In the last few years, television channels have been flooded with highly entertaining programs about forensic science, criminal justice and law in order in general. This has led to a probably mistaken glamorising of law enforcement careers and has made young people think of criminal justice programs as viable career options.

There are several such serials and, shown on prime time television, they lead us to think that crime can be solved in a day and that joining such a criminal justice program can help us become part of the fast-moving, Hollywoodesque world of glamour and glitter. Being part of a criminal lab together with the good looking CSI Warrick Brown or the feisty Catherine Willows seems like the answer to young people’s prayers lost in the world of office drudgery. After all, they wear lovely clothes, drive huge Hummers, chase after and eventually lock up the bad guys – all the time looking immaculate and enjoying their jobs.

However, the truth about criminal justice programs is far from the alluring enchantment of prime time television. Only recently, a huge scandal rocked the foundations of Chilean academic world when hundreds of students joined one of the most prestigious Chilean universities dreaming of becoming the future Gill Grissoms - dabbling in laboratory solutions, using high-powered electronic microscopes to detect miniscule fibres, detecting DNA at a touch of a button and finally putting the handcuffs on the criminal’s wrists. The young people were led to believe that after studying for 5 years they would join the elite few and would be assured a steady, and fair, income from something that also looked like an interesting career option – criminal justice program. However, half way through their study program they discovered that even if they studied ten years more they would simply end up with a useless diploma they could simply use to swat flies with. Their dream career was nothing but a sham - the only people who could join crime labs in the country were either scientists of long standing as official government forensic labs usually hire only PhD degree holders or those formed in the professional criminal justice programs offered by the local civil police – the Investigations. After months of trying to fight with the university authorities to get reimbursement they were finally told that their career choices could be transferred to other universities to options less glam than their first choice. However, the damage has already been done - destroyed dreams, years spent on studying something that led nowhere but up a one-way street.

There are few universities that offer criminal justice programs as career options – after all, employment opportunities are few and far between. Criminal science is developing and the emphasis is now on forensic science, the nature of law and partly on understanding deviant criminal and how to control it. Frequently, criminal justice programs are offered as a post-grad options tom people with an already vast experience in the field, such as correctional officers, lawyers and similar.

A few universities offer criminal justice programs including the University of Lincoln, Pennsylvania, Washington State University in Spokane, The University of Houston College of Public Service, University of Phoenix, ITT Technical Institute, North Eastern University, to mention only a few and several Canadian universities including Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Ontario. In the UK, although basically the same, the degree in criminal justice program is called Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and can be obtained from example from Griffith University offering also an online option, Bangor University, UCLAN- the University of Central Lancashire. The programs include subjects such as the Fundamentals of Negotiation, Abnormal Psychology, Crime and Offending, Ethics and Accountability in Criminal Justice, Crisis Management, Law, Society and Social Control, Criminology Practices and Standards, and Introduction to Criminology. Career options include correctional officers, community services (such as drug prevention and rehabilitation), social work and police careers although the process to joining the police force in the UK is somewhat different.

In a few weeks, an international congress on Criminology will take place in Barcelona, Spain and one of the organizers is the International Society for Criminology whose main aim is to “promote activities and research that would help to better understand the crime phenomenon on an international scale” ( http://pagesperso-orange.fr/societe.internationale.de.criminologie/lasociete/sic_ang.htm ). this is an on government organization established in the middle of last century whose nearly one thousand members include judges, academics and workers of the criminal justice system. The organisation works incessantly on the promotion of research in criminal justice programs, on the improvement of communications and collaboration amongst various police forces and the criminal justice system employees.

Other future events include the SOCIETY OF THE STUDY OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS (SSSP) 58th Annual Meeting to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, the 12th BIENNIAL CONFERECE OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR JUSTICE RESEARCH in Adelaide, Australia and the EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the 7th BIENNIAL INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE CONFERENCE in Ljubljana, Slovenia. These important events help understand criminal behaviour although they will undoubtedly lack the glamour of the renowned TV series such as law and Order, Criminal Minds of the several versions of CSI (Miami, New York and Las Vegas).

All in all, a criminal justice program could be a valid option for those who still consider a career choice and are not sure what road to take. It must be said however that like any career choice it must be deeply thought over and future consequences considered. Generally, any career in law enforcement requires dedication and just like a career in medicine might require sacrifices and does not leave a lot of spare time for family and personal pursuits.