Criminal justice education in the United States: A profile

Various commissions from the Wickersham (1931) to the National Advisory Commission on Higher Education for Police (1978) have called for the upgrading of police educational levels. Junior colleges, colleges and universities have responded by creating a plethora of educational programs. However, currently, little is known about the nature, form, or practice of criminal justice education in the United States. In attempting to fill this void, data from the Law Enforcement Education Program (LEEP) are presented concerning the number of students, criminal justice majors, and degrees awarded as well as institutional control, location, and type. These previously unpublished data are presented in a primary form (frequency distributions and cross-tabulations) to allow the reader to draw conclusions about the nature and scope of criminal justice education. Brief interpretations, however, are provided.