Police Science-Law Enforcement - CERT

Our Police Science - Law Enforcement Certificate (CERT) program is designed to allow students to build up to the Associate of Applied Science degree. Students will complete all but the 12 law enforcement academy credit hours. Once the student completes the required number of credit hours (52), they will receive the Police Science Certificate from Hutch CC. They then can gain employment with a law enforcement agency, graduate from a state recognized law enforcement training academy, transfer that training back to Hutch CC, which is equivalent to 12 credit hours (at no additional cost). These 12 credit hours are added to the 52 credit hours earned in the Police Science certificate program, which allows the student to meet the 64 credit hours required to obtain their Associate of Applied Science degree. This certificate / degree program allows students the ability to earn a 2 year college degree and then enter into the work force and can be completed completely online.

Careers

Criminal justice careers include law enforcement officers, detectives, probation and correctional treatment specialists and special investigators. Career opportunities are available at federal, state and local levels of government, as well as within the private sector.

Program Outcomes

1. Explain the roles, functions, and responsibilities of law enforcement within the criminal justice system
2. Outline the developing trends in corrections and modern initiatives/ alternatives to incarceration
3. List crime typologies
4. Discuss child abuse and neglect issues
5. Examine theories and principles surrounding juvenile delinquency
6. Describe the various techniques/types of evidence that can be used to identify or link an individual to a crime
7. Outline the procedures designed to facilitate a follow-up investigation and the ancillary external sources of information that can benefit the investigative process
8. Conduct an in-depth study of various force injuries with emphasis on the medico-legal significance of each

Accreditation

Hutchinson Community College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org), an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.