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Criminal justice instructor skills for your resume and career

Q: What hard/technical skills are most important for Criminal Justice Instructors?

Know how to write succinctly, clearly, and well. Your file will end up in court and will reflect you. The last thing you want to do is seem unsure, uneducated, or incompetent because you don't know how to write.

Q: What skills stand out on Criminal Justice Instructor resumes?

For instructors, I look for those that have not only been in the field in some capacity but have taken the theory learned in the classroom and found ways to apply it. I want to know what innovative things they have done in their department (Crisis Intervention Team, De-escalation, Mental Health Training, Peer Mentoring, etc.). Importantly, did they do something beyond "just their job"? Also, what are the extracurriculars? You can tell a lot about a person about where they focus their free time. If their focus is on family, civic organizations, church, etc., it shows a commitment to a stable community, starting with the family.

Q: What skills will help Criminal Justice Instructors earn the most?

Knowing strategic planning, budgeting, budget execution, and public policy analysis will give you the higher-level skills you need to move up in your career. There are certification programs out there. Find them and get certified. Also, understand human resources; not just managing people but leading people. This will make you a force in your organization.

Q: What soft skills should all Criminal Justice Instructors possess?

The ability to connect with people where they are. Ask them questions, find out something about them, and then relate something similar to you to show that common bond. Don't be afraid to open yourself up and become vulnerable; none of us are a rock. Once you make the connection, find what motivates them or gains compliance, and use that to get them to do what you need them to do. If you're a leader, that may mean initiating change. If you're a line officer, that may mean talking someone into handcuffs instead of a takedown. As a fugitive recovery officer with over 1,000 arrests in 3.5 years, I can count on one hand the number of physical altercations I had. It starts with establishing mutual respect, even to those that may not have earned it yet. Learn a foreign language. You never know when you will need it, especially in a high tourist area.

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Stephanie Lake,

Stephanie Lake

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical criminal justice instructor skills. We ranked the top skills for criminal justice instructors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 38.2% of criminal justice instructor resumes contained criminal justice as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a criminal justice instructor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 criminal justice instructor skills for your resume and career

1. Criminal Justice

Here's how criminal justice instructors use criminal justice:

Instructed college level Introduction to Policing courses* Instructed college level Introduction to Criminal Justice Courses* Instructed college level Introduction to Corrections courses
Created and developed curriculum and instruction ensuring students were provided with a superior understanding and education in the Criminal Justice field.

2. Law Enforcement

Law enforcement is the task of certain members of the community who work together to uphold the law by identifying, preventing, rehabilitating, or prosecuting others who break society's laws and norms. The phrase refers to the police, the judiciary, and the correctional system.

Here's how criminal justice instructors use law enforcement:

Demonstrated knowledge of basic laws/regulations, law enforcement operations, practices and techniques.
Worked cooperatively with Local and Regional Law Enforcement entities to provide training.

3. Student Learning

Here's how criminal justice instructors use student learning:

Design curriculum and create/assess Student Learning Outcomes.
Facilitate student learning and provide grading for professor

4. Course Materials

Here's how criminal justice instructors use course materials:

Teach and demonstrate knowledge of assigned curriculum, course materials and textbooks to students for academic performance toward an Associate Degree.
Fostered students' commitment and interest in learning by connecting course materials to current events and real life situations.

5. Syllabus

Here's how criminal justice instructors use syllabus:

Present lectures and classroom activities consistent with the course syllabus, on power point format.
Plan classroom instruction, develop syllabus, proctor exams and grade projects and homework.

6. Professional Development

Professional development means to have the essential training certification or education with the purpose of earning and having a successful career. Every job requires a different set of skills. However, new skills may be needed in the future. Professional development, in this regard, helps people to develop and polish the skills and become efficient workers.

Here's how criminal justice instructors use professional development:

Provide instruction based on instructor field experience and encourage development and growth in student academic and professional development.
Encouraged a culture of learning that values mutual responsibility, diversity, and ethics as well as personal and professional development.

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7. Learning Environment

Here's how criminal justice instructors use learning environment:

Worked closely with school administration to generate ideas for an effective learning environment.
Managed classroom activities in order to maintain a positive learning environment.

8. Course Objectives

A course objective allows students to know all that a course is about, why it is taught, where it is going, and what is required of them to be successful in the course. It forms the basis of the class and establishes a behavior, skill, or action that a student can demonstrate if they have achieved mastery of the objective. The objectives must be observable, measurable, valid, and also aligned with the expectations of the course.

Here's how criminal justice instructors use course objectives:

Delivered assigned classes in accordance with college policy and course objectives.
Lead a team of nursing education professionals in developing clinical and didactic course objectives and rubrics to achieve desired programmatic outcomes.

9. Course Syllabus

Here's how criminal justice instructors use course syllabus:

Created course syllabus and outline* Instructed both group and individual settings* Developed and graded assignments to facilitate and gauge learning
Developed course syllabus and led students to explore ways elementary educators can foster literacy skills development for their students.

10. Classroom Management

Here's how criminal justice instructors use classroom management:

Acquired additional hours of professional development in classroom management, curriculum development, and information related to gifted & talented students.
Address challenges related to classroom management and student learning immediately Monitor student progress and report on daily session summaries.

11. Teaching Methodologies

Here's how criminal justice instructors use teaching methodologies:

Utilized multiple teaching methodologies that included visual, linguistic and auditory materials to reinforce or re-teach.
Facilitated class discussions that incorporated a variety of teaching methodologies to capture various learning styles while ensuring maximum content coverage

12. Curriculum Design

Here's how criminal justice instructors use curriculum design:

Maintain expertise in subject area and recommend improvements in curriculum design.
Excelled in curriculum design through the use of research, collaboration and prior knowledge.

13. Criminal Law

Here's how criminal justice instructors use criminal law:

Created a comprehensive criminal law curriculum for use by the Arkansas Dept.
Motivate and engage students in the course Criminal Law.

14. Course Content

Here's how criminal justice instructors use course content:

Created, evaluated and revised course content and course materials to keep them interesting and current.
Utilized Blackboard content management system in the implementation, distribution, and evaluation of course content for Visual Communications Technology classes.

15. Instructional Materials

Here's how criminal justice instructors use instructional materials:

Provided instructional materials through use of Angel Network
Developed lesson plans and instructional materials and provide individualized and small group instruction in the subject area of maintaining renewable resources.

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What skills help Criminal Justice Instructors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on criminal justice instructor resumes?

Stephanie Lake

Director of the Criminal Justice Program, Adelphi University

Employers want to know that students have developed critical thinking, research, and writing skills and can demonstrate proficiency with concrete examples. Students should highlight any experiential learning endeavors, including internships, quantitative or qualitative research projects, research assistantships, and other work done in the community that demonstrates problem-solving and communication skills. The ability to successfully navigate and communicate with diverse populations is a big plus. For this reason, the interdisciplinary criminal justice program at Adelphi is firmly grounded in the social sciences - Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Political Science, and traditional Criminal Justice. Students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills by exploring criminological theory related to crime, the law, and criminal justice policy and working with diverse cultures and populations.

What soft skills should all criminal justice instructors possess?

Stephanie Lake

Director of the Criminal Justice Program, Adelphi University

Soft skills: see above. Critical thinking, written and oral communication skills. Students must demonstrate the ability to express themselves well in writing and verbally and communicate within a diverse population. Active listening skills are also valued when dealing in stressful or contentious situations where data collection and mediation may be required.

What hard/technical skills are most important for criminal justice instructors?

Stephanie Lake

Director of the Criminal Justice Program, Adelphi University

Hard/Technical skills: Computer: Quantitative Research skills, including proficiency with data collection, manipulation, and statistical analysis (SPSS and other social science software), and experience with crime databases. Ability to research legal precedent and theory in the peer-reviewed literature.

What criminal justice instructor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Deborah Kitchen Ph.D.

Department Chair and Professor, Tennessee State University

I would work on getting some certificate that would make you stand out. Or maybe learn a second language - Spanish.

What type of skills will young criminal justice instructors need?

David Chang

Chairperson, Frost Professor of Art, Florida International University

Young graduates should possess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to function professionally in today's society. Our students go through rigorous studio training along with cutting-edge theories that inform their practices.

What technical skills for a criminal justice instructor stand out to employers?

Joe Bouchard

Librarian, Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College

Basic computer skills remain a must as agencies go more and more digital. Also, netiquette will be necessary to maintain professionalism. One does not need smile face emojis on official documents. As non-traditional or older applicants enter the field, it behooves agencies to consider the differing learning curves for the multi-generational workforce and incorporate into technology training.
Basic skills such as clear communication (written and spoken) will always be important to employers, no matter the level of technology. Applicants who can comprehend and speak mandatory terms (shall, will, must) and discretionary terms (may, could, should) that occur in policy directives and operating procedures will be valuable to any organization.

Do you want to know more?

List of criminal justice instructor skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a criminal justice instructor resume and required skills for a criminal justice instructor to have include:

Criminal Justice
Law Enforcement
Student Learning
Course Materials
Syllabus
Professional Development
Learning Environment
Course Objectives
Course Syllabus
Classroom Management
Teaching Methodologies
Curriculum Design
Criminal Law
Course Content
Instructional Materials

Social Justice
Learning Objectives
Student Performance
Curriculum Development
Forensics
Instructional Methods
CJ
Learning Process
Sociology
Ethics
Police Academy
Criminal Investigations
Laboratory Safety Procedures
Correctional
PowerPoint

Learning Styles
Court System
Course Curriculum
Guest Speakers
Terrorism
Class Discussions
Student Retention
Crime Scene Investigation
Capstone
Independent Studies
Intro
Course Outlines
Academic Support Programs
Instructional Aids
Educational Process

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Criminal Justice Instructor skills FAQs

What hard/technical skills are most important for Criminal Justice Instructors?

What skills stand out on Criminal Justice Instructor resumes?

What skills will help Criminal Justice Instructors earn the most?

What soft skills should all Criminal Justice Instructors possess?

Have more questions? See all answers to common education, training, and library questions.

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