Criminal Justice Education and Cybercrime

An Exploration of Four-Year Degree Programs

Bibliographic Data

ID22420107
AuthorsJason W Ostrowe (0000-0002-9536-3407, St. Joseph's University New York), Julia K Czubak (St. Joseph's University New York)
Year2026
Volume37
Issue2
Pages411-423
Publication date2026-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Criminal Justice Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1051-1253 • E-ISSN: 1745-9117
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10511253.2026.2663991
OpenAlexW7160266777
LanguageEN
References cited19

As reports of traditional crime decline, offenses involving digital technologies continue to increase, creating new challenges for the criminal justice system. This study examines the extent to which undergraduate criminal justice programs in the United States incorporate cybercrime coursework into their curriculum. Using a stratified random sample of 50 programs drawn from a population of 634 four-year institutions listed in the ACJS Degree Program Directory, this study analyzes whether programs require or offer cybercrime courses. Results indicate that 6.0% of programs require a cybercrime course (95% CI [0.0%, 12.3%]), while 34.0% offer such coursework as a program elective (95% CI [21.4%, 46.6%]). No statistically significant differences were observed between public and private institutions. These findings suggest that cybercrime education remains limited in undergraduate criminal justice curricula, particularly as a required component, highlighting a gap between evolving crime patterns and formal academic preparation.

Criminal justice · Criminal justice ethics · Economic Justice · Theory of criminal justice · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies

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