Criminal Justice Programs in Sacramento, CA

Updated September 25, 2026

Sacramento offers criminal justice paths through the Sacramento Police Department, county corrections, and several area schools. Security guards median $43,240 a year in California, detectives $124,840 (BLS, May 2025). Every sworn officer also goes through California POST’s certified academy training, a 680-hour minimum, though when you complete it depends on the agency.

The Sacramento Police Department runs the city’s largest criminal justice operation, with dedicated units for Homeland Security, the Drive Safe Initiative, and a Citizens Academy that lets residents sit in on the job before they apply. Sacramento County’s corrections system, the courts, and a cluster of local schools round out where you’d actually work or train.

Featured Programs:

Working in Sacramento’s Criminal Justice System

The Sacramento Police Department is the largest agency in the city, and its specialty units mean you’re not limited to patrol if you get hired. Homeland Security work, traffic and pedestrian safety through the Drive Safe Initiative, and community outreach through the Citizens Academy are all part of the department’s footprint.

Sacramento County also runs its own jail and probation systems, which is where most entry-level corrections hiring happens locally, separate from the city PD.

Once you’re enrolled somewhere in the city, Sacramento Regional Transit runs buses and light rail with monthly passes, which is worth knowing if your program has you moving between a campus and a ride-along or internship site across town.

Criminal Justice Schools in Other Major California Cities

Where to Study Criminal Justice in Sacramento

Seven institutions in Sacramento appear in federal education data under the broader criminal-justice-family field grouping, which combines Criminal Justice and Corrections, Legal Support Services, and Fire Protection programs together. Not all seven offer a criminal justice program specifically: Cosumnes River College’s listing is Fire Protection only, and MTI College and Charles A. Jones Career and Education Center are listed only for Legal Support Services. The table below shows exactly what each school offers.

Institution	Type	Programs Offered
Sacramento City College	Public, 2-year	Criminal Justice (Associate, Certificate)
American River College	Public, 2-year	Criminal Justice, Legal Support Services, and Fire Protection (Associate, Certificate)
Cosumnes River College	Public, 2-year	Fire Protection (Associate, Certificate)
California State University-Sacramento	Public, 4-year	Criminal Justice (Bachelor’s, Master’s)
Carrington College-Sacramento	Private for-profit	Criminal Justice (Associate, Certificate), Legal Support Services (Associate)
MTI College	Private for-profit, 2-year	Legal Support Services (Associate, Certificate)
Charles A Jones Career and Education Center	Public, less than 2-year	Legal Support Services (Certificate)

Sacramento State is the only four-year school in the city offering a bachelor’s or master’s in Criminal Justice and Corrections. Confirm current enrollment, format, and admission requirements directly with any school before applying. Federal education data reports what a school told the Department of Education, not necessarily what’s open for enrollment today.

School and program data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, institution file May 2025 and field-of-study file April 2025. Data accessed September 2026.

Picking a Degree Path

A degree isn’t a fixed requirement for most criminal justice careers in California—state, agency, and role determine that, not a general rule. Coursework from a school like Sacramento City College or Sacramento State can strengthen an application at agencies that weigh education, and it gives you a credential to fall back on if you change direction later.

If cost is the deciding factor, check tuition directly with each school before you commit. For Fall 2026/Spring 2027, Sacramento State lists undergraduate tuition at $3,419 per semester for more than six units, plus $1,409 in mandatory campus fees, for a total of $4,828 per semester for a full-time resident undergraduate, per the school’s own enrollment and cost page. Compare that against a community college’s per-unit rate before deciding where to start.

Student membership is worth looking into too. The Sacramento Valley Paralegal Association, the Sacramento Police Officers Association, and the California Association of Licensed Investigators all take student members, and sitting in on their meetings puts you in a room with people already doing the job before you’ve finished a single semester.

California POST Training and Certification

Every sworn officer in California, whether Sacramento PD, a sheriff’s deputy, or another peace-officer classification, goes through the state’s Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). The standard-format Regular Basic Course (RBC) currently runs a minimum of 680 hours, and it’s the entry-level training requirement across most classifications. POST also runs a modular format and a Basic Course Waiver for qualifying officers coming from another state, so the 680-hour course isn’t the only route in.

Finishing the academy isn’t the same as holding a POST Basic Certificate. For a full-time officer at a POST-participating agency, the Basic Certificate also requires current qualifying employment, Proof of Eligibility, completion of the required basic course, and successfully finishing the agency’s probationary period.

Agencies don’t all hire the same way. Some only take applicants who’ve already graduated a POST academy. Others hire recruits or cadets first and sponsor them through the academy afterward. The Sacramento Police Academy currently accepts non-affiliate, self-sponsored applicants directly, with its own listed minimums: a high school diploma or GED and a POST T-score of at least 45. Those are Sacramento’s academy requirements specifically, not a statewide standard, and every academy runs its own mix of written, physical-ability, skills, scenario, and report-writing tests rather than one generic exam.

Career Paths and Pay in Sacramento

These are California-wide figures, not Sacramento-specific numbers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t break out wage data at the city level for most of these roles, so use the state figure as your baseline and confirm anything closer to home with the hiring agency directly.

Career	California Median Wage	CA Job Growth (2024-34)
Security Guard	$43,240	+3.3%
Correctional Officer	$96,370	-5.1%
First-Line Correctional Supervisor	$131,210	Not published for California
Detective	$124,840	+4.5%

A projected decline doesn’t mean the job disappears. California still projects about 3,180 average annual openings for correctional officers through 2034, mostly from turnover, even as total positions shrink. That’s a different growth trajectory than detective work, which is both growing in headcount and adding new openings over the same period.

You can also apply directly to the Sacramento Police Department. Check the department’s own recruiting page for current academy pay and eligibility requirements before you apply.

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Security Guards, Correctional Officers, and Detectives and Criminal Investigators. Long-term (2024-34) job growth projections from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, ProjectionsCentral. Figures reflect state-level data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed September 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What degree do I need for a criminal justice career in Sacramento?

It depends on the agency and the role, not just the degree. California’s peace officer path runs through POST-certified training rather than a set degree requirement, and some agencies hire before the academy while others require it first. A degree from a school like Sacramento City College or Sacramento State can strengthen an application, but check the specific agency’s own hiring page for what’s actually required.

How much do correctional officers make in Sacramento?

California correctional officers had a median annual wage of $96,370 as of May 2025 (BLS). That’s a statewide figure, not a Sacramento-specific number, since BLS doesn’t publish city-level wage data for this occupation.

Is the corrections job market growing in California?

Not by much overall. ProjectionsCentral’s 2024-34 projections show a 5.1% decline in correctional officer positions statewide, though the state still projects about 3,180 average annual openings in the role from turnover, even as total positions shrink. Detective and security guard roles are both projected to grow over the same period.

What schools in Sacramento offer criminal justice programs?

Seven institutions in Sacramento appear in federal education data under the broader criminal-justice-family grouping, which spans Criminal Justice and Corrections, Legal Support Services, and Fire Protection. Not all seven offer a program called “criminal justice” specifically. Sacramento City College, American River College, Carrington College-Sacramento, and Sacramento State all offer Criminal Justice and Corrections programs. The rest are listed for Legal Support Services or Fire Protection instead.

Key Takeaways

Pay varies sharply by role – California security guards median $43,240 a year, while detectives median $124,840 (BLS, May 2025).
Corrections hiring is projected to shrink but not disappear – correctional officer positions are down 5.1% statewide for 2024-34, but the state still projects about 3,180 average annual openings from turnover.
Sacramento has real local options – seven schools in the city appear in federal data across criminal justice, legal support, and fire protection programs, though not every school offers all three.
California hiring runs through POST, not a degree – every sworn officer path includes a POST-certified academy, a 680-hour minimum in the standard format, though whether you attend before or after being hired depends on the agency.

Sacramento is one stop in a much bigger state market. The city list above covers your other options if you’re weighing a move, and the state finder below can point you toward programs anywhere else in the country.

Looking beyond this city? Read the full guide to Criminal Justice Schools in California.