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Police Science

Criminal Justice Major

OCCUPATIONAL SUMMARY

The course of study at SUNY Orange is designed for those who are currently employed or expect to seek employment in law enforcement agencies. Study culminates in an Associate in Science degree which can be transferred to a four year college. A second focus for the Criminal Justice major is corrections which culminates in an Associate in Arts degree for those who seek employment in a correctional facility.

The members of a police force in a small community or city have general responsibilities in law enforcement. They may direct traffic, investigate burglaries, or even provide first aid if they are the first to arrive at an accident. In larger police departments, the officers are assigned to a specific type of duty. It is also common that these police departments from larger cities are becoming involved in law enforcement in the smaller communities, teaming up with local police and the citizens in a combined effort to fight crime.

Police officers can specialize in various fields such as chemical and microscopic analysis, firearms instruction, or handwriting and fingerprint identification. Others can do their duty as a part of the mounted division, on motorcycles or bicycles, or in a harbor patrol. Some prefer duty with the canine corps or a SWAT or emergency response team. There are others who perform their duty in court-related or jail-related situations.

Police officers can also decide to work for city, county, or state law enforcement agencies as police detective, a sheriff or a deputy sheriff, or a state police officer. Federal law enforcement agencies would offer additional possibilities: Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Marshals and Deputy Marshals; Immigration and Naturalization Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; Custom Inspectors; and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Each of the above agencies would require educational requirements beyond an associates degree, depending upon the job and the level of responsibility.

Employment of police officers and detectives is expected to increase faster than the average for all occupations through 2008. The increased demand for police services will fuel this field, especially in communities and cities which are security conscious and concerned about drug-related activity; as long as crime continues as a serious concern, there will be growth in this occupation. However, growth on the Federal level is likely to be determined by budgetary changes which always affect law enforcement agencies.

RELATED JOB TITLES FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Police Corporal	Police Sergeant	Police Lieutenant
Police Captain	Deputy Chief	Police Chief
Polygraph Examiners	Detective	Sheriff
Deputy Sheriff	State Police Officer	Evidence Technician
Crime Lab Technician	Internal Affairs Investigators

RESPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYERS LOOKING FOR
SUNY ORANGE CRIMINAL JUSTICE MAJORS

Middletown City Police Department	New York State Police
New York City Police Department	St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital
Neiman and Marcus	Cambrit Security
Sears	The GAP
Hudson Valley Protection Services	U.S. Security Associates
Mecklenburg, VA Sheriff	Stop and Shop

SOURCES

*Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Department of Labor

*America's Top Job for People Without a Four-Year Degree. Fifth edition by J.Michael Farr. 2001 JIST Works, an imprint of JIST Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

*150 Great Tech Prep Careers. Andrew Morkes, Managing Editor, Career Publications. 2001 Ferguson Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois

*Orange County Community College - College Catalog 2002-2003.

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