Criminal Profiler Programs in Colorado
As you learn about criminal profiler programs in Colorado, you may be curious about the answer to the question, “What does a criminal profiler do?” Since this is a relatively new specialty in criminal justice, there are many people who are still unsure of what this role entails and what type of skills you need.
Overall, the job of a criminal profiler is to understand people. No one knows who is going to make the decision to turn to a life of crime, but with online criminal justice courses and criminal profiling classes, experts can understand a lot more about what drives people to criminal activity.
Are you looking for the right specialty for your Colorado criminal justice degree?
If so, explore the field of criminal profiling by contacting schools near you today.
Colorado Criminal Justice Careers in Criminal Psychology
Working in criminal profiling often means working with disturbing or unusually violent cases. For example, consider a recent murder case in Colorado that received lots of media attention. A man was accused of killing and dismembering a woman who turned out to be the mother of his young child (9 News, 2017). A criminal profiler may be able to look at the details of the case, discern that it was not a random act of violence but a crime of passion, and use that information to narrow down the list of suspects.
Colorado Criminal Justice Schools for Criminal Profiling
With any criminal justice career, it’s important to get started on the right foot. By training under experienced instructors with advanced knowledge in this field, you may build on your existing knowledge and professional skills to become an asset to the field of criminal profiling.
If you have not yet earned an undergraduate degree, you may want to start with a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice. You may qualify for many careers and criminal justice with a Bachelor degree, and this degree offers lots of opportunities to develop your critical thinking skills and reasoning abilities. If you want to earn a Bachelor’s degree to become a criminal profiler in Colorado, anticipate spending about four years earning the 120 credits required for a degree.
Courses Required for a Bachelor’s in Psychology with a Criminal Justice Concentration
- Crime Theory and Causes: Understanding the societal and individual causes of crime makes it easier to understand the individual thought processes of a perpetrator. This course also covers the criminological theories relating to different crimes.
- Ethics in Criminal Justice: It’s important to act ethically in any industry, but it is particularly important in the field of criminal justice. Learn about this industry’s ethical standards and boundaries to ensure that you work within them at all times.
- Psychological Research and Measurements: To understand the psychological state of mind of an offender, you must have a basic understanding of psychology. This course goes over important psychological tests used in patient analysis.
- Violence in Society: Some crimes are heavily influenced by societal views. Looking at the role of violence in today’s society may provide insight into different types of violent crime.
- Contemporary Issues in Social and Public Policy: In this class, learn about the current challenges facing the fields of social justice and criminal justice. Understanding these fields may help you better understand the perpetrators you find as a profiler.
Due to the novelty of this field, there are many ways to advance your knowledge with criminal profiler programs in Colorado. For example, earning a Bachelor’s degree in criminology may give you the chance to understand criminal psychology and forensic psychology.
You must be able to think of offenders both as a large group that follows trends and as individuals, which is where the field of criminology comes into play. You must take specific courses to earn Colorado degrees in criminal profiling. In a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice, this includes roughly 60 credits of general education coursework and 60 credits of criminal justice coursework.
Classes Required for a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology
- Victim Studies: Perpetrators often follow patterns when it comes to selecting their victims. In this class, find out what offenders look for and what traits make someone more likely to become a victim.
- Justice Professionalism and Ethics: Even though your career may put you in direct contact with some of the most disturbing members of society, you must maintain your sense of professionalism at all times. Learn how to maintain some distance in your work in this class.
- Justice Research and Statistics: Research is the guiding beacon in criminal justice. Explore the latest studies in this field and discover how to interpret statistics.
- Crime Scene Investigation: The scene of a crime can reveal a lot about a perpetrator’s mindset, motivation, and priorities. This course shows you how to properly investigate a crime scene and look for clues that can help you in the profiling process.
- Judicial Process: The work you do ultimately puts offenders through the judicial process, where prosecutors bring the truth to light. Become an expert in the judicial process to understand what is expected of you as a profiler.Down the line, you may be able to earn a Master’s of forensic psychology with your Colorado criminal justice degree. You may also attend online criminal justice courses to learn about new research and techniques in this industry.
- Start looking for the program that’s right for you by contacting schools that offer Colorado degrees in criminal profiling.
Criminal Profiler Jobs in Colorado
As you explore the answers to the question “What does a criminal profiler do?” you may realize that this field overlaps with many existing professions in criminal justice. In fact, the tasks of a criminal profiler are often expected of those in a diverse array of criminal justice careers.
Your understanding of criminal psychology may make you an excellent fit for a law enforcement role or an investigative role. You may get started in the vast majority of careers in criminal justice with a Bachelor degree, but you may find that quite a few management positions require a Master’s of forensic psychology or a similar degree.
If you want to work as a criminal profiler Colorado, you may start out as a patrol officer. This gives you experience with responding to crime scenes and doing initial research on crimes. In Colorado, the average salary for a patrol officer is $80,990 per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). Job openings for patrol officers may increase 16% through 2030 (CareerOneStop, 2022).
Many investigative careers also involve criminal profiling work. Colorado criminal investigators claim an average salary of $95,450 per year (BLS, 2022). A 10% boost in job openings is expected by the year 2030 (CareerOneStop, 2022).
After working in a government agency, you may be interested in putting your investigative skills to work in a new way. Many choose to become private investigators. In this career path, the average salary is $66,360 per year (BLS, 2022). Job openings for private investigators may see a 21% increase through 2030 (CareerOneStop, 2022). This professional role is clearly different from other profiling jobs, since you are less likely to track perpetrators of violent crime. Instead, you’re more likely to investigate those who commit fraud or infidelity.
2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Colorado contained here reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed November 2023.
This is a great time to learn more about becoming a criminal profiler in Colorado.