Mission Statement

The Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida provides excellence in teaching, research and service. Dedicated to its students, the faculty delivers outstanding instruction at the undergraduate and graduate levels, incorporating learning, service and inquiry. The department also conducts quality research and pursues local, state and federal funding to advance knowledge in our discipline. By actively developing meaningful partnerships, it provides exemplary service to the university and the broader professional and academic community.

Featured News Stories

Congratulations to Paoline on the Publication of His Article

City of St. Cloud and St. Could Police Department Hosts Mud Run

Congratulations to Paoline on the Publication of His Article

Congratulations to Childs in Receipt of Grant

Watkins Appointed Undergraduate and Internship Coordinator

Public Service Career Showcase & Informational Sessions

The Department Of Criminal Justice At ACJS

UCF Criminal Justice Alumna Named Director of the Secret Service

3/26/13
Julia Pierson, an Orlando native who earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from UCF in 1981, has been appointed director of the U.S. Secret Service, the White House announced today. She is the first woman to hold the position.
UCF Today article   Orlando Sentinel article

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Job Fair

CJ Students Visit UK to Learn About British Policing

Congratulations to Winton on His Book Publication

The Criminal Department Welcomes Dr. Coupe

Criminal Justice Career Fair

Gau and Wolf Recognized as Top Law Professors in Florida

Wolf Interviewed on WDBO Radio Regarding Rogue Cop Protocol

Criminal Justice Quick Takes

UCF Symposium on Volunteer Policing

The University of Central Florida, Department of Criminal Justice hosted a symposium on June 26th entitled “Volunteers in Policing: A local regional, national, and international examination of police reserves, auxiliaries, and specials.”

Professor Robert Bohm speaks on the death penalty

Robert M. Bohm, Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida; fellow of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

Crime and the Media

Professors Ray Surette and David Fabianic discuss famous criminal cases and the media on the Public Affairs Today show on UCF TV.

Commercial highlighting programs within UCF
College of Health & Public Affairs.

Commercial highlighting programs within UCF
College of Health & Public Affairs

Hot-Topics

Each week, Orange County Sheriff's Office Recruiter Fred Kolb will meet with students interested in learning about future and current opportunities in law enforcement. By appointment only.

For appointment information, please contact Bernard Fred Kolb at bernard.kolb@ocfl.net.

When Teachers, Clergy, and Caretakers Sexually Abuse Children and Adolescents

When Teachers, Clergy, and Caretakers Sexually Abuse Children and Adolescents addresses the current and historical issues that revolve around children and adolescents who are sexually abused. This book provides updated and timely case examples involving teachers, clergy and others that represent the fact that sexual abuse continues as an important topic that needs ongoing education and prevention. The author of the text is Dr. Mark Winton. The book is published by Carolina Academic Press.

Capital Punishment's Collateral Damage

Conspicuously missing from previous literature is the human element; the impact of capital punishment on the lives of those who are involved in the process by calamity, duty, or choice. Capital Punishment's Collateral Damage seeks to rectify that omission by allowing participants in this ritual of death to describe in their own words their role in the process and, especially, its effects on them. The author of the text is Professor Robert Bohm. The book is published by Carolina Academic Press

Constitutional Limitations of Interviewing and Interrogations in American Policing

This book has been compiled to provide practitioners and those who study criminal justice with the resources necessary to fully understand Supreme Court interpretations of how the police can and must utilize case law in collecting testimonial evidence, evidence from stop and frisk encounters, and polygraph testing. This book presents federal case law, and discussions of those cases, to develop an understanding of laws concerning police interviews and interrogations. Additionally, this text utilizes “Bottom Line” discussions that focus on the applications of the case law to police conduct. One of the authors of the text is Dr. Ross Wolf, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Technology. The book is published by Carolina Academic Press.

Epidemiological Criminology



A public Health Approach to Crime and Violence.
Written by the three leading experts in the field, this book combines an introduction to the sources and methods of epidemiological criminology and an application of these methods to some of the most vexing problems now confronting researchers and practitioners in public health and criminology. One of the author's of the text is Director of Research, Roberto Potter. The book is published by Jossey-Bass.

The Past as Prologue:
The Supreme Court's Pre-Modern Death Penalty Jurisprudence and Its Influence on the Supreme Court's Modern Death Penalty Decisions

The Past as Prologue provides insight into the Court’s modern death penalty jurisprudence by examining in detail 39 pre-modern Supreme Court death penalty cases for which a written opinion was issued. The author of the text is Professor Robert Bohm. The book is published by Carolina Academic Press.

Statistics for Criminology and

Criminal Justice

The book is a first course text that takes students through descriptive statistics, probability theory, and into hypothesis testing  up through an introduction to regression. The author of the text is Assistant Professor Jacinta Gau. The book is published by Sage.



Demystifying Crime & Criminal Justice




From myths about crime and punishment to dangerous misunderstandings about the administration of justice, Demystifying Crime and Criminal Justice, Second Edition, exposes--and aims to correct--many of the American public's misconceptions about the criminal justice system. The author of the text is Professor Robert Bohm. The book is published by Oxford University Press.