Leadership is not just about influencing others; it is vital to communication, teamwork and collaboration. Criminal justice relies on this kind of integrated leadership to coordinate the efforts of multiple disciplines toward shared goals. A master’s degree in criminal justice prepares students to be effective integrated leaders.
Understanding Criminal Justice Leadership
A master’s degree in criminal justice includes courses that develop leadership qualities in each student. This degree is generally a prerequisite for detectives and criminal investigators; the online criminal justice leadership course offered by Lamar University, for instance, combines lectures with self-directed research to highlight the practical applications of leadership theory. Case studies examine existing leaders in the criminal justice field, profiling how they interact with their organizations to shape their profession.
How Leadership Affects Judgment
The U.S. criminal justice system coordinates a broad range of knowledge — correctional issues as well as police and constitutional law, ethics and criminal justice — with individual judgment to make balanced decisions. Criminal justice leadership is an important part of decision-making; it encourages big-picture thinking that considers details from multiple sources. Leadership also goes hand-in-hand with confidence — a vital trait when making important decisions.
Advancing in Criminal Justice
The M.S. in Criminal Justice degree can help law enforcement and criminal justice professionals advance their careers. The degree equips professionals with the skills and knowledge to excel in the FBI, CIA and other federal security agencies. Beyond criminal justice leadership, students in the master’s program learn how to plan and evaluate a case as well as deploy advanced analytical tools to better understand a situation. In addition to these practical skills, coursework in U.S. law, ethics and correctional issues round out the master’s degree in criminal justice.
Criminal justice leadership helps criminal justice professionals balance legal and ethical considerations in their decision-making. In the United States, justice supersedes personal opinion, and a criminal justice professional must not only understand the difference but also work effectively from this perspective.
Learn more about the Lamar University online MS in Criminal Justice program.
Source:
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes333021.htm
