Criminal Justice Programs in Raleigh, NC

Updated September 29, 2026

Raleigh’s criminal justice work runs through the Raleigh Police Department’s five divisions and North Carolina’s statewide certification system. Five area colleges offer a criminal justice or legal support program, per federal education data. Police and sheriff’s patrol officers in the Raleigh-Cary metro earn a median $65,860 a year, per May 2025 BLS data.

If you want to work in criminal justice in Raleigh, two things run on separate tracks — who hires you, and who certifies you to do the job. Raleigh Police Department is the employer. North Carolina’s Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission is the certifying authority. This guide covers what RPD’s divisions do, where to get a degree locally, what the job pays according to federal wage data, and how North Carolina’s certification process actually works.

Featured Programs:

Criminal Justice Schools in Other Major North Carolina Cities

Charlotte

Where to Study Criminal Justice in Raleigh

Program length and structure vary by school. A two-year associate degree is common at the community-college level, and a four-year bachelor’s is typical at private universities, but exact timelines, concentrations, and internship requirements differ by institution, so check each program’s current catalog directly.

William Peace University’s Peace Pathways program illustrates one option: students who complete an Associate in Criminal Justice Technology at Wake Tech with a 2.0 GPA or better can transfer into Peace’s bachelor’s program with guaranteed admission and locked-in tuition of $10,000 a year in person (or $290 per credit hour online), finishing a bachelor’s degree in two years or less. Confirm current tuition and transfer terms directly with each school before enrolling.

Five institutions in the Raleigh area offer a criminal justice or legal support program, per U.S. Department of Education data. Three offer a criminal justice program specifically. Two offer legal support services (paralegal-track) programs only:

Institution	Type	Programs Offered
Wake Technical Community College	Public, 2-year	Criminal Justice Technology (Associate, Certificate)
Shaw University	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Justice Studies (Bachelor’s), an interdisciplinary program covering criminal justice, sociology, and law
William Peace University	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Criminal Justice (Bachelor’s)
Meredith College	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Legal Support Services only: Paralegal Certificate (post-baccalaureate, ABA-approved), no criminal justice degree
Miller-Motte College-Raleigh	Private for-profit, 2-year	Legal Support Services only: Paralegal (Associate), no criminal justice degree

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. Two schools that appear in the federal dataset are not listed here: Saint Augustine’s University discontinued its degree programs and lost accreditation in 2026 and is not currently enrolling students, and Gwinnett College’s current Raleigh campus program list does not include a legal studies option. Confirm current enrollment, format, and admission requirements directly with each school before applying.

Local organizations worth joining while you’re in school or starting out include the Raleigh-Wake Paralegal Association and the North Carolina Association of Private Investigators.

North Carolina’s Police Certification Framework

Raleigh PD hiring and North Carolina police certification are two different processes, run by two different bodies. RPD runs its own applicant screening: background investigation, interviews, and whatever additional testing the department requires of its own candidates. Separately, becoming a certified law enforcement officer anywhere in North Carolina, including at RPD, requires completing Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) and passing the State Comprehensive Written Examination, both administered under the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission (part of the NC Department of Justice’s Criminal Justice Standards Division).

BLET is offered through North Carolina community colleges, and total instructional hours vary by the sponsoring school. Most candidates need agency sponsorship to enroll. This certification path is specific to North Carolina. Other states run their own academy systems with different hour requirements, exams, and certifying bodies, so don’t assume this process transfers directly if you’re researching a different state.

Correctional officers in North Carolina go through a separate training and certification track from municipal police, administered through their own employer and state requirements. Transportation security screeners are a federal occupation entirely: TSA sets its own hiring and training standards, and North Carolina’s police certification system doesn’t apply to that job.

What Criminal Justice Jobs Pay in Raleigh

Here’s what the numbers look like for common Raleigh-area roles, based on May 2025 wage data for the Raleigh-Cary metro area:

Occupation	Median Annual Wage	Raleigh-Cary Metro Employment
Security Guards	$34,680	4,780
Correctional Officers and Jailers	$54,070	1,140
Transportation Security Screeners	$65,940	400
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers	$65,860	2,430
First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers	$71,950	80
Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$77,210	630

These are occupational medians for the metro area, not a pay scale for any one employer or an individual’s progression from one role to another.

North Carolina’s Department of Commerce projects police and sheriff’s patrol officer employment to grow 6.3% statewide between 2024 and 2034, with about 1,780 average annual openings, per ProjectionsCentral. Detective and criminal investigator employment is projected to grow 2.8% over the same period. Correctional officer and jailer employment is projected to decline 7.7%. These are statewide occupational projections, not Raleigh-specific forecasts or a measure of how easy any individual role is to get hired into.

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Security Guards, Correctional Officers and Jailers, Transportation Security Screeners, Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers, First-Line Supervisors of 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 Raleigh-Cary metro wage data and North Carolina state growth projections, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed September 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a college degree to become a police officer in Raleigh?

No degree is required by the state certification process. Raleigh PD runs its own hiring screening, separate from North Carolina’s certification requirements. To become a certified officer anywhere in the state, including at RPD, you need to complete Basic Law Enforcement Training and pass the State Comprehensive Written Examination through the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.

What does the Raleigh Police Department’s Detective Division investigate?

The Detective Division conducts follow-up investigations and initiates cases involving vice, drugs, gangs, cybercrime, and organized crime, with separate units handling aggravated assault, burglary, fraud, and financial crimes.

How much do correctional officers earn in the Raleigh area?

Correctional officers and jailers in the Raleigh-Cary metro earn a median $54,070 a year, according to May 2025 BLS wage data. First-line supervisors of correctional officers, a separate occupational category, earn a median of $71,950. Both figures are occupational medians, not a pay progression within one job.

Which schools in Raleigh offer criminal justice degrees?

Three area institutions offer a criminal justice program specifically: Wake Technical Community College (Associate), William Peace University (Bachelor’s), and Shaw University (Bachelor’s, under its Justice Studies major). Two other schools, Meredith College and Miller-Motte College-Raleigh, offer legal support/paralegal programs but not a criminal justice degree.

Is the North Carolina job market growing for these criminal justice roles?

It varies by occupation. North Carolina projects 6.3% growth for police and sheriff’s patrol officers and 2.8% for detectives through 2034, while correctional officer and jailer employment is projected to decline 7.7% over the same period, per ProjectionsCentral. These are statewide projections, not Raleigh-specific hiring forecasts.

Key Takeaways

Raleigh Police Department runs five divisions plus a newer Community Impact and Engagement Division (established 2025) – each with its own focus and specialty units.
Five local schools offer CJ or legal support programs – three with a criminal justice program (Wake Tech, Shaw, William Peace) and two with legal support/paralegal programs only (Meredith, Miller-Motte).
Hiring and certification are separate tracks – RPD screens and hires its own candidates. North Carolina’s Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission certifies officers statewide through BLET and the State Comprehensive Written Examination.
Pay varies widely by role – from a $34,680 median for security guards up to $77,210 for detectives, based on Raleigh-Cary metro wage data.
State employment projections vary by role – patrol and detective jobs are projected to grow statewide through 2034, while correctional officer and jailer employment is projected to decline.

Start by comparing the schools listed above and reach out to the ones that fit your schedule and budget. Admissions staff can walk you through exactly what documentation, testing, and prerequisites each program requires before you apply.

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