Criminal Justice Career Goals Essay

I see myself working in the justice system one day. Working in the criminal justice is intellectually challenging. I regard fascination and intellectual challenges as the best perks of it. Today our world is filled with crime. The people committing these crimes must have consequences for their illegal actions.

The main reason for wanting to work in a criminal justice path is the need to help others. The opportunity to use my skills and strength for a good cause, whether through aiding victims of crime, counseling, and rehabilitating criminals, would give me the satisfaction that I’m doing a great job, knowing that I will also be helping law-abiding citizens of my community by protecting them from criminal activity. But, the main concern for me would be to provide a safe environment for our children. There are a lot of criminals out there, who target children, and I want to contribute everything I can to stop this. Illegal drugs are another reason. Drugs can ruin your life; and even cause you to lose your life.

Coming from a small town where most people go to school for farming, teaching, and nursing, I figured I needed something different and unique in my life. Having explored my options, I chose forensics and discovered that I had fallen in love with it because of the crime drama series I enjoyed watching on TV. It acts as a softening lens and provides distance and protection from the realities of death and the dead whilst indulging fascination with the macabre. When I finally registered for it, I realized how much I could learn about it and be able to make a positive impact on the world.

Becoming a forensic criminal investigator requires analytical skills, as well as extensive educational preparation. This will in turn lead to an interesting career with the potential to influence criminal justice and societal actions against crime. A criminal investigator's duty includes securing the crime scene, collecting evidence, gathering DNA samples, and analyzing evidence. They need to be comfortable with high-pressure situations, be able to concentrate on the task at hand, and be able to remember what they observe. It is such an exciting career with lots of opportunities every day. For example, as a police officer or security guard, you play a key role in protecting the lives and property of your family, neighbors, and community. As a probation or parole officer, you can help people set their lives in order and become productive members of society once again.

Finally, many enjoy the excitement of investigative work. That feeling of discovering new information that’s helpful to the client’s case. Then there’s that excitement of conducting surveillance. A career in criminal justice could be both rewarding and exciting. Although, being able to help someone who has harmed another human being can be a great reward. For adrenaline junkies, the criminal justice field is often a way to get paid to work in a field that you enjoy. I field that I am certain I will enjoy.

3. In what ways can criminal justice system functionaries incorporate the principles of Ubuntu in their daily work?

4. Think of a role model whom you believe embodies the qualities that are vital to being ethical. Say who this person is and why you look up to him/her for ethical guidance.

My role model is Adv. Thuli Madonsela.

She has shown all the characteristics and skills that a leader truly requires in this day and age. Courage, integrity, tenacity, vision, diplomacy, and sound judgment are guided by wisdom. She never backed off in striving for just and right, she is a true example of an authentic leader. And she has left a tremendous legacy and will be a tough act to follow.

Winston Churchill once uttered these words: “To each, there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”

When South Africa’s former Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela felt that tap on her shoulder fortunately for us and the society at large, she was prepared and qualified for her special moment. In my opinion, this is what I look up to her for ethical guidance:

Resilience

With so many changes in the workplace today, when change occurs, people become afraid, and when they are afraid, they look for someone else to hate and bring down. They start pointing fingers and looking for somebody to blame. Adv Thuli Madonsela would speak to that anxiety and the fear and allay those fears, softening anxiety. She would take ownership and be accountable for her work, which was quickly implemented to her success. She was always resourceful and agile. She would take on charge and quickly adapt to the changes at hand, both to herself and the workplace. She could take great, but good risks and was open to any kind of change.

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Transparency

To have good ethical guidance, you have to be a good communicator. It is important to communicate your intentions at every chance given to you, and failure to do so will leave you with paying the consequences. Adv. Thuli Madonsela cannot let rumors spread around by being open and transparent and embracing the solutions and not the problems. She is a firm believer of open information sharing and with that, she has led as a good example.

Passion

A person who cannot convey passion and intensity will have no passion and intensity within his/her working environment. They will start to fall and get depressed. Adv Thuli Madonsela has a passion for her work, passion for the goals, passion for the successes, and passion for the inevitable twists and turns, which I consider a key to widespread engagement.

Patience

Adv. Thuli Madonsela would wait for the right opportunity and would not just swing at every moment. More so, I understood that success does not happen overnight. As my former mentor would say: “Obsessing over the process-not-the-result will cultivate a culture of patience and ensure long-term success.

The ability to lead through influence, rather than authority, is the most important quality. She used the positive public reaction and sentiment to begin a fresh project so that the buoyant mode keeps the momentum going and helps in completing the new task with ease.

5. Mention a theme or aspect that you think should be part of this module and tell us why.

Technology as an aid in the criminal justice system

The field of criminal justice is always evolving in terms of technology, as it should be, this evolution enables greater protection of citizens and instills a better grasp of legal cases and rulings. As new technology is developed, criminal justice professionals look for ways to implement it in the field, laboratories, legal offices, and courtrooms. The interest in utilizing the latest technology in criminal justice enables police officers, forensic investigators, judges, lawyers, and researchers to use, understand, and benefit from these advancements. They have made it easier for those in the field to track down criminals and help provide better evidence to support their cases. Things such as fingerprint databases, DNA testing, GPS tracking, and other things have made it easier for the prosecutor or defendants to prove their cases in court

This is very beneficial with this new wave of technology, officials are now able to provide more reliable and credible evidence in court. The current upsurge of technology will help benefit a lot of people in the field, including functionaries such as law enforcement, falsely accused criminals, prosecutors, defendants, judges, and the list goes on. Technology has had a major impact on the criminal system, it is now been made easier to track down and catch criminals and made it so that evidence provided in court is more reliable and credible.

New types of technology have made it easier to track down and catch criminals, then also made it easier for prosecutors to gather and present more credible information. Some new technology that has made it easier to track down criminals or help provide more reliable and supportive evidence is things such as DNA testing, computer technology, fingerprinting, and GPS tracking devices. “The main strengths of technology in the criminal justice system lie in the provision of databases which allow better and more efficient records to be stored and retrieved”, Bean (2011). Prosecutors in a sense now have “…an infallible test of truth, a foolproof method, of determining the accuracy and reliability of evidence and hence of convictions”, Pallaras (2012).

The criminal system has undergone a lot of transformations by modernizing and computerizing its procedures and public services. The use of technology is a good opportunity and potential to support these transformations and developments. Continual use of technology will enable the simplification of administrative procedures, improvement and modernization of capacity building, and enhance relations between citizens and public administration.

I can therefore conclude that it is of utmost importance to enhance the participation and involvement of the community in the public administration activity to facilitate the process of transformation in the criminal justice system. Not only will everything passing through our physical senses be subject to capture and recording, but our innermost thoughts and ideas will be as well. We are entering an age where we will regularly interface with Artificial Intelligence and we won't be able to lie to them. More likely, we will be unable to know when they are influencing us.