for you.

Littlepinky, I know you probably just want to help (no foul there ), but it's obvoius from your post that you don't have "inside knowledge" on what is required to become a detective. The truth is that to become a police detective, you will have to start in patrol (not "probably"), and like all police, you will have to graduate from a police academy (again, not "probably). No one is going to higher a freshly-graudated CJ student with no prior LE experience, give them a badge and gun, and say, "Get out there and start investigating, kid!"