Product Description

The first and BEST-SELLING brief introduction to criminal justice text, Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction 8e continues to offer instructors and students a trusted, authoritative and impeccably researched introduction to the criminal justice system in America. Now with a CJ careers feature and learning objectives aligned with end-of-chapter questions, the book provides both a streamlined and up-to-date look at this ever-evolving field. Known for its unifying theme, its unmatched timeliness and its coverage of the newest criminal justice trends and technology, this book has become THE standard by which all other brief texts are judged.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48547 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

Review
"I want you to know that I was very impressed with your method and style of teaching and writing in how you related the particular subjects to events occurring today. Your articulate writing helped me earn an A for my first Criminal Justice class and inspired me to continue in my major. Right now I am also using the 4th edition of your Criminology Today book for my Criminology class. I am now looking into the third chapter. I think you are a great author and I want to thank you for contributing to Criminal Justice academics."  -Student @ Forsyth Technical Comm College

From the Publisher
Offering the latest information in a concise, easy-to-read, and affordable source, this text focuses directly upon the crime picture in America and the three traditional elements of the criminal justice system: police, courts, and corrections. It reflects ever-changing crime statistics, newsworthy events involving American law enforcement, precedent-setting U.S. Supreme Court decisions, rapidly breaking changes in correctional practice, and current career opportunities.

From the Inside Flap
PREFACE

Criminal justice is a dynamic and fluid field of study. Ever changing crime statistics, newsworthy events involving American law enforcement, precedent-setting U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and rapidly breaking innovations in correctional practice all challenge instructors and students alike to keep pace with a field undergoing constant modification.

As the floodgates to the twenty-first century open wider, and accelerated change engulfs American society, it is appropriate that a streamlined and up-to-date book such as this should be in the hands of students. The information age and all that it has wrought is here, and the quick dissemination of information has become a vital part of contemporary life.

Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction results from the realization that today's justice students need to have the latest quality information available to them in a concise and affordable source. The paperback format of this book has made it possible to quickly translate the latest happenings in the justice field into a pragmatic textbook that is both inexpensive and easy to read.

Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction focuses directly on the crime picture in America and the three traditional elements of the criminal justice system: police, courts, and corrections. The text is enhanced by the addition of career boxes that can assist today's pragmatically minded students in making appropriate career choices. Colorful photographs, charts, graphs, and other visual aids help keep student attention and add variety to the text. Twenty-First Century Criminal Justice boxes, which are placed strategically throughout the book, draw attention to the many exciting possibilities facing the justice system as it realizes the possibilities held out by the new millennium. APB News! stories, an added feature in this edition, bring a true-to-life dimension to the text, and allow insight into the everyday workings of the justice system.

As the author of numerous books on criminal justice, I have often been amazed at how the end result of the justice process is sometimes barely recognizable to anyone involved in the process as justice in any practical sense of the word. It is my sincere hope that the technological and publishing revolutions that have contributed to this book will combine with a growing social awareness to facilitate needed changes in our system; and that will help supplant what have at times appeared as self-serving, system-perpetuated injustices with new standards of equity, compassion, understanding, fairness, and heartfelt justice for all.

Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D.
The Justice Research Association
March 2000

Customer Reviews

nice introduction to the criminal justice field
i just bought this book at my campus the other day. I can't put it down. This book is very interesting and laid out nicely, definitions are made clear. i feel as if i am there when i look at the pictures in this book and when i am reading about a particular incident.another thing i like about this book is it combines traditional learning with the author wanting the reader to use the internet.

Informative
A good book to read if you're studying the subject, even if it isn't required.

Criminal Justice-paper back
I am very pleased how fast I was able to receive the book. The price is also cheaper since it is in paper back. Overall I am very pleased. At first I was very skeptical because I got it from the third party but it turned out to be just fine and I am happy. However, I felt that the customer service at Amazon was giving me mix messages on how soon the book will arrive.