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Criminal Justice

Information for this sector includes careers in law enforcement, prison services, probation and rehabilitation, and trading standards.

You may also be interested in information on legal services.

Find out more in Prospects Law enforcement and security

Use of AI in the criminal justice sector

AI is already used in policing to help with surveillance capacity (eg facial recognition), intelligence and support functions. It has the potential to be widely used across the criminal justice system.

Examples of jobs in the criminal justice system

Job profiles

More criminal justice jobs and careers information
News articles about criminal justice
What skills do I need?

You are likely to need some or all of the following skills and attributes for work in this sector:

  • Communication skills (written and spoken)
  • Ability to assimilate and communicate information (eg legislation, data)
  • Empathy and non-judgmental approach
  • Negotiation and motivational skills
  • Ability to stay calm under pressure
  • Resilience
  • Teamwork and collaboration
  • Planning/organisation
  • Problem solving
  • Project management
  • Investigation and observation
  • Community and customer focus

For more information about professional skills and how to develop them, see the York Strengths Professional Skills page.

Work experience

Look for work experience to help you develop the skills, and demonstrate the personal qualities, needed for a career in this sector.  Work experience, paid or voluntary, with vulnerable groups or those with challenging behaviour will be particularly valuable.

Find jobs

Graduate schemes

Job sites

Recruitment agencies

What can I do at York?
  • Make the most of any chances to build relevant skills - getting involved in college life, societies or part-time work will give you opportunities to use communication, team building, negotiation and planning skills.
  • Volunteer with Careers and Placements volunteering projects.  Think about the groups you might work with in your future job and get experience with them - projects related to young people, the elderly, and mental health will all help.
  • City of York Council advertise for volunteers, including Appropriate Adults (occasional demand) and volunteers for the Youth Offending Team
  • You could also consider volunteering in victim support or with the police.
More resources: people to follow, podcasts, blogs

Connect with York graduates

Join York for Life to connect with our global network of alumni. Start building your own network - find people from your course, look at different careers, ask questions and request a mentor.

Use LinkedIn to make connections, follow organisations of interest, and find out what York graduates are doing. Find out more about LinkedIn on our networking.

Other profiles