Criminal Justice in America

RECENT EXAMPLES OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROBLEMS OR ISSUES OPEN EACH CHAPTER. Many examples, drawn from current headlines, illuminate issues or provide context for the upcoming chapter. Chapter openers highlight events, such as civil disorder in Minneapolis following George Floyd’s death while being taken into police custody, the prosecution of Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin in the college admissions scandal, the sentencing of Olympic gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar for sex abuse of young athletes and the rapid spread of coronavirus in U.S. prisons and jails.

"A QUESTION OF ETHICS: THINK, DISCUSS, WRITE" FEATURES ASK STUDENTS TO EVALUATE REAL CASES. These thought-provoking features, at the end of each chapter, consider real cases, such as police use of force or judges’ conflicts of interest. Students place themselves in the position of administrators who must evaluate how to organize and reform training, supervision and other elements essential for addressing ethical lapses by justice system officials.

"CURRENT CONTROVERSIES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE" HIGHLIGHT CONTEMPORARY, CHALLENGING ISSUES. These features encourage students to analyze proposed reforms to the justice system and critically examine highly publicized matters that produce divergent opinions among the American public. Topics include gun control laws, the provision of constitutional rights for terrorism suspects, risk assessment tools for bail and sentencing that may increase racial disparities, the use of fees to generate revenue for local justice systems and privatization of various aspects of corrections.

"EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE AND POLICY" FEATURES HIGHLIGHT HOW SYSTEMATIC SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH SHAPES CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICIES AND PRACTICES. Students see contemporary efforts to apply systematic social science research to public policy and learn to recognize when policy is based on assumptions. Features examine evidence-based practices with police officers and implicit bias, victim services, justice for those with mental illness, suspect identification procedures, reentry and community supervision, approaches to police patrol and jurors following judges’ instructions.