After the New York Police Department faced its greatest tragedy, the officers were viewed as heroes. Since then, the university has experienced an enrollment increase in criminal justice courses - but it’s not just about being a hero.
MSU’s School of Criminal Justice added an additional section of Criminal Justice 110, an entry level course open to students of all majors, which filled quickly. The class usually has 150 students per section, but this spring semester each section has almost the maximum number of 200 students. The traditionally male-dominant field was filled with 48.5 percent females last fall at MSU.
Tim Homberg, career development coordinator for the School of Criminal Justice said the school typically has about 555 to 575 undergraduates in the program. Since Sept. 11, more than 40 students have switched their majors from other programs to the criminal justice program.
“Students are understanding that our economy is in a recession right now and that the criminal justice field is doing quite well in light of that,” he said. “The federal government is and will continue to be hiring at a high rate, as are our country’s local and state law enforcement agencies.
“I imagine the enrollment numbers may continue to rise as the students are continually educated about the tremendous amount of opportunities that exist within the field.”
There are projected employment increases expected at local and state agencies and in the security field. Homberg said asset protection and loss prevention, workers’ compensation fraud, fraud investigations and corporate and industrial security and safety are fields that have dealt with higher demand after Sept. 11.
“Any major corporation who does not have the safety, security and well-being of their people and assets at the top of their list right now is missing the boat,” he said.
Zach Keen, a criminal justice senior, said he thinks the higher interest in criminal justice is the result of a wake-up call after Sept. 11.
“People want to do more for their country and their fellow man because of the hardships they’ve seen others go through,” he said. “They’re more interested in helping people, and law enforcement is the best way I know of helping people.”
And Keen said although the New York police officials were viewed as heroes after the terrorist attacks, law enforcement is not a glorious profession.
“They definitely were seen as heroes and the are very well-respected,” he said. “But that’s not a good reason to get into law enforcement. You have to want to do it.”
Edmund McGarrell, director of the School of Criminal Justice, said enrollment trends before Sept. 11 were steady. He said the school predicted an increase even before the terrorist attacks because there was a hiring upswing after the Vietnam War and many of those employees were reaching their retirements.
“The first thing we noticed were our advisers and our career placement specialists were reporting getting more general interest in the classes,” he said. “Nationally, there has been evidence in interest in public service careers. I think students see the threat on the country and how they could be a response to that threat.”
Lansing police Capt. Ray Hall said the department expects to see an increase in applications.
“Not only an increase in the numbers, but also in the increase of quality of the applicant,” he said. “The larger the pool that we have to hire from, the greater the competition and the more selective the police department will be in their hiring.”
Hall said the difference in the number of applicants may not be significant for the next few years because of the schooling needed, but the department is hopeful enthusiasm will remain. And some of the department’s best applicants come from MSU, he said.
“MSU is our No. 1 recruiting location,” he said. “The program produces high-quality applicants. The only downside is it’s not a secret. Agencies across the country are vying for MSU grads in criminal justice.”
Matt Parente, a criminal justice senior, came to MSU with his major declared and plans to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps immediately after graduation. He eventually hopes to become an FBI agent.
“There’s the patriotic feeling that is kind of asking students, ‘What is my nation doing to protect me, what are my rights and where do they come from, and how do we treat the terrorists lawfully when we catch them?’” he said. “I am really glad I’m in criminal justice because it’s the best job market - our nation always needs to be protected.”
Megan Frye can be reached at fryemega@msu.edu.
