Difference between Criminology and Criminal Justice - Essay Example

Reflective journal Student’s name Institutional affiliation When I made up my mind to study criminology and criminal justice, I had high expectations of attaining professional qualifications and real world experience required in this field. The issue of causes of crime in the society has been bothering my life a lot. It is true evident that crime in the society continues to grow everyday. However, it is my strong believe that if proper response to crime is put into place, the issue of crime can be reduced considerably. During my life in school, I have been motivated to study my course by the belief that if responsive actions towards crime are taken, we would live in a society that is crime-free. I kept asking myself if there is a difference between criminology and criminal justice. As Graycar & Grabosky (2002) define criminal justice, it is the broad system of practice that deals with mitigating crime through law enforcement. This definition of criminal justice introduces me to a key term which is law. According to Cohn, Farrington & Wright (2008) law is a set of rules that are formulated by the state and enforced by some institutions. Law is meant to provide a set of rules that should govern and maintain order in the society. I therefore feel that in the study of criminal justice, it is important to know what these institutions are, their structure and ways of operation. From understanding what criminal justice, I discovered that criminology is the filed of study that deals with understanding what is criminal behavior. The notes of week 1 lecture challenges me to know the reason why I am in the university to study criminology and criminal justice. I realized why criminology as a profession is a demanding career that requires wider reading. The goals of criminal justice are to prevent and control crime. For this to happen there is need for justice which entails fairness, individual rights protection and equity. Professional knowhow is vital in order to fairly handle cases of crime and any form of injustices. In addition to this, I realize that with practical lessons, I cannot be able to determine if what I learn in class is successful or not. I compare the practical lessons to filed experience in my career. The major question I ask myself after realizing what criminology and criminal justice entails is what is the importance of practical lessons? I know that majority of criminal justice systems are considered to be unfair according to the decisions that are made in the judicial institutions. By being involved in proceedings in judicial system institutions, I find it relevant in helping me to experience what procedures are followed in the judicial system institutions. In addition, from the decisions made, I can be able to determine if the judiciary is unfair as it has been said. I discovered that in order to develop my professional career, a lot is needed from me. By studying criminology and criminal justice, I expect to be equipped with professional and practical knowledge that would help me secure a job within the judicial system. For this to be possible, I found it wise to relate the theory taught in class and the practical framework of the criminal justice system framework. In addition, I realized that in my profession critical thinking is important in giving feedback. Therefore, for me to get ready for work in the criminal justice system, I needed to attain critical assessment skills. Critical assessment in criminology is important since there are cases that cannot be addressed by just reviewing what is written but instead need further cognitive assessment before making any decision. The university has a role to play in order to assist me develop professionally. High percentage of the knowledge required in this profession should be provided by the university. This knowledge includes the theories taught in lecture venues and the applications made out of the lecture venues. I discovered that the lectures provided are not enough to equip me with the knowledge I needed to grow professionally. The learning materials provided are very useful in acquiring knowledge. The learning materials contain basic and wide information for the field of criminology and criminal justice. In addition, the learning materials have practical cases that connect the theory taught in class and the life out of the lecture venues. During my study, I will expect the university to guide me in acquiring generic skills. Such skills are problem-solving, time-management and good communication skills. I discovered that these skills are very important in any profession and they are best learnt at the university level. I always considered criminology and criminal justice as field that is changing every now and then and therefore there is need for research to be conducted to establish the current trends and status of crime in the society. As such, during my study in the university, I expect to acquire specialist knowledge and skills that would assist me in research in future. I consider the school to have a role in helping me acquire professional experience. I realized that professional experience in the filed of criminology and criminal justice is vital. Class work alone without experience cannot yield good professionals in criminology (Hirsch, 2003). Since the university has a role in nurturing the professionals, the student placement program should organize to send the students in the relevant institutions to gain experience. In the beginning of the course, I was worried on how I would be able to secure an employment in the competitive field. The various options provided by the university in the first work were not clear to me. Such options that were provided in the week 1 lecture were workshops, employment and career service, career boards and the provision of the contacts for different works places. Later, it came to my understanding that one should utilize such opportunities to create networks with the potential employers. The next issue that followed was how one would make him or herself employable. I realized that the opportunity provided for the students to meet the potential employers was very useful in answering the question of how one would be a potential employment candidate. I discovered that active participation during the careers weeks and the workshop would help me to be recognized by the employers. In addition, active participation in search events would help me to build courage and attain skills that are necessary during interviews. I therefore sacrificed to start search for job before graduating. I also offered to take any job even at the bottom level for the beginning of me professional career. Week 2 lecture concentrated on how to determine the pathway to connecting to potential employers. During the first week, I found out that the potential employers in the field of criminology and criminal justices are many. However, I discovered that unless one participated fully in the learning process and the workshops, securing a job was is not a simple task. It was after realizing this that I discovered that if I built on my strength, I would be able to plan my future life. Generally, I am ambitious and courageous in life. I discovered that since my ambition was to secure a good job in the criminal justice institutions, I would do anything that was necessary to ensure that I excelled. I always referred to the Kolb’s learning cycle whenever I was studying. David Kolb (1984) experiential learning theory acknowledges four stage cycle of learning (Jerling, 1998). The four stage cycle is made up of experience, reflection, conceptualization and experimentation. Since my ambition is to succeed well in my professional career, I found it useful to use my courage during the workshops and discussion in order to participate and therefore experiment what is learnt in classroom. During the workshops, I would not hesitate to network with the participants of the work and at least exchange contacts so that I may refer to them in future. The notes provided during the week 3 of the course required me to identify at least three potential employers. Having realized the way to determine my potential employers, I will establish a network during workshops and the career talks. In such opportunities, I can provide my professional resume detailing my career objectives to the potential employers. Some of the potential employers in my profession include, Queensland Rail, Department of Child Safety, Police Department, CrimTrac, Australian Institute of Criminology, Qld Crime and Misconduct, City Councils among others. These were some of the potential employers that were provided during on of the lectures. I discovered that there job opportunity for the profession of criminology and criminal justice is diverse in the sense that most departments and institutions can accommodate me. In addition, the work places for my profession are characterized with both large and small employers and that the recruitment schedules are usually erratic. I discovered that writing a good professional resume would play a major role in securing me a job in these institutions. I therefore needed to set enough time practicing how to write a good professional resume. Various events that have come across my life have helped me to determine my future destiny. The roadmap exercise provided during week 3 of study helped me to remember some of the events. Such events include family circumstances, health matters, personal life, geographic changes and religious affiliations. I can say that experience is a good teach from what my life has gone through. Several cases of injustices that have come across my life incited me to work in the field of criminal justice. I have very much life that is free of crime and injustices. Wisdom will help me to apply what I learn in and out of class in everyday life in order to alleviate crime and injustices in the society. The research carried out by the Australian institute of criminology addresses matters arising from the justice and crime and formulates policies to be implemented by the Australian government and other agencies (Graycar, 2007). Such research provides data of the cases of crime and injustices in the society; I wish to be part of the research team in future. The other potential employer I would be interested to work for is the Crime and Misconduct Commission. This is an independent entity of Queensland whole major aim is to reduce and combat incidences of major crimes and restore the integrity of the people of Queensland (White, 2010). My interest to work with this commission arises from my desire to live in a community that is free of crime. According to Wakefield & Fleming (2009) “the commission was formed in 2001 after the Queensland Crime Commission and Criminal justice Commission were merged to be one entity under the new name”. In order to provide the commission with an opportunity to investigate major incidences of crime, the commission has been granted with powers that are above the police. During the investigation, the public has a major role to play implying that there is need for a witness protection mechanism (Sawer, Abjorensen, Larkin, 2009). Rokeach values which were taught in week 5 helped me to determine the best organization that was fit for me to work for. I was required to arrange eighteen values in order of their importance my daily life. I considered wisdom as my number one value while the world of beauty was least important to my life. This was derived from the fact that with wisdom, most of the everyday tasks are achievable. Therefore, in order to attain wisdom, I needed to work hard in order to know more. Wisdom was also needed in learning how most of the organizations worked. I consider wisdom as a value that can incorporate other values like happiness, exiting life, happy family, family freedom among others in ones life. In conclusion, I would state that criminology and criminal justice is a demanding profession that requires one to work hard in order to attain the qualifications. In addition to this, to become a professional in this field professional experience is vital. With professional experience one is able to confidently seek employment in any of the many potential employers. The issue of how to secure a job in this profession has also bothered me to much. But I realized that active participation in workshops and career talks help to establish networks. This is achievable if I am able to present myself well if I develop good skills of communication. References Australian Institute of Criminology (2002). Australian Institute of Criminology. Sydney: The Institute. Cohn, E., Farrington, D. & Wright, R. (2008). Evaluating criminology and criminal justice. London: Greenwood Publishing Group. Graycar, A. & Grabosky, P. (2002). The Cambridge handbook of Australian criminology. London: Cambridge University Press. Graycar, A. (2007). Crime and justice in Australia, 1997. London: Hawkins Press. Head, B., Brown, A. Connors, C. (2008). Promoting integrity: evaluating and improving public institutions. London: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Hirsch, A. (2003). Restorative justice and criminal justice: competing or reconcilable paradigms? Sydney: Hart Publishing Inc. Jerling, K. (1998). Education, training, and development in organization. Cape Town: Pearson South Africa. Sawer, M. Abjorensen, N., Larkin, P. (2009). Australia: the state of democracy. Sydney: Federation Press. Wakefield, A & Fleming, J. (2009). The SAGE Dictionary of Policing. New York: SAGE Publications Ltd. White, M. (2010). Australian Offshore Laws. Sydney: Federation Press. Read More