Criminology Career Goals

I became interested in criminology as a field of study at a very young age. Growing up in a neighborhood, in which there were a number of law enforcement officers living there, influenced me in a positive way. I think seeing the way the officers carried themselves and the respect that people showed them in return, sparked an interest in me and made me want to carry myself in a similar manner. While growing up, my mom had issues with drug addiction and one officer in particular stood out to me because he provided my dad with advice on what to do to get her the treatment she needed. My mother’s drug use was a major issue because my dad works for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and as part of his job he is not allowed

I want to be able to affect people’s lives in a positive way and be apart of restoring people’s faith in law enforcement. It’s difficult to want to do a job in which many people view police officers as the enemy. In todays society people do not even bat an eye when an officer is killed in the line of duty, but if an officer kills someone they are heavily scrutinize by the media. It’s a difficult job to do but having the chance to save lives and help people in bad situations seems something that would be rewarding time and time again. Upon completing my bachelor’s degree at Fresno State, I would like to purse a career as a police officer and gain the experience that I need in order to advance my career and go to the federal level. I know it will be a tough road getting through the academy and then completing the probation period with a field-training officer, but I look forward to the challenge. Ideally I would like to work a few years of patrol and then go into a specialized unit or sometime type of detective work. At that point if I’m qualified enough, I would like to obtain a job at the federal level with agencies such as the D.E.A, F.B.I. or C.I.A. Assuming that I am successful with my career goals, I could see myself working as a detective at local police department. Although I would be open to moving because I have always been told to go where the money is and