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Cover

Making Sense of Criminal Justice

Policies and Practices

Third Edition

G. Larry Mays and Rick Ruddell

Publication Date - 15 June 2018

ISBN: 9780190679279

416 pages
Paperback
6-1/8 x 9-1/4 inches

In Stock

Encourages students to think critically about the major dilemmas faced by participants in the criminal justice system

Description

Rather than providing students with "the answers," Making Sense of Criminal Justice: Policies and Practices, Third Edition, challenges them to think critically about how the criminal justice system deals with challenging situations--like the use of force by the police--and offers a framework for lively classroom discussions and debates.

New to this Edition

  • Offers an expanded focus on evidence-based practices
  • A new Chapter 3, Understanding Criminal Justice Policy, provides more in-depth coverage of several policies and policy-analysis tools than the previous edition
  • Chapter 5, Police and the Use of Force, covers several of the high-profile cases involving the shooting of racial minorities (particularly African Americans) by the police in several locations
  • Chapter 9, Gender and Justice, expansds on issues of violence against women, including responding to sexual assaults on campus and untested sexual-assault kits
  • Chapter 15, Security Versus Liberty in the 21st Century, considers questions of privacy versus the expanded use of surveillance techniques by governments at all levels
  • Provides revised and expanded Critical Review Questions for each chapter
  • Includes five suggested writing assignments for each chapter
  • An Ancillary Resource Center contains instructor resources including a Test Bank and PowerPoint lecture slides

Features

  • Encourages students to think critically about controversial issues like the death penalty and gun control
  • Examines the confluence of the criminal justice system, politics, and policymaking
  • Engages students with an approachable writing style
  • Invites upper-level students to apply their preexisting knowledge of police, courts, and corrections to specific points of interest
  • Stand-alone chapters allow professors to tailor the chapter order according to their needs

About the Author(s)

G. Larry Mays is Regents Professor Emeritus in the Criminal Justice Department at New Mexico State University.

Rick Ruddell is Professor and Law Foundation Chair in Police Studies in the Justice Studies Department at the University of Regina, Canada.

Reviews

"Making Sense of Criminal Justice distinguishes itself by expanding its focus on evidence-based practices. The use of the due process and crime control models gives students a framework to organize their way of considering policy issues. I would adopt this text because of the concise yet thorough manner in which the authors approach each policy topic."--Richard Hough, University of West Florida

"A comprehensive review of relevant current public policy, Making Sense of Criminal Justice goes into sufficient depth yet is succinct enough to relate important information in a clear, concise manner. The style is easy to read and understand and does not get too technical for students. The text covers relevant areas including police use of force and sentencing policies like three-strikes legislation, gun control, death-penalty legislation, juvenile crime, and much more."--Rebecca Loftus, Arizona State University

"This text focuses on research while also providing a historical and social/cultural overview of many different policies."--Sheryl Van Horne, Eastern University

Table of Contents

    Preface
    SECTION 1. CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICY
    Chapter 1. The Politics and Policy Dichotomy
    The Role of Politics in the Administration of Justice
    Sources of Law
    Public Policy and the Policymaking Process
    Politics and Legislative Processes and Functions
    Criminal Justice Policymaking
    Chapter 2. Crime Control Versus Due Process
    The Crime Control Model
    The Due Process Model
    The Practical Differences Between the Models
    Crime Control Model Policies
    Due Process Model Policies
    SECTION 2. LAW ENFORCEMENT ISSUES
    Chapter 3. Understanding Criminal Justice Policy
    Challenges to Rational Criminal Justice Policies
    Research and Criminal Justice Policy
    Stakeholders and Their Influence
    Chapter 4. The Search for a Guiding Philosophy of Policing
    The Evolution of American Policing
    Stages of Police Development
    The Political Era (1820s-1940s)
    Reform Transition (Late 1800s-Early 1900s)
    The Professional Era (1940-1970)
    Days of Protest: Another Transition (Mid-1960s-Mid-1970s)
    The Community Policing Era (1970-2010)
    Community Policing
    Search for a New Philosophy of Policing (2010 to Present)
    Evidence-Based Policing
    Intelligence-led Policing
    Mission-based Policing
    Smart Policing
    Women in Policing
    Chapter 5. Police and the Use of Force
    Background
    Defining the Terms
    Police and Citizen Interactions
    Influences on the Use of Force
    Laws
    Policies
    Training
    Departmental Practice or Police Culture
    The Characteristics of Individual Officers
    High-Speed Pursuits as Deadly Force
    Less-Than-Lethal Force
    Police Officer Deaths
    Police Shootings of Civilians
    Remedies for Unauthorized Use of Force
    Chapter 6. Gun Control
    Perceptions of the Gun Violence Problem
    Gun Violence
    Firearms Legislation
    Regulating the Types of Firearms
    Legislating Access to Firearms
    Controlling Firearms Use
    Effectiveness of Gun Control Legislation
    Police Interventions to Reduce Illegal Gun Use
    SECTION 3. JUSTICE FOR ALL, OR JUST FOR SOME?
    Chapter 7. Sentencing
    Mass Imprisonment
    Getting Tough
    Indeterminate to Determinate Sentencing
    Prosecutors and Plea Bargaining
    Sentencing Guidelines
    Mandatory Minimum Sentences
    Three-Strikes Legislation
    Truth-in-Sentencing
    Chapter 8. Race, Ethnicity, and Justice
    Decision Making in the Criminal Justice System
    Arrest
    Juvenile Detention and Incarceration
    Prosecution
    Adjudication
    Sentencing
    Punishment
    Chapter 9. Gender and Justice
    Women as Offenders in the Criminal Justice System
    Arrests
    Detention
    Prosecution and Adjudication
    Criminal Sanctions
    Treatment and Rehabilitation Resources
    Women as Crime Victims
    Sexual Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Crime
    Chapter 10. Wrongful Convictions
    Miscarriages of Justice
    Scope of the Problem
    Eyewitness Misidentification
    False Confessions and Incriminating Statements
    Incentivized Informants
    Unvalidated or Improper Forensic Science
    Misconduct
    Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
    SECTION 4. THE CHALLENGES OF CORRECTING LAW-VIOLATING BEHAVIOR
    Chapter 11. What Are the Alternatives to Incarceration?
    Supervising Offenders in the Community
    Specialized Courts
    Drug Diversion Programs
    Enhanced Probation
    Reducing Jail Populations
    Parole
    Chapter 12. Putting the Brakes on Correctional Populations
    Imprisonment and Crime Control
    The Direct Costs of Incarceration
    Indirect Costs of Incarceration
    Rehabilitating Prisoners
    Privatization
    Chapter 13. The Death Penalty
    The Current State of the Death Penalty
    Capital Punishment in America: Evolving Conditions and Practices
    Support for the Death Penalty
    The Death Penalty Today
    Capital Punishment Policy
    Chapter 14. Responding to Youth Crime
    Youth Crime Trends
    Explaining the Youth Crime Drop
    Cycles of Juvenile Justice
    Models for Reducing Youth Crime
    Noninterventionist Model
    Rehabilitation Model
    Crime Control Model
    Evidence-Based Interventions
    SECTION 5. PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE FUTURE
    Chapter 15. Security Versus Liberty in the 21st Century
    Federal Legislation
    The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
    The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act
    The USA PATRIOT Act
    Homeland Security
    Security Versus Privacy and Liberty
    Technology and the Debate Over Privacy
    Video Surveillance
    Police Technologies
    Fusion Centers
    The Changing Legal Environment
    Chapter 16. Making Sense of Criminal Justice
    Looking Forward
    Police
    Courts
    Corrections
    Do Vested Interests Stifle Criminal Justice Reform?
    Criminal Justice in the 21st Century
    Case Index
    Author Index
    Subject Index

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