Law Enforcement Training Courses Online: Choosing from the criminal justice degrees available

The criminal justice system is incredibly complex today. To prepare for a career as an officer, commander or staff worker today,  you have a very long list of law enforcement training courses online to choose from.

As an example, in just the area of police training in traffic law, there is law enforcement training online in:

• Aggressive driver containment
• Accident investigation
• Pedestrian/ bicycle crash investigation
• Drug abuse recognition
• Crash data retrieval

Your immediate career goals will dictate which kind of degree you’ll want to take law enforcement training online courses for:

Law Enforcement or Criminal Justice Certificate: Usually takes one year to obtain, either in live classroom or online law enforcement training classes. This is a good way to get yourself ready for an entry-level job, and familiarize yourself with the overall structure of the criminal justice system. An online police training certificate can help you qualify for police work as a substance abuse counselor, crime scene technician or financial crimes investigator, to name a few. It can also get you on a path to being a corrections officer, victim’s advocate, work-release facilitator, probation officer, emergency dispatcher or security guard. If you go back to school later on, you’ll find that most criminal justice schools will allow you to use credits from your online law enforcement training classes toward a more advanced degree.

Associate Degree in Criminal Justice: Usually take two years to obtain, though there are some accelerated online courses that can be obtained more quickly. An associate’s degree can put you in a better position to get a job as a court reporter, paralegal, a private security agent, probation, corrections, immigration or case/social worker. As with a certificate degree, you can take your credits from an associate degree and get them counted toward a more advanced degree later on.

Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice: Takes up to four years to obtain. A bachelor’s degree is most appropriate if you already have some job experience in law enforcement, corrections or security work. This requires a significant investment of time and money in various law enforcement training courses online, which can help advance your existing career to a higher level.

Master's Degree Programs in Criminal Justice: A masters degree is designed to increase the skills of working professions. This can be a valuable degree, since there is a shortage of people who have taken their criminal justice learning beyond college law enforcement training to this level. You will need to take the GRE to qualify for this kind of degree. A good tip: If you want to stay in the criminal justice system, make sure you’re getting an online degree criminilistics accredited course that’s directly targeted to it. Some “hybrid” online law enforcement training classes will direct you more towards social work than a criminal justice career.

Higher Standards
Police departments across the U.S. are boosting their education requirements for job applicants. The old days where law enforcement offers "learned on the job" have faded, as even entry-level police offers are expected to have taken courses in accident investigation, dealing with court procedures and other subjects before being hired. Many of the federal agencies now accept job applications onlye from candidates with at least a bachelor's degree.

Online Learning Accepted
Fortunately, if you don't have time to go to a campus-based school, police departments and other law enforcement agencies have gradually come to have a very high level of acceptance for online law enforcement degrees. Many of them, in fact, now actually pay for their own employees to take law enforcement training online in order to move up the ranks into managerial positions. If possible, it's often a good idea to get at least some direct work experience in police work before going al the way to an advanced degree (masters or doctorate) in law enforcement. But as a career starter, online law enforcement training classes can certainly give you a leg up on other job candidates with no specialized training in this area.

Here is a list of some reasonably priced bachelors and associates degree programs in criminal justice, which you can get free information on and start doing your research. Estimated fees here are based on the most recent numbers available, and don’t include books or other costs unless otherwise noted.

California Coast University With a rock-bottom cost of $150. per credit, a 126 total credit bachelor degree can be completed for less than just about any other school we can find. This 18-year old school offers 100% online courses to about 8,000 students from its headquarters in Santa Ana, CA. A number of cost reductions can be obtained through credit transfer, discounts or fee waivers. School offers:
- Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
- Master's Degree in Criminal Justice
- Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Psychology
Get information on California Coast University Criminal Justice Degrees Online

Liberty University The world's largest evangelical university has programs the cost $295 per credit if you go to school "full time" by taking at least 11 credits per term. Law enforcement personnel can get credit for their time on the job, and military experience can also count toward credit.
- Associate of Arts, Criminal Justice
- Bachelor of Science, Criminal Justice
Get information on Liberty University

Penn Foster College Penn Foster's criminal justice programs cost just $1,430.00 per semester. In addtition, textbooks and other costs are included. The school does not offer bachelors degrees in criminal justice, but it certainly provides value in its associate degrees. The school has been operating for well over 30 years and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council.
- Associate Degree in Criminal Justice
Get information on Penn Foster