Criminal Justice Careers and Salaries
Criminal justice is a wide field with many different potential career options. Professionals in criminal justice have varying education and experience, ranging from high school diplomas or associates degrees in criminal justice to master's degrees and PhDs. The job descriptions and salaries vary depending on which field of criminal justice you choose to pursue and your skills and abilities within that field.
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Probation Officers
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Probation officer is one possible career option for those in the criminal justice field. Probation officers monitor convicted criminals who are on probation. They may work with people who have been paroled after jail time, or who have been sentenced to probation only as a result of a misdemeanor or less serious crime.
Probation officers help parolees secure employment, and ensure that they are following the conditions of their parole. Probation officers meet with parolees or people on probation regularly to monitor their progress, and they may arrange for career counseling or substance abuse counseling if necessary.
The median (mid-level) salary for a probation officer was $42,500 as of 2006 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Correctional Treatment Specialists
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Correctional treatment specialist is another potential job within the criminal justice field. Correctional treatment specialists are similar to parole officers, in that they work with offenders to monitor their progress and help them become rehabilitated. However, correctional treatment specialists often work in jails, and work with prisoners and inmates to evaluate their behavior and help to determine if and when they are ready to be released on parole.
Their jobs may involve reviewing the background and behavior of prisoners, meeting with prisoners, and making recommendations to the parole board. They also establish programs in jails to help rehabilitate prisoners.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the salary of correctional treatment specialists combined with that of parole officers, so again the median salary here was $42,500 as of 2006.
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Private Investigators
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Private investigator is another potential career for those in the criminal justice field. Private investigators work for lawyers and private citizens to conduct investigations. This could involve uncovering facts using surveillance or other investigative methods. Private investigators can specialize in a particular field, such as pre-employment verification, background checks or computer crimes.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median (mid-point) salary for private investigators as $33,750 as of May 2006.
Police Officers
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When most people think of the criminal justice field, they think of police officers. Police officers have a number of different duties, including investigating crimes, paroling cities, enforcing traffic laws and responding to emergency calls. Police officers can be uniformed officers or undercover officers. They usually work with a partner. Often, police officers are assigned certain districts to patrol or work in.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median (mid-point) salary for police officers was $46,460 as of May 2006.
Detectives
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Police detectives investigate high level crimes, including murder. Unlike regular police officers, who patrol the street and respond to calls, detectives focus on investigating and solving crimes. This can involve interviewing suspects or visiting crime scenes, among other things. Usually, detectives will work on a single case or set of cases until they solve the case(s) or declare the case "cold" (unsolvable based on the current evidence).
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median (midpoint) earnings for detectives was $48,260 per year.
Federal Agents
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Federal Agents are criminal justice professionals who work for the government in a special bureau of investigators called the FBI. These FBI agents investigate federal crimes (such as fraud or organized crime) and national security breaches. The exact nature of the job varies depending on the type of investigation being done. Some federal agents monitor wiretaps or go undercover to identify serious criminals.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, federal agents earned a midpoint salary of $48,159. However, federal agents also get special "LEAP" pay designed to compensate them for overtime, which means the actual midpoint salary, with this additional bonus pay, was $60,199.
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