Why Is Criminal Justice Important?
This research article mostly covers how us as students perceive the criminal justice major going into college. Students who selected criminal justice in the past had family members who worked in the field, but recently the popularity has risen due to media and Hollywood making the field look glamorous in shows such as; CSI, Cold Case and Law & Order. It looks at how the media such as news stations, movies and TV shows portray the criminal justice profession as mostly fun and “sexy” to get into. The article stated that Hollywood “glamorized and glorified cultures of crime, vice, and corruption and has presented them within the context of duty, honor and family loyalty.” The most popular departments for criminal justice majors to go into after graduation are; crime scene investigator, forensic scientist, and criminal profiler, this is because TV shows and movies glorify these jobs. The media doesn’t tell the other side of the story, for example all the science and or math classes that are required for these types of jobs.
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“The media create, exaggerate, distort, sensationalize, and even manufacture crime stories to sell papers and receive higher ratings (Barkan, 2006)”. Criminologists face a major challenge when trying to get students interested in theorizing crime. The main purpose for studying criminological theory is to present reasons and causes of criminal behavior (Barkan, 2006). The major problem about theoretical explanations is some students will reject it because they have been taught to believe different things by family or other institutions. The big attraction to criminology is that it provides the student with the main things that are missing from television shows. When the media presents the crime they want to and it is out of context the viewers including students form oversimplified views on offenders and policies. Students need to realize that there are irrational crimes as well as rational. Criminological theory states that; “strain theory argues that criminals find illegitimate ways to acquire cultural symbols of success (Merton, 1938)”. The argument for social processing says that it is the decision to engage in crime is simply the product of the quality of that person’s relationship with certain social groups and institutions. On one side if these particular interactions are healthy that said person would conform to that groups values and standards. On the other hand if that person’s experience is negative the person will most likely “engage in crime”. The subareas of criminology are; sociology of law, statistics, penology, criminal behavior systems, victimology, and theory construction (Siegel, 2006). A criminologist will more likely than not only focus on one area of criminology. One major area of criminology is the study of criminal behavioral systems. The areas that students get into the most are organized crime, sexual crime, and drug crimes (Clinard, Quinney & Wildeman, 1994). In recent years computer-related crime and terrorism have been on the rise. This is mostly due to Hollywood and their overdramatizing organized crime in movies like The Sopranos and Growing up Gotti (Simon, 2002). Some shows such as; Law & Order, House CSI, and The Practice gave people some insight on every day tasks of the people who work in certain fields. Over the years these shows have shifted from front stage to back stage acting. Front stage acting is basically acting when you know people are watching you, on the other hand back stage acting is certain behavior that a person would want hidden from the public. Critics will argue that in shows like the ones listed above will “almost always contain backstage behavior”. The way certain images are shown to the public is almost always distorted and highly inaccurate (Surette, 1998). In most shows they show certain occupations like police officers acting outside of their jurisdiction. They are portrayed as violent and aggressive when arresting the offender.
First as a student, coming into college I would do a little more research on whatever department in criminal justice I wanted to go into. For instance if a career in forensics is what I wanted to go into I would go after a criminal justice major and either a biology or chemistry minor, after graduation my resume will stand out more than someone who just has a criminal justice major. While in criminal justice courses an open-minded approach would the key to success, students coming in mostly have this one directional approach.
They see the major of criminal justice through one scope as all exciting breaking through doors guns blazing. The reality is most of the major is doing paper work and some of the exciting parts they show on TV and movies. Another thing students could do when approaching their criminal justice courses is look for professors who have some work experience in the profession they want to go into “… some students say that far too many professors lack experience as police, correctional guards, crime scene investigators, lawyers or probation officers, simply put they are not battle tested”. A professor with years in the department you want is more qualified to tell you the details of that profession, and with that information the student can make an educated decision whether to pursue that profession or
not. As a student I would also want my professor to get me excited about what I was learning even if the said class was not going to be used after graduation. If students are more interested in a particular subject they are more likely to do better in that class and get more out of the lectures. In the classroom students tend to mirror the personality of their professor. When the professor is passionate and shows interest in what they are teaching that will in turn make the student interested and passionate about his or her work. On the other hand if the professor is dull and boring, students will find it very hard to sit through lectures (Glasser, 1993; Light, 2001).
If the professors follow the model set by this research article this will help me better understand what I am going to face after graduating. The professor needs to teach students that the media socially construct images for the viewer to make them apart of their reality (Barkan, 2006; Surette, 1998). The professor will also have to explain that the media and TV ignore specific areas of crime. They have to break down what the student has learned over the years from watching certain TV shows, movies and what they hear from the media.
“The media create, exaggerate, distort, sensationalize, and even manufacture crime stories to sell papers and receive higher ratings (Barkan, 2006)”. Criminologists face a major challenge when trying to get students interested in theorizing crime. The main purpose for studying criminological theory is to present reasons and causes of criminal behavior (Barkan, 2006). The major problem about theoretical explanations is some students will reject it because they have been taught to believe different things by family or other institutions. The big attraction to criminology is that it provides the student with the main things that are missing from television shows. When the media presents the crime they want to and it is out of context the viewers including students form oversimplified views on offenders and policies. Students need to realize that there are irrational crimes as well as rational. Criminological theory states that; “strain theory argues that criminals find illegitimate ways to acquire cultural symbols of success (Merton, 1938)”. The argument for social processing says that it is the decision to engage in crime is simply the product of the quality of that person’s relationship with certain social groups and institutions. On one side if these particular interactions are healthy that said person would conform to that groups values and standards. On the other hand if that person’s experience is negative the person will most likely “engage in crime”. The subareas of criminology are; sociology of law, statistics, penology, criminal behavior systems, victimology, and theory construction (Siegel, 2006). A criminologist will more likely than not only focus on one area of criminology. One major area of criminology is the study of criminal behavioral systems. The areas that students get into the most are organized crime, sexual crime, and drug crimes (Clinard, Quinney & Wildeman, 1994). In recent years computer-related crime and terrorism have been on the rise. This is mostly due to Hollywood and their overdramatizing organized crime in movies like The Sopranos and Growing up Gotti (Simon, 2002). Some shows such as; Law & Order, House CSI, and The Practice gave people some insight on every day tasks of the people who work in certain fields. Over the years these shows have shifted from front stage to back stage acting. Front stage acting is basically acting when you know people are watching you, on the other hand back stage acting is certain behavior that a person would want hidden from the public. Critics will argue that in shows like the ones listed above will “almost always contain backstage behavior”. The way certain images are shown to the public is almost always distorted and highly inaccurate (Surette, 1998). In most shows they show certain occupations like police officers acting outside of their jurisdiction. They are portrayed as violent and aggressive when arresting the offender.
First as a student, coming into college I would do a little more research on whatever department in criminal justice I wanted to go into. For instance if a career in forensics is what I wanted to go into I would go after a criminal justice major and either a biology or chemistry minor, after graduation my resume will stand out more than someone who just has a criminal justice major. While in criminal justice courses an open-minded approach would the key to success, students coming in mostly have this one directional approach.
They see the major of criminal justice through one scope as all exciting breaking through doors guns blazing. The reality is most of the major is doing paper work and some of the exciting parts they show on TV and movies. Another thing students could do when approaching their criminal justice courses is look for professors who have some work experience in the profession they want to go into “… some students say that far too many professors lack experience as police, correctional guards, crime scene investigators, lawyers or probation officers, simply put they are not battle tested”. A professor with years in the department you want is more qualified to tell you the details of that profession, and with that information the student can make an educated decision whether to pursue that profession or
not. As a student I would also want my professor to get me excited about what I was learning even if the said class was not going to be used after graduation. If students are more interested in a particular subject they are more likely to do better in that class and get more out of the lectures. In the classroom students tend to mirror the personality of their professor. When the professor is passionate and shows interest in what they are teaching that will in turn make the student interested and passionate about his or her work. On the other hand if the professor is dull and boring, students will find it very hard to sit through lectures (Glasser, 1993; Light, 2001).
If the professors follow the model set by this research article this will help me better understand what I am going to face after graduating. The professor needs to teach students that the media socially construct images for the viewer to make them apart of their reality (Barkan, 2006; Surette, 1998). The professor will also have to explain that the media and TV ignore specific areas of crime. They have to break down what the student has learned over the years from watching certain TV shows, movies and what they hear from the media.