The Criminal Justice System: Politics and Policies

by George F. Cole, Marc G. Gertz (Editor), Amy Bunger (Editor)

First published in 1972, this classic text helped define the academic discipline of criminal justice. The new Eighth Edition provides a unique balance of the enduring classics in the development of criminal justice theory, with the most current research from the field and debates from the halls of Congress. This 28-article reader allows students to see research-framed debates discussed in our administration of justice. The introductions to the sections in politics of justice, policing, prosecution, defense attorneys, courts, corrections, and policy, highlight how this compilation of works explores the links between politics, law, culture, the media, and the criminal justice system. Flexible in its design, this work promotes a more critical understanding of the structure and function of the criminal justice system, but it also invites attention to critical cross cutting themes, such as discretion, occupational role conception, the sources of power and authority inside institutions, and how the public may impact our choices of laws and the way laws are written.

Genres: Nonfiction

512 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 1997