By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

Western offers a wide variety of degrees that students can major in, many of which students don’t know are offered, or know next to nothing about. This week, take a look at what receiving a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice entails, and the fields of work it can lead to.

Anthony Preston is a senior at Western who is currently in the process of receiving a degree in criminal justice.

When asked why he decided to become a criminal justice major Preston replied, “I just grew up in an area where there is a lot of gang violence … so I thought going into criminal justice would give me great opportunity to give back to the community I grew up in, and help out.”

“I just finished my application for the Portland police bureau about a week ago. I plan on working with them for the first three years as just a regular police officer,” explained Preston. “Then hopefully staying there and then going into gang enforcement. After that I want to be a school resource officer in a high school.”
“Being a criminal justice major you can go into a lot of fields,” stated Preston. “A lot of people only think you can be a police officer, but there are a number of different fields you can do just with a criminal justice degree.”

According to Western’s website those fields include: “Residential Treatment Specialist, Investigators, Victim Advocates, Court Counselors, Youth Program Workers, Community Service Coordinators & Officers, Law Enforcement, Parole & Probation, Correctional Officers and Victim/Offender Mediators.” The criminal justice major also prepares students to enter law schools and graduate schools.

Western’s criminal justice page describes the major as a, “combination of a strong liberal arts curriculum with a rigorous set of core classes and specialized elective coursework in law enforcement, corrections and community crime prevention makes each criminal justice degree and certificate programs unique and exciting.”

The criminal justice department offers classes that lecture on homeland security and community preparedness, forensic anthropology, history of law enforcement, ethics, legal research, criminology and much more.

“All the faculty members are great. The head of the criminal justice department, Vivian Djokotoe, she’s probably one of my favorite people on this campus. She really just gets down on your level and gets to know you,” explained Preston. “I’m a little biased, but it’s my favorite department on campus, and I’m proud to get my degree in criminal justice from here.”

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu