Graduate Certificate in Criminal Justice Leadership

Enhance your leadership skillset

From community policing and crime prevention to prison overcrowding and reentry, solutions to reform the criminal justice system for the 21st century will require forward-thinking leadership.

Earning a certificate in Criminal Justice Leadership equips you with an in-field credential that prepares you to build specialized knowledge quickly so that you can be a change agent in the dynamic field of criminal justice. The accelerated, convenient format means you can complete your coursework in as few as six months without taking time away from your job.

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Program Overview

Spearhead systematic change

Taught by seasoned professionals within the criminal justice industry, the certificate curriculum provides you with a holistic view of criminal justice systems – from how policy is made to the impact of laws and how they are enforced. Recognized for excellence in online instruction, courses are embedded with interactive learning tools and emphasize on-the-job challenges to facilitate learning.

Build the knowledge you need for advancement

Get practical insight to help you stand out and be recognized. Real world examples – like a pill mill case study – will illustrate how the entire criminal justice system operates – including the roles of a judge, prosecutor, witnesses and the application of the RICO statute.  And if you think teaching may be in your future, completing this certificate could help satisfy the educational requirements needed to become a criminal justice instructor.

Dig deep into relevant issues & strategies impacting law enforcement

Learn to create new strategies by examining and evaluating trending topics in the Criminal Justice field from data-driven and evidence-based practice perspectives. Prosecutorial discretion, use of force, intelligence-led policing, community partnerships and behavior analysis are just some of the subjects you’ll study when forming new strategic approaches. You will also learn to employ problem-based learning to explore ethical leadership principles and their relationship to legal and regulatory issues within criminal justice.

Earn a certificate created & taught by industry experts

You’ll benefit by learning from instructors who are successful professionals with robust experience in Criminal Justice-related fields, including law enforcement. And because our curriculum is reviewed by a highly-accomplished advisory board, you can be sure the Criminal Justice Leadership Certificate is designed to align with industry standards.

Get a head start on your master’s degree at Franklin

All 16 credits earned as part of the Criminal Justice Leadership certificate transfer toward the credits required for the M.A. in Criminal Justice Administration. This is a great way for you to become familiar with graduate-level courses and see if a master’s degree is right for you without committing to a whole program of study right away. Moreover, because there’s no GRE requirement with a GPA of 2.75 or higher, you can get started right away.

Finish your criminal justice certificate online in six months

Quickly learn what you need to build your knowledge and position yourself for success. Franklin University specializes in meeting the educational needs of ambitious professionals, so our entire program is designed to be completed online in six months so you don't need to re-arrange your life around your education. Furthermore, if you’ve completed the Certified Law Enforcement Executive Program (CLEE), you can transfer in four credits toward your certificate requirements and finish even faster.

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Curriculum & Course Descriptions

16 Semester Hours
Required Courses (16 hours)
CJAD 700 - Effective Administration of Justice (4)
Applying strategic decision making strategies, students will analyze the structures, practices, and performance of organizations in the administration of justice, including courts, law enforcement, and corrections, both not-for-profit and for-profit. Applied perspectives in ethical leadership functions that respond to organizational problems and objectives through best-practices will also be addressed. Additional topics will include program planning, implementation, and evaluation.
CJAD 710 - Adult & Juvenile Systems of Justice (4)
Students will analyze complex and multi-systemic adult and juvenile systems of justice and social control mechanisms on both a micro and macro level. Attention will be given to innovative initiatives and best-practices from across the nation with a view toward positive social change. Technology for effective cross-system collaboration will also be addressed, as will the role of constitutional protections and constraints on arrest, prosecution, conviction, and incarceration.
CJAD 720 - Criminology Theory & Solutions to Crime (4)
Students will evaluate contemporary criminology theories and apply them to formulate prevention, treatment, and crime control models, within a framework of cultural diversity. Crime data relationships and patterns will also be integrated with biological, psychological, and sociological theories of criminal behavior in a critical evaluation of contemporary criminological theories. Policy formation and implementation will also be addressed.
CJAD 730 - Adult & Juvenile Penology (4)
Students evaluate contemporary prison and punishment models and theories of punishment. Students compare and contrast prison systems and develop solutions to penology challenges, such as overcrowding and the detrimental impacts of prison life. Finally, students analyze penal administration and accountability.
OR CJAD 740 - Strategic Policing & Contemporary Crime Control Strategies (4)
Students will learn how policing strategies are developed, tested, implemented and evaluated in a democratic society. Evidence-based practice will be explored against innovative policing tactics and the evolving policy and political dynamic at play. Students will learn how policy issues are framed, identify participants in the policy process, and discover how policy is created. Students will examine the usefulness and strategic implications of COMPSTAT, community policing, intelligence led policing, and transnational cybercrime.

Program Details

Career Opportunities

Law Enforcement Officer

Law Enforcement Officers prevent, detect, and investigate criminal activity, apprehending violators, making arrests, and responding to emergencies.

Probation Officer

Probation Officers meet with, monitor and report on the activities of convicted criminals sentenced to a period of supervision, ensuring they meet the conditions of probation.

Corrections Manager

Corrections Managers direct and coordinate activities within correctional facilities, maintain security, and ensure the safety of staff, prisoners and visitors.

Court Administrator

Court Administrators assist in managing daily operations of a courthouse, including records and jury management, fines collection, budgets, and court personnel.

Juvenile Corrections Administrator

Juvenile Corrections Administrators enforce and ensure discipline in juvenile detention facilities, maintaining the safety and security of detained and convicted youth.