Criminology and Criminal Justice as a field is interdisciplinary and has a scope of interacting with a wide range of topics. Ranging from psychology, sociology, forensics, human rights, public policy to law, a number of different fields are linked with Criminology and Criminal Justice. This provides a wide spectrum of opportunities for those who wish to build their career in the field of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
After pursuing an undergraduate degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, one may choose to pursue further specialization in the form of higher studies and build a career in academia and research. Specialization could be in Forensics, Law enforcement, Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Victimology, Penology, Crime and Sociology, etc. With a specialized degree, one may join teaching, research, policy making and be a part of academic institutes, national and international organizations, journalism, governmental and non-governmental research and policy making organizations, etc.
International organizations such as United Nations, Amnesty International, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, etc. have multiple research and implementation projects in various parts of the world that deal with aspects related to Criminology and Criminal Justice as well. With the increase in various forms of crime and need for victim support, rehabilitation and other form of policy actions, the presence and importance of such projects need no emphasis.
With respect to law enforcement, for those interested in police services, correctional services, civil services, investigative agencies, forensics can build their career by either joining these services via an entrance exam or get a further specialized education/ training
One may choose to contribute towards reduction in crime, better understanding of causes of crime, development of advanced methods of prevention of crime, framing of policies and law enforcement mechanism to provide redressal post commission of crime. At each stage, professionals and researchers are required globally. The importance of the same has increased with the advancement in commission of different forms of crime. For instance, with the increased use of technology and evolving nature of economy, new range of crimes such as cybercrimes and financial frauds have emerged.
With every such new development, the requirement for specialized knowledge, policies, application of forensic techniques, investigation strategy, reformative policies, etc. also emerge, which makes the field of criminology and criminal justice extremely important and evolving in its scope. Since the field of Criminology and Criminal Justice has its relevance across the globe, a career in the same can be built without jurisdictional restrictions.
