Criminal Justice Subject Research Guide: Print Resources

Presents a series of essays with varying viewpoints on the subject of criminal justice in the United States. Includes a list of organizations to contact.

This essential volume presents viewpoints that are selected from a wide range of highly respected sources and publications. Readers will evaluate whether the criminal justice system needs reform, and consider the state of the incarceration system in the United States. They will analyze whether sentencing laws should be reformed. Readers will also consider which rights should be a part of the criminal justice system.

The Catholic Church has had a dramatic impact on both the structure and understanding of criminal justice up to the present. This book surveys the history of the church to suggest that despite demonstrable abuses, a humane and redemptive theory of criminal justice can be constructed that is harmonious with biblical sources, tradition, and current normative emphases in Catholic social thought.

Native Americans are disproportionately represented as offenders in the U.S. criminal justice system, particularly in the southwestern and north-central regions. However, until recently there was little investigation into the reasons for their over-representation. Furthermore, there has been little acknowledgment of the positive contributions of Native Americans to the criminal justice system--in rehabilitating offenders, aiding victims, and supporting service providers. This book offers a valuable and contemporary overview of how the American criminal justice system impacts Native Americans on both sides of the law. Each of the fourteen chapters of Criminal Justice in Native America was commissioned specifically for this volume. Contributors--many of whom are Native Americans--rank among the top scholars in their fields. Some of the chapters treat broad subjects, including crime, police, courts, victimization, corrections, and jurisdiction. Others delve into more specific topics, including hate crimes against Native Americans, state-corporate crimes against Native Americans, tribal peacemaking, and cultural stresses of police officers. Separate chapters are devoted to women and juveniles. The well-known scholar Marianne Nielsen provides a context-setting introduction, in which she addresses the history of the legal treatment of Native Americans in the United States as well as a provocative conclusion that details important issues for current and future research in Native American criminal justice studies. Intended to introduce students to the substantive concerns of a range of disciplines that contribute to Native American Studies--among them, criminal justice and criminology, law, sociology, and anthropology--Criminal Justice in Native America will interest all readers who are concerned about relationships between Native peoples and prevailing criminal justice systems.

The Black Lives Matter movement has shined a light on the frequently unequal treatment of African Americans by the U.S. justice system. This has led to some adverse reactions, including the protest slogans All Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter. The viewpoints in this volume examine the truths regarding the justice system and people of color in the United States. Do the police have a problem when it comes to racial discrimination? Is the court system biased against people of color? Can gang violence be curbed without racial profiling? Experts from the field offer very different perspectives on this important topic.