Observations and Reflections on the Evolution of Crime‐Related Higher Education*

* Thanks are due to Chris J. Bayer, copyeditor, who assisted with the preparation and submission of this article.

Abstract

The 1970s marks one of the most significant decades in the evolution of crime‐related higher education in America. The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) and its Office of Criminal Justice Education and Training (OCJET) played an integral and important part in the development of the field during that period. The story of OCJET, however, is not well known or documented in the literature. This article concerns the influence that OCJET had in addressing important issues of quality and relevance as the field of crime‐related studies found its place in academia.

* Thanks are due to Chris J. Bayer, copyeditor, who assisted with the preparation and submission of this article.

Notes

* Thanks are due to Chris J. Bayer, copyeditor, who assisted with the preparation and submission of this article.

1. O. W. Wilson followed Vollmer at UC‐Berkeley and expanded upon Vollmer’s education concepts.

2. Ward and Webb (1984) list Principles of Problems of Criminology, Investigations and Identification, Public Safety, Legal Relations Involved in Criminology, Criminological Microscopy, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Criminal Psychology and Psychiatry, and Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates, as parts of the curriculum.

3. The other monographs in the series were: Syllabus Design and Construction in Criminal Justice by Robert G. Culbertson and Adam F. Carr (1981); The Productivity of Criminology Justice Faculty by Matthew R. DeZee (1980); The Criminal Justice Doctorate: A Study of Doctoral Programs in the United States by George T. Felkenes (1980); Crime Related Education: Faculty Roles, Values, and Expectations by Jack R. Greene, Timothy S. Bynum, and Vincent J. Webb (1982); The Literature of Higher Education in Criminology and Criminal Justice: An Annotated Bibliography by Carolyn Johnson (1980); Academic Disciplines and Debates: An Essay on Criminal Justice and Criminology as Professions in Higher Education by Frank T. Morn (1980); Professionalism among Criminal Justice Educators by Robert M. Regoli and Andrew W. Miracle, Jr. (1980); The Study of Ethics in Criminology and Criminal Justice Curricula by Lawrence W. Sherman (1981); Accreditation and its Significance for Programs of Higher Education in Criminology: A Review of the Literature by Anthony E. Simpson (1979); and A Heuristic Model of Criminology and Criminal Justice by Marvin Zalman (1981).