This book provides an overview of the criminal justice system and its primary components in the United States. Students will gain familiarity with the workings of, and relationship between, the police, courts, and both institutional and community corrections; it also spends significant time discussing the history of crime (and criminology) at the local, state, and national levels. While this book aims to give students a solid understanding of basic legal concepts and vocabulary, it will also take a socio-historical perspective that relates the evolution of US criminal justice to the contemporary structure of American society. Finally, this book is designed to support a primary research project that explores the relationship between individuals’ experiences of criminal victimization, attitudes toward firearms, and confidence in the police.
