Mission Statement:
In the Department of Criminal Justice, in the College of Arts and Sciences, we strive to foster partnerships focused on improving community safety and promoting equity in the criminal legal system; to produce high quality research aimed at informing policy and theory; and to promote social justice, diversity, and inclusion in the education of students, practitioners, policy makers, and researchers.

The Southern Police Institute is a division of the Department of Criminal Justice. It is an advanced education and training institute whose mission is to enhance the professional development of law enforcement practitioners. We accomplish this mission by providing educational and career development programs that are designed to challenge and to prepare law enforcement practitioners for the demands of today and tomorrow. The Southern Police Institute consistently is ranked among the top law enforcement educational and training schools in the nation.