A criminal justice degree has advantages as does having ANY degree. But, in the criminal justice field, many people have an AA or BA in CJ. Really, having a CJ degree does not benefit you any more than any other degree might have. A CJ degree will not make you stand out of the crowd, but it will give you a foundation in the fundamentals of how the criminal justice system works and why. If what you intend to do is remain in the private sector, or work as a civilian analyst or support in the CJ field, then you might consider some other degrees pertaining to forensics, public administration, business, even psychology.

Having ANY BA will be good to get started. But, the CJ degree does not translate well into work outside the criminal justice system, nor does it always assist you within it. Today business and other skills are at least as important as a knowledge of the CJ system. If you wish to get involved in consulting or the support side of things, CJ might be useful. But, at the entry level it is no more useful than any other BA or BS and, to be quite honest, if you were trying to enter law enforcement it would not make you stand out at all because a good number of applicants already have such a degree.

Note that my degrees are NOT in CJ, but I work with the local colleges, am involved in the hiring process and know a great many people who do have them.