Police Program, Criminal Justice, B.S.

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

Chairperson	Academic Coordinator	Academy Director
Richard Wiebe	Michael McCutcheon	Lisa Lane McCarty, M.S.
Professors	Associate Professor	Assistant Professors
Randall Grometstein	Deon Brock	Lilian Bobea
David Weiss		Katherine Hazen
Richard Wiebe		Eileen Kirk
		Mike McCutcheon

The role of the police officer is intellectually demanding, requiring officers to possess knowledge and skills in both substantive and procedural law, police procedures, problem solving, crisis management, written and oral communication, technology, and professionalism. Successful completion of the Police Program, together with the completion of the Police Academy hands-on requirements including, but not limited to, firearms, self-defense, and defensive driving, will make the student eligible to pursue a 5th year Master’s degree at Fitchburg State University with a Police Program concentration. Together, successful completion of the Police Program undergraduate concentration and the Police Program graduate concentration will confer eligibility for certification by the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC). Students who are certified by the MPTC can seek employment directly with any municipal police department in Massachusetts. Those who wish to be state police officers must still go through the State Police Academy. It is anticipated that a student’s Police Academy hands-on training will be completed during the fifth year of this four-plus-one (4+1) program.

Expected Outcomes

Meet all of the requirements of the Municipal Police Training Academy which will be handed out to students at the mandatory orientation
Apply knowledge of the operations of the criminal justice system to real-life case scenarios and current events
Recognize and analyze ethical issues and dilemmas in the practice of criminal justice
Demonstrate the ability to research and analyze crime data and its impact on criminal justice policy
Identify the links between theoretical foundations of crime and delinquency and the development of criminal justice policy
Recognize diversity in society and how criminal justice professionals respond to the increasing diversity in society
Develop critical thinking skills and the ability to apply them to problem solving
Develop oral and written communications skills as well as the ability to use technology for communication purposes

Academic Program Requirements

To remain in the Police Program, a student must (a) earn a minimum grade of 2.0 in each of their MPTC-required Criminal Justice courses; and (b) maintain a 2.50 overall GPA. In addition, Police Program students whose GPA is less than 2.75 at the end of their penultimate undergraduate semester would not receive automatic acceptance into the graduate portion of the program, but would have to be granted a waiver by the Criminal Justice program faculty in order to be accepted into the graduate program.