Criminal Profiler Programs in Delaware
No matter how much society evolves, there’s no doubt that the need for criminal justice professionals remains. Regardless of how low crime rates may dip, the criminal justice system is necessary to discourage crime, maintain order, and make residents feel safe. Because of this, many new careers in criminal justice with a Bachelor degree have been developed in recent years.
Adding new criminal justice roles makes it easier to specialize tasks and streamline the process of solving crimes. At criminal profiler programs in Delaware, you may learn about criminal psychology and the techniques used by criminal justice professionals to catch perpetrators.
This could be a great time to start your Delaware criminal profiler education.
Find out how you can become a criminal profiler in Delaware by requesting information from schools in your area.
Delaware Criminal Justice Careers in Criminal Psychology
If you plan on working in this field, you must be able to handle the severity of crimes that take place every day. Many of these crimes are shocking to most people, but no matter the nature of the crime, you must be able to maintain your professional composure and reasoning.
A case that captured statewide attention in Delaware involved the murder of a young mother in front of her children (Delaware Online, 2017). As the case unfolded, it was discovered that the murderers were friends of the young mother. The complexities of human behavior are covered in great detail in Delaware criminal justice programs for criminal profiler graduates, helping to solve crimes like this.
Delaware Criminal Justice Schools for Criminal Profiling
Delaware criminal justice schools offer several ways to begin building your career in criminal profiling. Criminal profiler programs in Delaware often fall under different names, such as criminology and forensic psychology. If you earn a Master’s of forensic psychology or criminology, you may learn how to assess suspects with psychological exams and look for clues in the evidence left behind at crime scenes.
Graduate students at Delaware forensic psychology programs should plan on earning at least 30 to 40 credits by graduation, with some programs requiring closer to 50 credits.
Course Options for a Master of Arts in Criminology
- Data Collection: Data is the key to developing sound trends and pattern analyses in criminal justice. Learn how to properly collect and store data in this course.
- Sociological Theory Development: Crime ties in closely with sociology, and as a criminal profiler, you should understand how criminological theories are created and tested.
- Theoretical Criminology: Studying at the graduate level gives you the chance to study advanced criminology topics and ideas. This course looks at data from hundreds of sources to identify crime trends, habits, and patterns that may be of use to you in your profiling career.
- Social Deviance: One of the biggest deterrents of crime is society’s view of criminal behavior. Those who fall outside societal norms and have little regard for societal beliefs may be more inclined to commit crime, which is why an understanding of social deviance is important in a criminal profiling career.
- Application of Criminological Theory: After advancing your understanding of criminology, you must learn how to apply it to actual crimes and court cases.
- Law and Society: Learn about the links between legal decisions and society in this course, which combines sociology and criminology.
- Criminology and Systems of Criminal Justice: The causes and motivations of crime drive the policies made in the criminal justice system. This course looks at various networked criminal justice systems and how they have been influenced by criminological research.
If you earn a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and you are passionate about continuing your research in criminal psychology, a doctorate program may be the next logical step for you. These programs are fairly extensive, typically involving between five and six years of full-time study.
Some doctoral programs are designed for working students, so they include some online criminal justice courses. Taking your Delaware criminal profiler education to the doctoral level may give you the freedom to work directly with criminal cases or in the research sector.
Criminal Profiling Courses Required for a Doctorate in Criminology
- Law and Society in Historical Perspective: To understand the current ties between law and society, it’s important to comprehend how these ties have been reinforced over the decades.
- Current Issues in Social Theory: Social theory drives much of the change in criminal justice. This course helps you explore some of the common challenges in this field and how researchers aim to fix them.
- Collective Behavior: People have a tendency to act far differently in a group then they would on their own. This phenomenon is examined in this class, which examines mob mentality.
With the right education from criminal profiling courses, you may be ready to pursue a variety of criminal justice careers.
Compare Delaware forensic psychology programs and Delaware criminal justice programs for criminal profiler students to find a program that fits your needs.
Criminal Profiler Jobs in Delaware
After completing your Master’s of forensic psychology or your doctoral degree, you may have numerous career options to compare. Although many institutions allow you to start careers in criminal justice with a Bachelor degree, a Master’s degree may give you some significant advantages.
You may have more hands-on experience, which can make you a more appealing job candidate. Furthermore, you may have research experience and ties to the local criminal justice community. These connections are why it is so important for students who take online criminal justice courses to complete an internship or practicum course. Having the right professional connections can make or break your job search.
Many new graduates begin their profiling career in the world of law enforcement, where they start out as patrol officers. In Delaware, the average salary for a patrol officer is $77,490 per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). Job openings for patrol officers are expected to swell 11% through 2030 (CareerOneStop, 2022).
With an advanced degree or previous experience in criminal justice, you may be able to go into the field of criminal investigation. This requires you to take on a significant amount of professional responsibility, since criminal investigators often oversee large caseloads and are directly responsible for the outcomes of their cases.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Delaware criminal investigators earn an average of $97,490 per year (2022). By the year 2030, job openings for criminal investigators may jump 2% nationwide (CareerOneStop, 2022).
Those who want the freedom of self-employment may find their calling as private detectives or private investigators. It’s important to note that this career requires an extensive understanding of the law, since violating privacy laws can result in hefty fines or criminal penalties. Some criminal profilers and investigators go into private investigative work after gaining experience at a local criminal justice agency. Across Delaware, the average salary for a private investigator is $45,130 per year (BLS, 2022).
2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Delaware contained here reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed November 2023.
If you are excited about the opportunity to become a criminal profiler in Delaware, start working toward your goals now.