At Least the Taxpayer's Got Their Money's Worth

Let's talk about the Criminal Justice Degree Scam.

Ever wonder why you see so many ads for Criminal Justice Degree programs popping up all over the place? Wonder how someone can train to be a cop online?

Truth is, most of the people obtaining Criminal Justice Degrees have no intention of ever working in law enforcement. A Hundred Thousand New Cops on the Street my ass.

The program pays books, tuition, childcare, and a stipend for going to school to 'become a police officer'. This translates to a welfare program where a lot mothers attend school occasionally, have their daycare provided, it doesn't cost them anything, they get some spending money, and when they do show up for class they spend their time discussing ways to get over on the system. Going to school is not a way to train for a career. Going to school itself is a Mommy Job. One mother, who brought her children to class about 12 days last quarter (their classes and my classes intersect), spent most of her time bitching about late grant checks because she wanted the money for an appointment to get her roots dyed.

Today a woman who has a criminal justice degree and no sense at all, boasted about how she knew the law but had no intention of ever using her degree. All I could think was: "Thank goodness. The thought of someone as stupid as you walking around with a loaded weapon is too scary to contemplate."

The effect of all of this is that CRJs are rapidly becomming not worth the sheepskin they're printed on. Which sucks for people who do want to work in law enforcement.