For those desiring a career that upholds the current social system in preventing crime, ensuring that the rule of law prevails and provides a system of rehabilitation for those who have broken the law, the pursuit of a career in criminal justice is the best possible option. In essence, criminal justice is a system of practices involving various government institutions whose sole purpose is ensuring that the current social order prevails through the use of laws, practices and codes of conduct (What is criminal justices, 2009).
The choice of a particular career path varies depending on personal preference; one could pursue a career in law enforcement such as becoming police detective, homicide investigator or in various illegal narcotic prevention departments. There are also other careers that have less field work such as becoming a defense attorney, prosecutor or even a job policing international crime through the investigation of incoming and outgoing shipments. In summary, a career in criminal justice involves many facets of the law but they all pursue the same objective in ensuring the continued stability of society.
Article
Counseling people to consciousness From EBSCO HOST
The article profiles Lenard J. Hébert II, executive director of Reality House, a drug rehabilitation center on 12th Avenue and 125th Street in Harlem, New York City. The 57-year-old director takes a holistic, cultural approach to rehabilitation. It is one that takes into account the predominantly Black and Latino population the center serves with substance abuse, criminal justice, career development and HIV/AIDS counseling programs (Mguni 2005). In the three years since Hébert has been Reality House’s director, he’s won the petition for the state-funded center to observe May 19 and January 6 as holidays.
Professional Associations
The NCJRS (National Criminal Justice Reference Service) is a repository of various articles, cases, documents and files related to criminal justice (About NCJRS, 2010). The mission of the organization is to ensure that anyone interested in cases involving crime, public safety, victim assistance etc can avail of the services of the NCJRS. Most of the members of the NCJRS are local government units in various U.S. states however the U.S. justice department and FBI are regular contributing members to the amount of cases and documents being included to the site. While there are no specific memberships dues all information within the site has to be purchases before it can be views with prices varying per article. The site does produce a bi-weekly article called JUSTINFO that includes various links to publications, conferences and various other resources.
The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data is an archive of all recent cases involving criminal justice within the U.S. ranging from topics involving capital punishment to violence against women (About NACJ, 2009).
The mission of the organization is to help facilitate research into criminology through the preservation of various accumulated data resources involving court cases and various other data. The members of the site are the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Institute of Justice. The site has 16 publications ranging in topics from “Capital Punishment in the United States to “Homicides in Chicago”. While membership is free access to the various sections of the site as well as the publications does involve a small monthly fee.
The National Institute of justice provides various online articles concerning criminal justice however it is unique in that it provides information relating not only to criminal justice in general but in specific fields such as forensic sciences and the latest developments in technology (About NIJ, 2010). The NIJ is an agency of the U.S. department of Justice that deals in research, development and evaluation of the latest developments in criminal justice. As such its mission is to work together with partner agencies in order to make a difference in criminal justice through scientific research and development. As a government agency the website does not contain a membership service however it does publish the NIJ journal several times a year which can be downloaded for free off the website.
Virginia Laws and Codes
This website provides all current and pending bills, laws and codes in the state of Virginia. While it does act as a general information site for students and law makers alike to compare cases with current or pending bills. One unique aspect of the site is that it has an application called CBT or the Citizens Bill Tracking application that allows users to track up to 5 separate bills in one profile. Overall, for any cases in direct relation to Virginia state law this would be the ideal site to go to.
References
About nacjd. (2009). National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. Web.
About ncjrs. (2010). National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Web.
About nij. (2010). National Institute of Justice. Web.
Mfuni, T. (2005). Counseling people to consciousness. New York Amsterdam News, 96(50), 5. Web.
What is criminal justice. (2009). Wise Geek. Web.