Under Training America’s Future Police Force: A Content Analysis of College Level Criminal Justice Textbooks
Type of Presentation
Paper
Location
D34000
Start Date
4-12-2019 9:35 AM
End Date
4-12-2019 10:05 AM
Abstract
Human trafficking is one of the most profitable crimes on the planet. In the United States tens of thousands are victims of human trafficking. While this crime occurs every day, there is little information regarding how human trafficking is discussed in college textbooks, specifically among criminal justice students. The percentage of the adult population that has a degree has increased significantly over the past 20 years, and at the same time police departments have either awarded extra credit on qualifying exams for college degrees or required college degrees to be considered for employment, especially in criminal justice. Beyond individual classes that focus on the human trafficking, there is limited space provided to explaining human trafficking within introduction to criminal justice and criminology textbooks. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the gap within academia of criminal justice students being presented with factual, academic, and detailed information about human trafficking as they prepare for careers in law enforcement. The findings of this study and implications for future research and practical suggestions for criminal justice faculty and law enforcement officials will be provided.
Under Training America’s Future Police Force: A Content Analysis of College Level Criminal Justice Textbooks
D34000
Human trafficking is one of the most profitable crimes on the planet. In the United States tens of thousands are victims of human trafficking. While this crime occurs every day, there is little information regarding how human trafficking is discussed in college textbooks, specifically among criminal justice students. The percentage of the adult population that has a degree has increased significantly over the past 20 years, and at the same time police departments have either awarded extra credit on qualifying exams for college degrees or required college degrees to be considered for employment, especially in criminal justice. Beyond individual classes that focus on the human trafficking, there is limited space provided to explaining human trafficking within introduction to criminal justice and criminology textbooks. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the gap within academia of criminal justice students being presented with factual, academic, and detailed information about human trafficking as they prepare for careers in law enforcement. The findings of this study and implications for future research and practical suggestions for criminal justice faculty and law enforcement officials will be provided.