The first introduction to criminal justice book developed from the ground up according to professor and student needs. This core version offers all of the benefits of the larger CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN ACTION (copyright 2000), but is a manageable 400-page paperback book with an attractive price. Using feedback from over 100 reviewers and over 400 survey respondents, Gaines/Kaune/Miller have written a book that provides everything the introductory level student needs to know using a framework of up-to-the-minute examples of policy and applications from today's news. Offering cutting-edge research combined with accessible discussions of theory, this text creates a foundation for the student without being overwhelming. With a special focus on careers, the text helps student make informed decisions about issues within the criminal justice system as well as make informed career choices.

To understand how people experience justice and security is a challenging task in times of unrest, marked by growing perceptions of insecurity, discrimination and uncertainty. The European project ALTERNATIVE aimed to understand justice and security experiences related to conflicts in intercultural settings, when citizens are given the means to actively contribute to these processes. This book relates how the project was set up as an action research through the concrete description of four action sites: social housing estates in Vienna, Austria; a small community in Hungary with a Roma population; three border towns in Serbia; and three communities in Northern Ireland. These four sites have been compared through an innovative methodology, which leads to a deeper understanding of the impact of participatory and restorative justice oriented processes, and - in a more general way - of what action research may entail in the criminological field. Bringing together researchers and case studies from around Europe, this book examines the scientific potential of action research as a methodology in criminal justice settings. This book is one of two volumes resulting from the work by a group of researchers in six European countries having cooperated intensively during four years in ALTERNATIVE, an action research project funded under the EU Seventh Framework Programme.

This book shows how to reduce out-of-control criminal justice and create greater public safety, justice, and accountability at less cost.

Practical Program Evaluation for Criminal Justice shows readers how to apply the principles of fiscal responsibility, accountability, and evidence-based practice to criminal justice reform plans. Unlike other policy-based texts, which tend to focus more on implementation than assessment, this book provides applicable, step-by-step instruction on determining an initiative's necessity prior to its adoption (reducing the risk of wasting resources), as well as how to accurately gauge its effectiveness during initial roll-out stages. The book gradually introduces basic data analysis procedures and statistical techniques, which, once mastered, can be used to prove or disprove a program's worth. Lastly, the book introduces the types of stakeholders who should review evaluation results for quick action, as well as how to best structure reports to ensure their buy-in. Individually examines every major evaluation type (as well as the benefits, concerns, and constraints of each), including needs, theory, process, outcome/impact, and cost efficiency Defines the precise data points each evaluation type requires, and the exact manner in which this data can be collected Demonstrates how different types of evaluations can be used together to provide clear information regarding a program's overall performance level Cites and makes use of real-world policy evaluations and vetted programs

Rule of law has vanished in America’s criminal justice system. Prosecutors decide whom to punish; most accused never face a jury; policing is inconsistent; plea bargaining is rampant; and draconian sentencing fills prisons with mostly minority defendants. A leading criminal law scholar looks to history for the roots of these problems—and solutions.

As heard on NPR's Fresh Air Recommended by The New York Times' Sam Roberts “Start Here is an urgent and timely primer on the approaches that are working and don’t require federal approval or political revolution to end one of the most pressing justice issues the country faces today.” —Brooklyn Daily Eagle A bold agenda for criminal justice reform based on equal parts pragmatism and idealism, from the visionary director of the Center for Court Innovation, a leader of the reform movement Everyone knows that the United States leads the world in incarceration, and that our political process is gridlocked. What can be done right now to reduce the number of people sent to jail and prison? This essential book offers a concrete roadmap for both professionals and general readers who want to move from analysis to action. In this forward-looking, next-generation criminal justice reform book, Greg Berman and Julian Adler of the Center for Court Innovation highlight the key lessons from these programs—engaging the public in preventing crime, treating all defendants with dignity and respect, and linking people to effective community-based interventions rather than locking them up. Along the way, they tell a series of gripping stories, highlighting gang members who have gotten their lives back on track, judges who are transforming their courtrooms, and reformers around the country who are rethinking what justice looks like. While Start Here offers no silver bullets, it does put forth a suite of proven reforms—from alternatives to bail to diversion programs for mentally ill defendants—that will improve the lives of thousands of people right now. Start Here is a must-read for everyone who wants to start dismantling mass incarceration without waiting for a revolution or permission. Proceeds from the book will support the Center for Court Innovation's reform efforts.

International Practices of Criminal Justice: Social and Legal Perspectives examines the practitioners, practices, and institutions that are transforming the relationship between criminal justice and international governance. The book links two dimensions of international criminal justice, by analyzing the fields of international criminal law and international police cooperation. Although often thought of separately, each of these fields presents criminal justice as a governance method for resolving international challenges and crises. By focusing on examples from international criminal tribunals, transitional justice, transnational crime, and transnational policing and prosecution, the contributors to this collection all examine how criminal justice is unmoored from the state, while also attending to the struggles and challenges that emerge when criminal justice is used as a form of international action. International Practices of Criminal Justice: Social and Legal Perspectives breaks new ground in criminology, international legal studies and the sociology of law, and will be of interest to students, scholars, and practitioners across a wide array of fields in criminal justice, international law, and international governance.

In this revised edition of their concise, readable, yet wide-ranging book, Greg Berman and Aubrey Fox tackle a question students and scholars of law, criminology, and political science constantly face: what mistakes have led to the problems that pervade the criminal justice system in the United States? The reluctance of criminal justice policymakers to talk openly about failure, the authors argue, has stunted the public conversation about crime in this country and stifled new ideas. It has also contributed to our inability to address such problems as chronic offending in low-income neighborhoods, an overreliance on incarceration, the misuse of pretrial detention, and the high rates of recidivism among parolees. Berman and Fox offer students and policymakers an escape from this fate by writing about failure in the criminal justice system. Their goal is to encourage a more forthright dialogue about criminal justice, one that acknowledges that many new initiatives fail and that no one knows for certain how to reduce crime. For the authors, this is not a source of pessimism, but a call to action. This revised edition is updated with a new foreword by Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and afterword by Greg Berman.

This unique study of social harm offers a systematic and critical discussion of the nature of environmental harm from an eco-justice perspective, challenging conventional criminological definitions of environmental harm. The book evaluates three interconnected justice-related approaches to environmental harm: environmental justice (humans), ecological justice (the environment) and species justice (non-human animals). It provides a critical assessment of environmental harm by interrogating key concepts and exploring how activists and social movements engage in the pursuit of justice. It concludes by describing the tensions between the different approaches and the importance of developing an eco-justice framework that to some extent can reconcile these differences. Using empirical evidence built on theoretical foundations with examples and illustrations from many national contexts, ‘Environmental harm’ will be of interest to students and academics in criminology, sociology, law, geography, environmental studies, philosophy and social policy all over the world.