5 Important Blawgs for Criminal Justice Students to Follow

You’ve made the decision to pursue a career in criminal justice, and you’ve taken the first important step towards your goal: you’ve enrolled in a program like the one at Brighton Online College’s Paralegal Institute to earn your first accreditation and learn everything you can about your chosen field. You’ve arranged your finances and you’ve created time to really drill down and study, whether it’s making sure the kids are in bed or asking your boss to let you work a different shift so you can do your coursework when you aren’t tired. Have you got it all covered? Well, yes and no.

There is another aspect of learning about the criminal justice system that can be incredibly helpful to you: blogs about your field. As you know, the field of criminal justice encompasses a wide variety of career choices from law enforcement to Homeland Security to Parole officer; and in all the different fields there is one constant – they are always changing to adjust to the needs of the public and the agencies they serve. Finding a few blawgs (AKA law blogs) that are both interesting and informative about all aspects of your specific career direction can be an invaluable part of your learning experience.

Here are some blawgs you should keep in mind:

The Criminal Justice Degree, College and Career Blog is an excellent reference and source for all different aspects of what to expect and where to look for the program that is right for your needs. It has a partial but growing list of programs in various states, explanations of the different degrees available and blog posts about everything from choosing a school, to the application process, financial advice and requirements for accreditation and certification.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) puts out its own blog called Justice Blogs. Highly informative and inclusive, this is a must-read blog that ranges very widely over issues involved in the field. Its comprehensive search feature is your best path to any topic you want to read about, including cybercrime, drug crimes, human trafficking, tribal justice, consumer crimes, intellectual property, environmental crimes and many, many more pertinent topics. Posts here are longer than most and packed with information; and since this blog is updated nearly daily, it’s always up to date.

Are you current in your knowledge of the types of crimes committed and the numbers attached to them? Check out Crimes in America for the latest facts and figures on length of prison terms broken down by ethnicity and race, for news about reward offers, statistics on aggravated assaults and rapes, the efficacy of neighborhood foot patrols, bodycam programs for police departments, crime prevention tips, crime statistics, the country’s most dangerous cities and leading news from different corrections departments. If you want to stay up to date with your facts and figures regarding crime nationwide, this blog is an excellent reference tool.

Written by someone with unusual expertise, former felon and CPA Sam E. Antar, the White Collar Fraud Blog is an inside look at how crimes are planned and committed and has been named one of the top 25 criminal investigative blogs by the Huffington Post. Antar takes on the big companies – calling out Overstock.com for fraudulent accounting practices that led the company to materially overstate earnings and inflate its financial performance claims. This blog tackles tough legal cases including Bitcoin money laundering, insider trading, and congressmen and judges who have committed crimes that range from adultery to drug abuse.

If you are already a student at Brighton Online college – or if you are considering enrolling – the school has its own has its own blog for students and anyone who is looking to learn more about the field of Criminal Justice or Paralegal studies Topics range from single parenting when you are taking online courses to jobs available to you once you have completed your courses and earned your certificate or degree.

The knowledge you acquire as you prepare to enter the field of criminal justice is not just limited to coursework and studies. Blogs that are built around the subject matter can be just as informative and important to your new career path as any other learning format – as long as the blogs have been checked out and vetted. Getting a jump on specific topics and areas of interest makes you a better, more confident student, one who has a real-world grasp of the field as well as a factual classroom education.

Decided to be one of our criminal justice students? Learn more about the criminal justice program that suits your interest and experience ? Fill out our contact form or call our main office 1-800-354-1254 today.

Criminal Justice Students: The Pitfalls of Social Media

The 2012 Summer Olympics opened in London on July 27th with the traditional processional and the lighting of the Olympic torch. Everything seemed routine, but it was anything but, because five days earlier an athlete had been sent packing for an offensive, racist tweet: Greek triple-jump champion Voula Papachristo angered the Olympic committee and hundreds of thousands of others by tweeting disparaging comments about African Olympic contenders, and the committee responded by sending her back to Greece, disgracing both the athlete and her home country.

The lesson is clear: be careful what you put out there on social media because a prospective employer can find it and decide you aren’t a viable candidate for a position. This kind of character assessment can occur even before you interview since savvy employers make use of services like Jobvite which provide applicant tracking for the social web.

According to the 2014 Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey, 93% of recruiters make use of social media to find and vet future employees. So any posting on Facebook, Twitter, etc. can wind up with you losing out on a job because of something you wrote one, two or five years ago. Don’t let your dedication to working in the criminal justice system get derailed by posts that reflect negatively on you as one of the criminal justice students

There are certain kinds of posts that are obviously going to wave red flags at recruiters and employers. Have you posted nude pictures of yourself or pictures of you and your friends partying just a little too hard in Cabo or Daytona Beach? Have you gone off on people or engaged in online spats that reflect badly on your character?

Here are a few of the real-life responses by professionals to what they have seen on applicants’ social media accounts:

“The worst accounts I came across were students seeking an internship, and those included tons of profanity and in one case a few way too revealing (borderline nude) pics. I’m all for self-confidence, but when I’m looking for someone to be a team player, I don’t want to get into a situation with big egos or improper dress.”– Amanda Forbes Mestdagh , APR

“One time, I saw a candidate who I was really interested in bringing in for an interview, and after checking his social media accounts, which were filled with his weekend activities (some being illegal), I knew we couldn’t hire him if we wanted to, so I never called for an interview.” – Kindra Svendsen, digital marketing/PR specialist, Speak Creative

Another common online social media mistake is to voice negative opinions about current or prospective employers; this is a case of “if you have nothing positive to say, don’t say anything at all.” And be careful that your different social media accounts agree with each other. For instance, if your Linkedin account touts your work ethic but your Facebook account reflects you as a party animal, you may be in for trouble.

Free speech is a right, but your political opinions have the potential to offend a recruiter and cause you to lose out on jobs that might be perfect for you. Pay attention to universal complaints about poor grammar and spelling or a prospective employer is liable to think that you are either too careless or simply not literate enough to be able to handle material without making noticeable errors. And don’t use profanity; it may turn out that your workplace is casual and accepts some profanity, but it’s a bad idea for a first impression.

We know that no information put online ever truly vanishes (deleted tweets can be restored, Instagram photos remain intact in cyberspace and embarrassing pictures you’ve been tagged in by your friends are there forever), but what can be done to rectify the situation? Don’t lose hope – it is possible to clean up your online image, but you need to be dedicated to the task.

First, Google yourself, so that you can cover all bases. You can untag yourself in photos on Facebook, and you can also request the website administrator to remove a post. Next, use your privacy settings. Clean up your tweets and posts and remove all “incriminating” photos. Make sure to add posts, tweets and content that reflect your interest in the field you are applying to get into. And again – importantly – make sure that your resume and your Linkedin account are in sync about your background and experience.

If you need more help, there is a Facebook app called Simplewash that will clean up your Facebook presence for you.

Interested in the field of Criminal Justice? Visit our wide ranges of Criminal Justice Program today. You can also reach us at 1-800-354-1254 or admissions@theparalegalinstitute.edu