Careers In Criminal Justice : The Inside Story - 2nd edition

Excerpt From Chapter 1:

I wanted to be a police officer since I was about 12 years old. At that time I visited the FBI building in Washington D.C. and was absolutely entranced with what I saw. I envisioned myself as the first female mounted patrol officer on the Metropolitan Toronto Police force.

By the time I graduated from high school, I knew that I could not be a police officer in Canada due to the fact that I am an American citizen! I had spent most of my life in Toronto and wanted to become Canadian, but my parents were adamantly opposed and warned me that career opportunities were more abundant in the United States. I decided to move to the United States and work towards a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice and psychology. I went to a midwest university close to the Canadian border and received my degree after three and a half years of hard work and many headaches. I was fortunate to get my feet wet in the law enforcement field during college. I worked in several related jobs: as a marine safety officer for the sheriff's department, a parking enforcement officer, a dorm security guard, and a dispatcher for two years with two university public safety departments.

''Both useful and fun to read. Students are very curious about this book before they get their hands on it - there is a real hunger for information like this among criminal justice majors worried about life after school.''

--David Lynch University of North Carolina - Wilmington (on first edition)

Sheffield Publishing Company Web Site, March, 2001

Preface

Section One : Law Enforcement

Chapter 1 Realizing a Dream: Being Female and a Police Officer
Chapter 2 Becoming a Law Enforcement Officer: The Application Ordeal
Chapter 3 From Dream to Reality: Becoming a Deputy Sheriff
Chapter 4 The Frustrations of Police Work: The Idealism and Realism of Being a Police Officer
Chapter 5 The Politics of Small Town Policing
Chapter 6 The Urban Police Officer: The Process and the Work
Chapter 7 Tough Job: Conflict, Contradictions, and Inconsistencies in Police Work
Chapter 8 Criminal Investigation: From Forensics Technician to Homicide Investigator
Chapter 9 Policing ''Deadbeat Dads'': Child Support Enforcement

Section Two: Private Security and Loss Prevention

Chapter 10 Securing the Corporation: Private Security Analyst
Chapter 11 Minding the Store: Loss Prevention Investigator
Chapter 12 Policing the Campus: Director of Campus Security
Chapter 13 Private Eye: An Interview with Kirk Bruchnak, P.I.
Chapter 14 Rock Concerts, Crowd Management and Personal Protection: The Career of a Tour/Security Specialist

Section Three: Law School, Lawyers and the Courts

Chapter 15 Criminal Prosecution: Where The Action's At
Chapter 16 Criminal Defense Attorneys: Guardians of the Constitution
Chapter 17 Civil Litigation: The Work of a Personal Injury Lawyer
Chapter 18 Paralegals and Legal Assisting

Section Four: Corrections

Chapter 19 The Reluctant Profession: Being and Becoming a Corrections Officer
Chapter 20 Being a Female Corrections Officer
Chapter 21 The Road to Many Rooms: The Possibilities and Pitfalls of a Career in Adult Corrections
Chapter 22 Ascending to the Top: From Parole Agent to Commissioner of Correction

Section Five: Probation and Parole

Chapter 23 Being a Parole Agent
Chapter 24 A Chief Adult Probation Officer
Chapter 25 An Officer of the Court: Working in Probation for a District Court
Chapter 26 Hinkle's Five Rules for Avoiding Trouble

Section Six: Treatment Services

Chapter 27 The Politics of Programming for Substance-Abusing Offenders
Chapter 28 Psychiatric Social Work
Chapter 29 Recreational/Art Therapy with Mentally Ill Offenders in a Psychiatric Setting

Section Seven: Graduate School, Academics and Research

Chapter 30 Preparing for Jobs in Academia and Research
Chapter 31 Graduate School Revisited
Chapter 32 Migrant Labor and The Ivory Tower: The Crossroads and Crapshoots of a New Professor
Chapter 33 Becoming a University Professor
Chapter 34 How a White Trash Girl Found Her Way in Academia
Chapter 35 Criminal Justice Research: A Data Archivist
Chapter 36 Criminal Justice Systems Analyst

Section Eight : Federal Careers in Criminal Justice: Inspectors, Special Agents and Others

Chapter 37 Working for the I.N.S.: From Border Patrol Agent to Immigration Inspector
Chapter 38 Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Inspector
Chapter 39 Special Agent: Criminal Investigator with U.S. Customs
Chapter 40 So You Still Want to Be an F.B.I. Agent?

Appendixes
1. Selected Bibliographic Resources
2. Selected Internet Sites