The criminal justice system is a key social institution pertinent to the lives of citizens everywhere. Fundamentals of Criminal Justice: A Sociological View, Second Edition provides a unique social context to explore and explain the nature, impact, and significance of the criminal justice system in everyday life. This introductory text examines important sociological issues including class, race, and gender inequality, social control, and organizational structure and function.

Approaches the theories, organization, and practices of criminal justice from a sociological perspective so that students can simultaneously develop expertise in criminal justice and understand how issues related to the police, courts, and corrections are informed by broader sociological principles and concepts.

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Providing an overview of the sociological approaches to law and criminal justice, this book focuses on how law and the criminal justice system inevitably affect one another, and the ways in which both are intimately connected with wider social forces.

This current collection of essays on contemporary U.S. criminal justice policy is a timely response to the significant recent growth of policy-oriented research in the fields of criminology and criminal justice. "U.S. Criminal Justice Policy: A Contemporary Reader" addresses how criminal justice policy issues are framed, identifies participants in the policy process, discusses how policy is made, and considers the constraints and opportunities found in the policy process. Findings are linked to broader institutional, cultural and global criminal justice trends, and are used to determine what recent research reveals about crime policy and democratic governance. The main goal of this book is to encourage readers to engage in a dialogue about criminal justice policy, and to think about the potential for criminal justice reform.

This is the eBook of the printed book and may not include any media, website access codes, or print supplements that may come packaged with the bound book. Taking a sociological perspective, this book offers award-winning coverage of criminology and highlights issues of race, ethnicity, gender and social class throughout. Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 6e, provides a sociological perspective on crime and criminal justice by treating social structure and social inequality as central themes in the study of crime—and major factors in society's treatment of criminals. It gives explicit attention to key sociological concepts such as poverty, gender, race, and ethnicity, and demonstrates their influence on crime. Moving beyond simple “get tough” approaches, the book emphasizes the need to understand social causes of criminal behavior in order to significantly reduce it. This sixth edition continues to include certain chapters that remain uncommon in other criminology texts, including Chapter 2: Public Opinion, the News Media, and the Crime Problem; Chapter 11: Violence Against Women; Chapter 14: Political Crime; and Chapter 18: Conclusion: How Can We Reduce Crime? In addition, the book’s criminal justice chapters, Chapter 16 (Policing: Dilemmas of Crime Control in a Democratic Society) and Chapter 17 (Prosecution and Punishment), continue to address two central themes in the sociological understanding of crime and criminal justice: (1) the degree to which race and ethnicity, gender, and social class affect the operation of the criminal justice system; and (2) the extent to which reliance on the criminal justice system can reduce the amount of crime. Throughout the text, key concepts are supported with a comprehensive package of pedagogical material and teaching/learning aids. Teaching and Learning Experience This book offers a unique sociological introduction to the field of criminology. It provides: A unique sociological perspective: Emphasizes the need to understand social causes of criminal behavior in order to significantly reduce it Award-winning coverage: Features topics not covered in other introductory criminology texts Strong pedagogical features: Gives students the tools to master key concepts faster and more effectively while making class preparation quick and easy for instructors

For courses in Introduction to Criminology and Crime and Society. Taking a sociological perspective, this book offers award-winning coverage of criminology and highlights issues of race, ethnicity, gender and social class throughout. Designed in a four-color format, this edition includes a new chapter on classical and neoclassical theories, over 160 recent references and unique chapters on political crime and public opinion, crime and the media. Moving beyond simple “get tough” approaches, the book emphasizes the need to understand social causes of criminal behavior in order to significantly reduce it.