Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) was founded in 1963 to foster professionalism in the criminal justice system by advancing the quality of education and research programs in the field. The academy seeks to enrich education and research programs in institutions of higher learning, criminal justice agencies, and agencies in related fields by improving cooperation and communication, by serving as a clearinghouse for the collection and dissemination of information produced by the programs, and by promoting the highest ethical and personal standards in criminal justice research and education. To that end, the ACJS created an ad hoc committee in 1995 to adopt minimum standards for the improvement of quality in criminal justice higher education. The standards, reprinted in 2001, have been widely utilized in the curricular development of associate, undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The academy also presents numerous awards for outstanding contributions by individuals in the field. The members of the academy are individual teachers, administrators, researchers, students, and practitioners.

The academy publishes the Journal of Criminal Justice quarterly and a directory annually. It holds annual meetings in March.