Professional Development

Professional Development

According to Careers in Criminal Justice and Related Fields: From Internship to Promotion, when it comes to being a lawyer, “Most states require continuing education to maintain licensure.” This is partially because of the laws constantly changing but also the lawyer’s obligation to the client to be the best that they can be. If it were not for the lawyers need for professional development, they could be sued for malpractice because of their lack of knowledge in a certain practice.

When it comes to police officers, the need for professional development is also mandatory. Like lawyers, the laws are constantly changing but so are the equipment and procedures being used by the department. The police are required to know the laws in order to be fair and impartial when it comes to arresting individuals and letting them remain free. For example: Recent stories in the news have regular citizens performing 2nd amendment marches. The majority of these citizens are law abiding individuals however; the police not knowing the laws correctly end up doing the wrong thing. Not only are the police responsible for knowing the laws that help protect them from being sued, they are also responsible for supporting and defending the constitution of the United States. With all of this being said, many police departments have established training programs in order to better train the police officers in an effort to protect them and the rights of the people.

In conclusion, with the ever growing need for criminal justice practitioners and the constant changing of the laws we should demand the need for professional development within the criminal justice field. Being someone who plans on getting into this profession, I will personally take an active stance on always maintaining my professional development. I also feel that this will help me stay competitive with promotions, job opportunities, and personal growth throughout my life.