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Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century (9th Edition)
 
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Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century (9th Edition) [Hardcover]

Frank J. Schmalleger (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)


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Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century
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Book Description

0131719505 978-0131719507 February 17, 2006 9
The best-selling introduction to criminal justice book of all time, Criminal Justice Today 9/e, continues to set the standard with its hallmark features of theme, technology, and time.  The strengths of the book rest in the application of theoretical perspectives to current real world activities related to criminal justice issues.  New technology and cases are also incorporated, bringing the book and reader together in current issues. CJ Ethics & Professionalism Boxes stress the importance of ethical behavior for the criminal justice professional.  New Juvenile Justice chart details the flow of events in the juvenile justice system.  An added CD provides additional and in-depth coverage of important issues and background material found in book.  Also includes full opinions of important U.S. Supreme Court cases covered in the chapters.  Criminal justice professionals.


Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book was written in order to make the study of criminal justice interesting for students. Each chapter catches the students' attention by featuring a real life story which thrusts the student into the concepts contained in the text. The up-to-date material meshed with visual aids insures a complete understanding of the criminal justice system today. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

Preface

The first edition of this textbook appeared in print a little over ten years ago. At that time, I chose what seemed to be a rather unique subtitle: An Introductory Text for the Twenty-First Century. The subtitle was unusual not only because the new century was still a decade away, but because other introductory criminal justice authors seemed to be writing about the past and not the future. I wanted my subtitle to speak to students and professors. I wanted it to say, "This is a book that, while it owes a legacy to the past, is not bound by it. This is a book that will prepare students of justice for the world of the future—a soon-to-be vital and real world with almost limitless possibilities in which they will live and work."

Since then, of course, much has changed. Criminal Justice Today is now in its sixth edition. The long-awaited new century is here, and the future is on almost everyone's mind.

As I write this preface to the sixth edition, I think of how the first edition of this text was a standard ink-on-paper hardcover book with sparsely placed black-and-white photographs. I reflect on how it has evolved into a multimedia-rich, information-filled, experiential package that brings up-to-the-minute learning opportunities to today's students in printed form, on the Web, via CD-ROM, and through other digital formats. I think of how it makes extensive use of technologically enhanced learning environments, and I hope that it has contributed, at least in some small way, to the growth and continuing maturation of those environments.

The sixth edition of this learning package (for it is no longer merely a book) has become an integral part of our "wired" world—in the best sense of that term. Criminal Justice Today has evolved into a multifaceted learning experience that, I believe, sets the standard far a new generation of educational tools that sweepingly integrate text-based information and electronic media in ways not possible only a short while ago.

Although you can still hold this book in your hands, the printed pages are but a representation of the multitude of learning possibilities that accompany it. The Criminal Justice Today companion web site (prenhall/schmalleger) and the cjtoday home page, for example, add a wealth of constantly updated news, statistics, legal information, and diverse opinions to the core text. The Criminal Justice Today e-mail discussion groups, message boards, and Talk Justice facility make it possible for students and professors to interact with one another—and with others across the nation and around the world who share an interest in criminal justice and in crime prevention.WebCT templates for this textbook, as well as the online teaching possibilities provided by the Criminal Justice Today companion website, allow classes to be taught entirely online, so students can study criminal justice subject matter from virtually anywhere.

While much has changed over six editions, this text remains true to its original purpose. In the preface to the first edition I wrote that the purpose of this book is "to teach criminal justice stunts the fundamental tried-and-true concepts of an evolving discipline, to give them the critical-thinking skills necessary to effectively apply those concepts to the real world, and to apply those concepts and skills to today's problems and to the emerging issues of tomorrow." In Chapter 1 I promised that this book would "describe in detail the criminal justice system, while helping students develop an appreciation for the delicacy of the balancing act now facing it." I pointed out that the fundamental question for the future will be "how to ensure the existence of, and effectively manage, a justice system which is as fair to the individual as it is supportive of the needs of society." Finally, I asked, "Is justice for all a reasonable expectation of today's system of criminal justice?" The sixth edition remains true to these roots, yet has blossomed in ways unanticipated a mere decade earlier.

As it was from the start, Criminal Justice Today is intended for use by students everywhere who are beginning the study of criminal justice. The sixth edition incorporates and supports the best and most contemporary principles guiding the study of our discipline. The educational principles underlying the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences' recent explorations into the accreditation arena (via the ACJS Ad Hoc Committee on Minimum Standards for Criminal Justice Education), for example, are incorporated into this text, as are some of the more prominent state-specific guidelines for criminal justice education. Criminal Justice Today and its various supplements are also written to be consistent with and supportive of the California POST College Transition Program. The College Transition Program allows students to earn basic law enforcement course certification credits during their college studies—reducing the academy training time needed for students seeking law enforcement careers. POST standards, even when not state-specific, add a pragmatic dimension to the study of criminal justice, stressing as they do the development of useful employment-related abilities and critical-thinking skills.

In summary, Criminal Justice Today is intended not as a simple description of what has already taken place in the field (although it contains plenty of descriptions and lots of historical information), but as a visual and thoughtful guide to the study and practice of criminal justice today, a road map through the criminal justice system of the twenty-first century, and a bridge between past and future.

FRANK SCHMALLEGER, PH.D. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 741 pages
  • Publisher: Prentice Hall; 9 edition (February 17, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0131719505
  • ISBN-13: 978-0131719507
  • Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #558,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame and Ohio State University, having earned both a master's (1970) and a doctorate in sociology (1974) from Ohio State University with a special emphasis in criminology.

From 1976 to 1994, he taught criminology and criminal justice courses at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. For the last 16 of those years, he chaired the university's Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice. The university named him Distinguished Professor in 1991.

Schmalleger has taught in the online graduate program of the New School for Social Research, helping to build the world's first electronic classrooms in support of distance learning through computer telecommunications. As an adjunct professor with Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, Schmalleger helped develop the university's graduate program in security administration and loss prevention. He taught courses in that curriculum for more than a decade.

Frank Schmalleger is the author of numerous articles and more than 30 books, including the widely used Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction (Prentice Hall, 2010), Criminology Today (Prentice Hall, 2009), and Criminal Law Today (Prentice Hall, 2011).

Schmalleger is also founding editor of the journal Criminal Justice Studies. He has served as editor for the Prentice Hall series Criminal Justice in the Twenty-First Century and as imprint adviser for Greenwood Publishing Group's criminal justice reference series.

Schmalleger's philosophy of both teaching and writing can be summed up in these words: "In order to communicate knowledge we must first catch, then hold, a person's interest--be it student, colleague, or policymaker. Our writing, our speaking, and our teaching must be relevant to the problems facing people today, and they must in some way help solve those problems." Visit the author's website at http://www.schmalleger.com.




 

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT INTRODUCTION, December 15, 2003
Relatively up to date (September 11 and law enforcement reactions, USA PATRIOT Act, etc.), and very informative, this textbook provides an excellent survey of the Criminal Justice System. The prose is streamlined, clear, and somewhat non-biased. Minor corrections may need to be made (e.g. the textbook states that the majority of female sexual assault victims do not know their attacker. . .), but these flaws are minor for a textbook of this scope. The book is extensively source documented, making it perfect for anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of the Criminal Justice System. The CD-ROM and online tools are comprehensive, and give the reader/student a more intimate view of the author's vision.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Criminal Justice., January 7, 2000
By 
Michel Mirabal (Miami, Florida, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
This is the best book I have read on Criminal Justice. It is fun to read and easy to enjoy. I advise anybody that is interested on the field of criminal justice to begin with this book.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Finest Texts on the Subject., March 16, 2008
This review is from: Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century (9th Edition) (Hardcover)
I just started teaching a new criminal justice survey course where this text is required for the students. After reading it I have to say it is one of the best course-books on the subject that I have read or taught from.

Comprehensive at 750+ pages including many full color plates and an interactive CD-ROM. Topics include everything conventional (civics, criminal law & criminal procedure) as well as many current event criminal justice concepts including law enforcement cultural approaches to alternative religions like Santeria, the arrest of celebrities such as Courtney Love, and even distinguishing placement in the criminal justice hierarchy for "bounty hunters" such as Duane "Dog" Chapman.

I love it! Informative and instructional. Again, one of the best. Five stars.
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