Get Ready for the Future of Criminal Justice with an MS in Criminal Justice

The proliferation of data generated by surveillance cameras, body cams, GPS, mobile devices, social media, email and text exchanges, wearable tech, sensors, and other sources has enhanced the potential to map hotspots, discern patterns and trends, gather evidence, solve crimes, and demonstrate results. Having the skills to analyze this data is critical for tactical, operational, and strategic efforts in law enforcement, and essential to research and policy development and reform.

The Master of Science in Criminal Justice concentration in Crime Analysis at Boston University’s Metropolitan College (MET) develops your expertise in using and analyzing a variety of data sources to inform the investigations, strategies, and policy decisions of criminal justice organizations. If you want to master the skills that are crucial to a growing field within law enforcement and related domains in criminal justice, the Crime Analysis concentration is for you.

The advent of the digital world brought with it a corresponding rise in cybercrime. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), from its inception in 2000 through 2019, there have been 4,883,231 complaints received. In the years since 2015, IC3 reported an average of more than 340,000 complaints annually, with $10.2 billion in financial losses. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, because there are some estimates that only 1 in 10 incidents are reported to law enforcement.

With cybercrime occurring globally and across jurisdictions, the need for specialized resources and expertise in cybercrime investigation training continues to grow. If you want to master the practical and essential knowledge of cybercrime and cybersecurity—and be eligible to take the forensic examiner certification exams—the Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity concentration is for you.

To be an effective leader in the increasingly complex field of criminal justice requires a whole host of abilities, such as understanding the culture within the department, communicating with first-line supervisors and other personnel, collaborating with external agencies, maintaining rapport with the press and other observers, and understanding and confronting deeply entrenched ideas, cultures, and expectations.

But that’s not all. More importantly, an effective leader needs to know how to answer to the public—most likely in the aftermath of a crisis. Successful management at a time like that requires innovative strategies, the ability to develop accountability systems and streamline processes, and a deep commitment to best practices. An effective leader needs to maintain focus on evidence-based planning and to approach practical and systemic obstacles with a vision—and a solution.

If you’re looking to master the specific skills needed to face contemporary criminal justice challenges and lead reforms, not only domestically but internationally, the Strategic Management concentration is for you. In addition to gaining necessary skills, you’ll come away with a strong footing in ethics, business, and analysis, and master the ability to keep pace with issues that include the realities of terrorism, the emergence of cybercrime, questions of police legitimacy, and stagnant correctional outcomes in terms of recidivism among offenders.