When you work in the criminal justice system, do you know what it is like to be a "client" in the criminal justice system?  Should you know what it is like to be processed through the very system you work in?  Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran will be walking as an inmate through the Lake County Jail this week.  He will participate in jail activities not as the Sheriff, but as a "client".  What is the expression,  "you never know what it is like for someone else until you walk in another person shoes"?  Therefore, if you work with client offenders in the jail everyday, shouldn't you know what it is like to walk in their shoes through the criminal justice system?  The best way to learn the real perspective, and how systems and processed really work is to experience them yourself. Whether you are looking for a new job, or going to school for a new career, you should spend an hour, a day, a week doing that job.  Fieldwork and job shadowing should be a major part of your job hunt or education. 

Law and Order, CSI, The Shield - is this the “reality” of criminal justice? 

What about America’s Most Wanted and COPS? 

Robin Anderson states, “Such shows, with their manufactured atmospheres of immediacy and close attention to the grittier details of street life, also cross a thin line between entertainment and information. This has had serious ramifications for public policy, especially on matters relating to drugs and crime” (1994).  The thin line between reality and fiction of criminal justice affects those working in the criminal justice field. Both offenders, victims and professionals in criminal justice must adjust their expectations of the criminal justice process.

Therefore as students enter the study of criminal justice, what is one to expect?  Expectation is the lifeline and passion for those interested in criminal justice. The Rasmussen College Criminal Justice AAS Degree has built a foundation of “reality” throughout the program so students know what to expect in the field of criminal justice. 

In core courses like Criminal Law and Procedure, students observe a court process.  Whether it is an arraignment, jury selection or defense arguments, students see first hand what the court law and process is like within their jurisdiction. 

Introduction to Corrections allows students to tour a prison, visit a workhouse, or interview a probation officer, getting exposure to the real life expectations of the corrections system.  Students will not be chasing OJ down the California highway on their ride-along in Policing in America; however they will patrol and enforce the laws of that jurisdiction with police for a full tour of duty. 

During a student’s final quarter, enrolled in the course, Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice, students can choose from a variety of fieldwork options in which to participate.  Whether it is advocating for victims rights in court, or serving as a juvenile justice case manager, students can enter the field in which they see themselves working for the criminal justice system. 

Rasmussen College allows students the opportunity to work first hand in the field while learning and facilitating their knowledge of criminal justice.  What you read in books and see on television is not always “reality”, experience reality first hand in the Rasmussen College Criminal Justice Program.

What do you think?