This book provides a foundational basis of the U.S. Criminal Justice System. Students will gain familiarity with the workings of, and relationship between, the police, the courts, and the correctional system (both institutional and community). It also spends time discussing the development of criminological theory as it attempts to explain the causes of criminal behavior. 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 adapted to support the needs of students within the educational curriculum of the Louisiana Department of Education Board of Regents Dual Enrollment Program for high school students.
