Shaping the Next Front Line of Criminal Justice Workers: Learning to Do Better

• In Event: Advances in Cultural Criminology: Socialization, Youth, and Criminalization

Abstract

This study examines the role of experiential learning in shaping the career trajectories and professional orientations of students preparing to enter the field of criminal justice. All Justice Fellow participants were students in the Justice Academy, an approach developed by the non profit College Way to support students at CUNY, LaGuardia Community College, and John Jay College. Drawing on interviews with Justice Fellows, the study analyzes the impact of a year long academic course held inside Rikers Island, alongside structured engagement with New York City criminal courts. Rather than preparing students to assume institutional roles within punitive systems, the program fosters critical reflection, a deeper understanding of systemic harm, and positions students as part of a growing resistance.

This research explores the influence of learning at Rikers Island on the career trajectories and justice orientations of students entering the field of criminal justice. Through qualitative interviews, it examines how direct exposure to carceral environments, combined with academic inquiry and mentorship, shapes students’ evolving commitments to equity and transformation. The findings suggest that these students are emerging not as traditional practitioners but as individuals intent on challenging and reshaping the very systems they are preparing to enter.

Authors

• Cory Rowe, LaGuardia Community College

• Kathy Mora, John Jay College of Criminal Justice