NCJ Number
94386
Date Published
1984
Length
522 pages
Annotation
This textbook for introducing college students to the concepts and operations of the criminal justice system focuses on legal issues, criminological theories, legislative policy, and police, court, and correctional practices.
Abstract
The introductory section examines the U.S. crime problem and criminal law along with an overview of criminology and theories of crime causation, including psychological and sociobiological concepts as well as an expanded section on modern classical criminology (with reference to the 2nd edition). The chapter on criminal law now includes material on substantive crimes and criminal defenses together with an analysis of the criminal law system in the United States. Part Two provides an overview of the criminal justice system and process, beginning with the police functions of arrest and investigation and concluding with the correctional decision to release. A more detailed and up-to-date discussion of the relationship between criminal justice as a system and as a process is included. Part Three discusses law enforcement and policing. The expanded content includes the latest information on female and minority police officers, police violence, police corruption, and job stress. Part Four is devoted to early court processing, covering such topics as the prosecution and defense attorney, pretrial release and bail, the jury system, and diversion. New material is included on the roles of the prosecutor and the police officer, and there is an expanded analysis of plea bargaining. Part Five is concerned with the court system and includes new material on sentencing structures, particularly presumptive sentences and mandatory sentences. Part Six focuses on posttrial procedures, corrections, parole, and prisoners' rights. Current data on jails, correctional institutions, prisoners' rights, and prison violence are included. Part Seven, which explores juvenile justice, relfects the changes underway in that system, including new statistics about juveniles in adult courts and information on the use of jails in the juvenile justice system as well as new approaches to sentencing juveniles in the United States. Chapter notes, a glossary, a table of cases, and a subject index are provided. For the student guide and the instructor's manual, see NCJ 94387-88.