Center for Criminal Justice Research & Training

The mission of the Center for Criminal Justice Research and Training is to provide today’s law enforcement and Criminal Justice personnel with current, relevant and quality training as determined by research and training needs assessments and to establish ongoing working relationships with the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), law enforcement agencies, Standards and Training for Corrections (STC), and other law enforcement professional associations.

The Center for Criminal Justice Research and Training (CJ Center) was created in February 1967 as the Institute of Police Studies. The Center has a long and successful tradition of involvement with various aspects of police research, education and training.  Since inception, the CJ Center has been instrumental in the development and presentation of programs to municipal, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. The CJ Center’s specialized programs encompass technical, analytical, operational, managerial, and administrative areas of law enforcement and corrections

The CJ Center is a non-profit organization working under the umbrella of the College of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Emergency Management (CCJEM) in the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) at California State University, Long Beach.  The CJ Center itself is operated through the CSULB Foundation.  The primary function of the CJ Center is to design and present in-service training seminars and conferences that meet the training standards of the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) and the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC).  Using subject matter experts (SME's), training is provided to law enforcement and corrections personnel to provide them with the insight and necessary skills to achieve and maintain excellence as leaders in public safety.

The CJ Center is responsible for the coordination, scheduling and planning of the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute (SBSLI) programs throughout the state.  This is an eight month course with assigned readings and intensive leadership coursework.

The CJ Center is also responsible for delivery of the POST Principled Policing course for the Central and Southern portions of the State.  This is part of the national initiative of both Procedural Justice and Implicit Bias training.

Working in close cooperation with POST and BSCC, the CJ Center provides training to more than 2000 law enforcement and corrections personnel annually in several different instructional programs including the POST Management course, Field Evidence Technician course, and Instructor Development courses.  Instructional staff consists of attorneys, law enforcement managers, forensic experts, crime analysts and police supervisors/officers which have helped develop the CJ Center, as well as the University, into a highly respected institution.  The CJ Center employs over 120 instructors for these programs. 

Ron Mark is the current Director of the CJ Center and is a retired police manager with over 30 years of law enforcement experience.  He is involved with various law enforcement associations that serve to identify trends in law enforcement, develop training to address emerging issues, and an advocate in the advancement of this profession.  Much of the research of the Center is directed toward the identification of future training needs and in building cooperative partnerships with stakeholders in the community.