Careers in international and comparative criminal justice
1. Careers in International and
Comparative Criminal Justice
Law and Justice Around the World
CRIM 405.003 // Prof. Andrew Novak
2. International Internships
International agencies
International Criminal Court (The Hague)
United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (Vienna and New York)
Special Court for Sierra Leone
INTERPOL
Non-governmental organizations
Myriad of local, regional, and international organizations that specialize in international
and comparative criminal justice policy
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Prisoners’ rights, sentencing, corrections, death penalty
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Legal aid, law reform, access to justice
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Technical assistance in policing, forensics, judging, etc.
3. United States Government Agencies
United States Department of State
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Bureau of Counterterrorism
Office of Global Criminal Justice
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Office of International Labor Affairs
Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes
Office of Foreign Assets Control
4. United States Government Agencies (cont’d)
U.S. Department of Justice
Criminal Division, Office of International Affairs
INTERPOL Liaison Office
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (property and injury claims against foreign
governments, including state-sponsored terrorism)
Bureau of Justice Assistance (Tribal justice programs)
U.S. Marshals Service, International Investigations
Includes international investigations, extradition, pursuit of fugitives
Drug Enforcement Administration
5. USAjobs.gov
General website for career opportunities in the federal government (except
the Department of Justice, which has its own non-integrated website)
Some immigration and citizenship restrictions on employment with the
federal government (including internships)
Tips:
Because your resumes are screened by a computer for keywords, apply with a full
curriculum vitae and not a one-page resume.
Use full names of laws, agencies, etc., and vary the wording in your CV’s text descriptions.
Do not be modest about answering any required questions, but do not lie.
Have a writing sample on file.
FOR INTERNSHIPS (not jobs), each agency has different procedures.
6. Sample NGOs
African Prisons Project (London and Kampala)
Jamaicans for Justice (Kingston)
Amnesty International (London)
Human Rights Watch (New York)
Coalition for the International Criminal Court (New York and The Hague)
American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (Washington, DC)
Almost always unpaid, but GMU may give class credit. Contact the GMU
Center for Global Education.
7. Study Abroad
GMU has one study abroad program that has criminal justice credit:
King’s College of London (Summer program)
But there are many other GMU study abroad programs that touch on issues
of criminal justice and international affairs.
GMU will also accept credit from external study abroad programs, though
you have to use private (non-federal) loans to pay tuition.
8. International Graduate Education
As criminal justice becomes more of an academic/scientific (rather than a
vocational) career path, international criminal justice increasingly does too.
Many universities in the United States and worldwide offer master’s degrees
in international and comparative criminal justice.
Examples:
Master of Arts in International Criminal Justice – John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Master of Science in Global Crime, Justice and Security – University of Edinburgh
Master of Arts programs in International Criminology /International Justice– University of
Sheffield, University of Aberystwyth, University of Greenwich
Master of Arts in Comparative Criminology, Bangor University (Wales)
Many U.S. graduate criminal justice programs offer international/comparative course work
9. Need Help?
I am happy to look at a resume or a cover letter template
If you do well in the course, I am also happy to write a letter of
recommendation
Your paper for this course (on the scholarly article that you choose) would
make a good writing sample, so select a topic of professional interest to you