NCJ Number
204913
Date Published
2004
Length
208 pages
Annotation
This book examines the ways different countries and jurisdictions deal with the main stages and elements in the criminal justice process.
Abstract
A comparative perspective on criminal justice and its main components is provided, as well as an understanding of the increasing globalization of justice and standards of the administration of justice. A knowledge of methodology for comparative research and analysis, an understanding of the most important concepts in criminal justice, and an insight into what the essential ingredients of doing justice might be are also provided. Examples are taken from all over the world, with a particular focus on Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. Chapter 1 describes comparative criminal justice as a timely enterprise and provides reasons for studying criminal justice comparatively. Chapter 2 discusses the aims and methods of comparative research. In chapter 3, policing styles, crime control, and corruption are explored, as well as the rise of private policing. Prosecution and pre-trial justice are discussed in chapter 4. Chapter 5 describes the families of trial systems, trials in the Islamic legal tradition, indigenous courts, and the Lockerbie trial. Judicial decisionmakers are profiled in chapter 6. The fairness and effectiveness of punishment, prisons and their comparative histories, and the death penalty are discussed in chapter 7. Chapter 8 focuses on international and transnational criminal justice. Chapter 9 explores new directions in comparative criminal justice, focusing on the threat of terrorism, cyber-crime, and the evolution of criminal justice systems. 13 boxes, 10 tables, 192 references, index