A criminal justice education is important to law enforcement officers, who often need to complete criminal justice courses prior to attending a law enforcement academy; future attorneys, who often choose to complete undergraduate coursework in criminal justice before entering law school; and those seeking entry-level Mississippi criminal justice jobs, which generally require a bachelor degree in criminal justice.
Common criminal justice careers include police patrol officer, sheriff’s patrol officer, probation officer and correctional treatment specialist. There were 648,000 police and sheriff’s patrol officers working in the United States in 2006, making an annual average wage of $52,810. In that same year, there were 94,000 correctional treatment specialists and probation officers, making an average of $42,500 per year. This data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-2009 Edition, which also includes projections stating that these criminal justice career options will see an 11% growth in the number of employment opportunities available by the year 2016. This would mean an additional 80,000 jobs added to the criminal justice industry in these four professions alone. Mississippi criminal justice jobs can be expected to see the same rate of growth.
Take the next step in becoming a Mississippi criminal justice professional and find the criminal justice program that is right for you by looking through the comprehensive list of schools offering Mississippi criminal justice programs listed below.