The School of Criminal Justice is over 30 years old. The school was established during a time when policy makers and the public were desperately searching for solutions to major crime problems. Since its inception, the school has been actively involved in monitoring and analyzing the reasons for the crime rate drops that have occurred in the last three decades. But, we find now that we are confronted with new challenges. There are increased concerns about public security, including threats from terrorism and natural disasters. We face new challenges from a released prison population returning to communities that they left almost a generation ago. There is the ongoing concern about drugs confounded with the threats posed by illegal trafficking of people and goods. We are witnessing a changing role for police agencies faced with lower crime rates but confronted by the challenges of national security and intelligence sharing. We are debating the threats that the new-risk society pose to our privacy, our freedom of movement, and our individuality.
Throughout its existence, the school has faced these challenges using research and intellectual inquiry to sort through the problems, compile the evidence, and suggest solutions. Over the years, the school has been committed to a high standard of education for our students, excellence in research, and outreach through policy and community involvement. We continue to serve our graduate students in our Master's and Ph.D. programs and welcome undergraduates in our rapidly expanding joint B.S. program with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences-Newark. In shaping our future, we continue to take greater control over our programs to ensure that we are providing the absolute highest level of training and exposure to real-life experiences in applied research settings.
We do all of this with the enthusiastic support of faculty, staff, and students. They collectively have joined in our quest to extend the academic mission into the community and to provide practical solutions to complex social problems. I invite you to look over our accomplishments, examine how our programs work, and consider joining our community of scholars.
Leslie W. Kennedy
Professor and Dean
Rutgers' School of Criminal Justice
