Criminal justice management, in its broadest sense, is the oversight, management, and supervision of a criminal justice system. The police chief of a small town police department to the director of a national crime-fighting organization are all possible jobs in this field. Line officers, investigators, court officers, correction officers, probation and parole officers, and child welfare specialists, as well as all administrative personnel required to run the system, make up a criminal justice system.
With a college or university degree in sociology or criminal justice and/or a certificate of completion for a criminal justice program, a criminal justice system manager will be well-versed in all police, security, and emergency disaster procedures. Many colleges and universities offer criminal justice management courses as part of a degree program or as a supplement to a bachelor’s or master’s degree. In addition, some universities offer courses on it as part of their business administration degree programs.
Courses on crime and justice in society, criminal law and procedure, emergency planning, disaster response and management, security investigations, information security, and criminal justice systems personnel management, as well as others that may be required a specific university or college, are included in criminal justice management programs. The student receives a certificate upon completion of the required courses, recognizing an officer’s commitment to improving his or her ability to supervise and manage a criminal justice system. The credit hours earned may or may not be applied to the graduate’s degree plan, depending on the policies of the college or university.
Over the last four decades, criminal justice programs in the United States have changed, with a greater emphasis on cooperation between courts, law enforcement agencies, and correctional systems, as well as statewide and nationwide cooperation criminal justice systems. This network has proven to be very effective in apprehending criminals attempting to flee retribution for crimes committed in the community.
The criminal justice system is defined the authors of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 as a way for a society to “enforce the standards of conduct necessary to protect individuals and the community.” Following the 1968 Act, administrators and managers of criminal justice systems began to look beyond their own defined areas of responsibility in order to share pertinent information with other systems in their efforts to reduce crime.