Criminal Justice Certification in Michigan

This state has an extremely complex criminal justice system, since the Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula have extremely different criminal justice concerns and priorities.

By earning a certificate, you may be ready to start a career that makes the most of your professional skills and talents. Michigan legislators note that sweeping justice reform may be possible in this state during this legislative session (Mackinac, 2016). Legislators hope to reform probation and parole procedures, collect more data from the criminal justice industry as a whole, and ensure that sentencing standards are based in current evidence.

Explore your educational options now by contacting colleges in Michigan for criminal justice below.

What Kind of Criminal Justice Certificates are Available in Michigan?

There are quite a few different certificates offered at Michigan schools. The length of each program is determined by your area of specialty and your school’s specific graduation requirements.

Some programs permit you to earn your criminal justice certificate online, but others are based in practical experience or laboratory work, so they require conventional class attendance.

Court Reporting Technical Certificate Requirements (24 credits)

• Real-Time Court Reporting Theory
  • Learn how to keep up with the fast-paced environment of a courtroom and accurately note statements and occurrences.
• Skill Building in Court Reporting
  • This course starts with basic skills in court reporting and gradually builds up to more demanding, complex work settings.
• Judicial Technology
  • Explore the technology used in courtrooms, especially that used by court reporters.
• Speed Typing
  • Improve your typing speed with shorthand and constant practice in this speed development course.

Legal Office Assistant Technical Certificate Requirements (29 credits)

• Basic Legal Terminology
  • In this class, students master the legal terms used in today’s law offices.
• Business Law
  • Build a broad understanding of business law, a common area of specialty for many law firms.
• Records Management
  • Learn techniques for maintaining client records, protecting client information, and keeping financial records intact for a law firm.
• Legal Office Procedures
  • Learn about the procedures and techniques used in attorneys’ offices to keep daily operations running smoothly.

Correctional Officer Technical Certificate Requirements (15 hours)

• Introduction to Corrections
  • Learn about the basic fundamentals of corrections, the goals of this field, and the career paths that are available to certificate-level professionals.
• Legal Issues in Corrections
  • Build a sense of ethics that can help you avoid common legal issues in the field of corrections.
• Correctional Institutions
  • Compare different types of correctional settings and learn about differences in procedures between institutions.
• Correctional Clients
  • Explore the people you may work with as a correctional officer and learn important communication skills to help you thrive in this setting.

What Can I Do With a Criminal Justice Certificate in Michigan?

As a new graduate, you may want to start exploring job opportunities in your community. As a general rule, the criminal justice industry in Michigan is quite stable.

Demand for paralegals may increase 18% through 2030 (CareerOneStop, 2022) and job openings for correctional officers should remain steady (CareerOneStop, 2022). During this time, job openings for court reporters may swell 9% (CareerOneStop, 2022).

Michigan salaries are fairly similar to Midwestern averages. Paralegals claim an average income of $58,400 per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). The average annual salary for a correctional officer is $55,180 (BLS, 2022). In Michigan, court reporters bring in a mean salary of $61,090 per year (BLS, 2022).

2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Michigan contained here reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed November 2023.

Take the first step to a career that can change your future and help you make Michigan safer.

Request information from criminal justice certificate programs below.

Online programs may not be available in all areas