Top Ranked Criminal Justice Degrees

Top Senate Republican Protests Trial of Two Terror Suspects in Kentucky

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is challenging the Obama administration to send two Iraqis facing a civilian trial on terrorism charges in Kentucky to the military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

A grand jury in Bowling Green charged Waad Ramadan Alwan, 30, and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi Alwan, 23, last month with 23 counts, including conspiracy to send weapons and money to Al Qaeda in Iraq . Alwan is also facing charges of attacking U.S. troops in Iraq. Both face life in prison if convicted. A trial has yet to be scheduled for them.

McConnell says the two belong in Guantanamo, regardless of whether they were detained on U.S. soil or foreign land, a distinction used by the Obama administration to establish venue.

"A few years ago, we set up military commissions for the specific purpose of trying foreign terrorists," McConnell told Fox News. "The perfect place for these terrorists is at Guantanamo, to be interrogated and, if subsequently a trial is deemed appropriate for these foreign terrorists, there are courtrooms down there for the military commission trials. There is really no reason to be mainstreaming these foreign terrorists into a regular U.S. court."

In 2009, the pair entered the United States with refugee status – a screw-up that Kentucky's other senator, Rand Paul , said he intends to examine in hearings. 

McConnell said prosecuting the two in Kentucky poses security problems for the city of Bowling Green, including the cost of protecting the judge and jury.

"There's no reason in the world to be subjecting any American city to all of the complexities and security problems related to trying a foreign terrorist in a U.S. court," he said.

But the Justice Department disagrees.

"We are prosecuting these two alleged terrorists in federal court because it is the most proven method for keeping our country safe," Justice spokesman Dean Boyd said in a statement to FoxNews.com.

"Every single suspected terrorist taken into custody on American soil -- before and after the September 11 attacks -- has first been taken into custody by law enforcement -- not the U.S. military," he said. "Our criminal justice system provides all the authority and flexibility we need to effectively combat terrorist threats from individuals living within our borders."

Boyd noted that since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, hundreds of suspects have been convicted of terrorism or terrorism violations in federal courts across the country.

Top Criminal Justice Programs « Criminal Justice Career Research ...

Nowadays, criminal justice degrees are becoming more and more popular amongst students. The field of criminal justice is constantly evolving and developing, therefore is a very interesting, dynamic area to get involved as a career. A degree in criminal justice is often used as a starting point for those interested in law, law enforcement, political science, immigration or drug regulation as a career booster.

Criminal justice is a very broad field and covers a range of different subjects. Each degree program will vary depending on the school and the level of the qualification but most will cover the same disciplines. A criminal justice program at one school may encourage personal research, whereas others favor classroom learning. In terms of assessment, some colleges will expect in-depth projects, whereas others may have students undertake formal examinations.

When making your decision as to which criminal justice program you wish to sign up for, it is important to bear in mind the reputation of the school. A recent report by U.S. News & World Report surveyed all of the US’s criminal justice university programs against a list of criteria and came up with the top three criminal justice programs.

The criminal justice program at the University of Maryland came in at top of the list. Here you can study at the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice and come away with a bachelor, graduate or post-graduate degree. The traditional Master of Arts in Criminal Justice program provides students with the opportunity to take on a minimum of 30 credit-hours of specialized options, 6 hours of which will be dedicated to creating a graduate thesis. A program like this at the University of Maryland typically lasts 2 years.

If you are looking for a research-based degree then the Professional Master of Arts in Criminal Justice is the program for you. You can complete this either in Maryland or in China should you wish to. The degree is great for those looking for management or agency positions as it provides great training. At Maryland you can also do a PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice. However, you can only enroll on this course is you already have a graduate criminal justice degree.

According to the study, the second highest ranking criminal justice program is at the University at Albany. If you take on a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice program at Albany you will be focusing on a lot of theory. The program covers information on technology models, how to manipulate data as well as all the theory you need to go on to be successful in the criminal justice industry. The Department of Criminal Justice works closely with the New York City Police Department, New York State Police and the Japanese National Police, therefore students can really get some hands-on experience. The course covers both theory and statistics and the final assessment is an examination.

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