The concentration in criminology in the Department of Sociology-Anthropology at SUNY Cortland is designed to provide students with a broad foundation for understanding crime and criminal justice policy in American society. Employment in this field is quite good and is found in the private sector, nonprofit organizations, universities and government. In fact, government is the largest employer in the field of criminology and criminal justice. Educational requirements for careers in this field vary greatly because of increasingly complex legal issues and advanced technology. Basically, the field of criminal justice is constantly changing to meet the demands of a changing and increasingly complex society and employment opportunities are expected to increase faster than for many other occupations.
Employment is primarily with government agencies at the local, county, state or federal level.
While the state police and highway patrol are two of the most well-known employers, many other career opportunities exist at the state level, including state gaming commissions, divisions of corrections, state attorneys general offices, and other specialized state agencies. The federal government offers the most opportunities in criminal justice. Each branch of the federal government has a number of agencies with specialized law enforcement duties and responsibilities involving protection, intelligence, crime prevention, and criminal investigation. Employment in this field includes security, supervision, and rehabilitation of individuals who are or have been incarcerated. Included in this area is probation and parole.