Criminology, completely useless?

shocktech88
Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:56:24 +0000

Thanks, for clarifying that by simply obtaining a U.S citizenship does not mean that I will be accepted for such secure jobs. I figured this as much, however I have heard of Canadian graduates working in the U.S with police departments and the U.S border patrol, of course this is not the same level of security clearance required for the CIA or FBI.

Reading from what you have been stating about Criminal Justice in the U.S does sound quite different from the Criminology program that I am presently taking here in Ontario. A vast majority of this B.A contains a variety of research methods both quantitative and qualitative, requires analytical analysis and also places 4th and final year students in a work related environment either along-side a police force or other social agency related to the Criminal justice field. Does this sound in at all different from what you know of Criminology in the States?

I think you misunderstood the context in which I referred to an entry level police constable or private and lower ranking member of the military. What I meant by “simple” in no way was I attempting to degrade them for their work or duty and sacrifice that they give for their country, I was referring to the level of training, expertise, job requirements and applications, enforcement and involvement in matters that do require a higher level of education/training than that required of a low ranking serviceman or police constable. I am proud of the men and women who make this sacrifice for their countries safety, each and every day.

I am not scared of the work a policeman or serviceman must do, nor am I upset about working long and obscure hours; in fact I enjoy such a challenge and would welcome it in the proper setting. What I do dislike about the job of beat policeman and especially serviceman is the fact that they are continuously out in the field, getting their feet in the trenches and are literally shot at, take physical and mental abuse on a daily basis, work an extremely amount of hours which can lead to several causes of stress and anxiety, not to mention the time spent away from their own wife and children because of such a job. Finally, the fact that you may not come home to your family the next day is not a position I would rather be put in for the amount of pay and minimal respect received from the public of this country, it disgusts me at times (ex, the majority of the public will often refer to these hardworking men and women as pigs and uneducated grunts). For these multiple reasons, I would heavily prefer NOT to be involved in a field operating position, however I never said I was not capable of doing it.

I do possess and have experience (minimal professionally thus far, outside of university) of Private and open based data systems, GIS Geographic Information Systems (have had first-hand experience under the training of a police officer utilizing such software in regards to crime mapping, as well as a course even called GIS itself, which I did well in), I possess both quantitative and qualitative research skills and have taken a course on both, I am at a moderate operating level in terms of statistics and information gathering, I have several years of reporting writing at the University/College level using APA, MLA and Chicago, I have considerable experience and have taken several courses outlining research methods and gathering of information. All of this is course related to Criminology and of course crime thus far.

I have been researching and have contacted many persons in the Canadian government pertaining to entry level analyst positions within the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency), DND (Department of Defence) and finally CSIS (Canadian Security and Intelligence Service) and some do require experience however, some do not and I can at least confirm that the CBSA does indeed recruit Criminology students through government work experience programs.

I have looked into being a crime analyst for a police department. This usually does pertain basic filing, minimal research and GIS mapping services, however. Here in Canada at least, although such a crime analyst may have a considerable amount of higher education and training then the “brass” they are reporting too, they will never rank up or be able to compete for a higher position simply because they were not a police officer first, which to me is extremely disappointing. In my opinion, a person with years of law training/education and analytical experience should be given the chance to excel in the same way that a person who simply entered the police service without a post secondary education or any other specialized training should be able to attain a higher position which would require the skills already obtained by the analyst when they first started within said police force. It’s unfortunate and even misguided in my opinion; however that is how it seems to work in Canada.

Thanks for your honesty and information/opinion on such matters. Overall I must say that I am somewhat disappointed with the options open to Criminology grads and feel that they are looked over simply because some of their education is focused on social aspects, which is true, however at least in the program I am attending, much has to do with the enforcement aspect of criminality, research and law.