Here are eight criminal justice blogs packed full of information and insights from police officers and criminal justice professionals. Prospective criminal justice majors will find tons of must-read material on the eight sites below.

Officer Smith

Web: http://officersmith.blogspot.com/

The Officer Smith blog is written by a California police officer who does not reveal his real name, but Officer Smith pulls no punches in his analysis (“I’m a police officer. Most people have already made their decisions about me just based on that statement.”) and offers readers a candid look at the job.

Cops 2.0

Web: http://cops2point0.com/

Cops 2.0 is written by Christa M. Miller, a PR and communications strategist who specializes in law enforcement and digital forensics. Her goal with the site is to demonstrate how effective social media can be for members of the law enforcement community.

Patti’s Paralegal Page

Web: http://lglduck.blogspot.com/

Patti is a 17-year veteran in the paralegal field, and with her blog she seeks to keep readers up to date on legal issues, plus pass along useful tools and other websites.

Cops Alive

Web: http://www.copsalive.com/

Cops Alive was founded by John Marx to help law enforcement officials literally survive their careers, deal with the severe stress they face every day and transition into a healthy post-law enforcement life after retirement. This post [http://www.copsalive.com/do-you-have-ptsd/] on post-traumatic stress disorder should be mandatory reading.

The Crime Analyst’s Blog

Web: http://www.crimeanalystblog.net/

The Crime Analyst’s Blog is written by Scott Dickson, a 20-year law enforcement veteran who focuses on ways to make policing more efficient through data analysis and collecting intelligence. Scott’s archive is pretty massive, but as a starting point check out this piece [http://www.crimeanalystblog.net/2012/11/using-google-alerts-for-crime-analysis.html] on using Google Alerts for crime analysis.

Cop in the Hood

Web: http://www.copinthehood.com/

Cop in the Hood is written by Peter Moksos, a professor of law, police science and criminal justice administration at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the City University of New York. Moksos was also a former Baltimore city police officer, and his blog offers deep insights and analysis into police work.

Discover Policing Blog

Web: http://blog.discoverpolicing.org/

The Discover Policing Blog is a great resource for anyone interested in a career in law enforcement. The blog is maintained by the people at DiscoverPolicing.org, a career site funded by the Department of Justice for aspiring police officers and law enforcement professionals.

Scotus Blog

Web: http://www.scotusblog.com/

The Scotus Blog is the official blog of the US Supreme Court. The blog has a whole staff of writers and editors who summarize the Court’s opinions and round up decisions the justices make. As a good starting point, check out the posts explained in plain English here [http://www.scotusblog.com/category/plain-english/].

If there is one great thing about the technologically advanced world we live in today, it is the fact that we have the ability to do just about anything we want, at any time, with just a few clicks of the mouse, or with a few buttons on a smartphone. If you want to learn a language, you can download a program and learn at your own pace, on your own time.

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Criminal and law-related degrees are tough ones to seek out, but are worth it in the end. The criminal industry as a whole is on the rise right now in the job market. The only rub is that it takes a special person to consider and be successful in their pursuit of a criminal degree, whether it is in justice or law. This is because these majors need to have great stress management skills and dedication, as well as the ability to think on their feet and make critical decisions immediately.

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Pursuing an education in criminal justice can be very tough and tricky at times. There are tons of books to read, lots of philosophy and theory to memorize and there are seemingly a billion essays to write every quarter. If you are someone who procrastinates or puts off studying until the last minute, then you know how difficult and frustrating it can really be.

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The great thing about having a criminal justice degree is the fact that it offers plenty of options as far as career choice goes. A criminal justice graduate can choose from a wide variety of options that range from clerical and administrative duties, to law enforcement and being a beat cop on the street. The variety is great, and the duties that come with the career are great.

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Since the television program C.S.I. went on the air more than a decade ago, there has been a phenomenon known as the C.S.I. effect. In essence this phenomenon is defined as the fact that most people’s perceptions about how crime scene investigation works and how forensics in general work has been clouded by the falsehoods they see on the t.v. show.

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