Author Message to Instructors

We invite you to explore and adopt this comprehensive and engaging criminal justice textbook, designed with both instructors and students in mind. This book offers a range of features tailored to enhance teaching and learning experiences, providing customizable, easy-to-use course materials that integrate with modern classroom needs.

What features of the book’s design will appeal to future instructors?

This textbook is built for flexibility and engagement. Each section begins with clear questions and key terms to ensure students grasp foundational concepts before diving deeper into complex topics. The content is presented in a way that makes it accessible and relatable, with real-world examples and student-relevant scenarios that bring criminal justice theories to life. Additionally, the book’s customizable course pack includes a variety of resources such as:

• Textbook chapters
• Unit slides
• Instructional videos and infographics
• Links to crime data, Google Earth, and popular press stories

The built-in weekly structure simplifies course planning by providing a ready-to-use framework. Each week, students read the material, watch videos, and engage with interactive resources before completing vocabulary quizzes and case study-based discussions or assignments. These components reinforce knowledge while encouraging critical thinking and real-world application.

How does this book correct historical gaps and support instructors in addressing equity issues in their teaching?

This book acknowledges the historical gaps in criminal justice education and offers a modern approach that prioritizes inclusivity and equity. The inclusion of diverse perspectives throughout the content addresses systemic biases often overlooked in traditional curricula. The structure of the course encourages open-ended discussions where students can explore how criminal justice theories and practices intersect with real-world inequities.

By drawing upon current data, media, and case studies, instructors can guide students in analyzing contemporary issues like racial disparities in policing, sentencing, and corrections. This framework equips students with a deeper understanding of justice from multiple angles, helping them critically evaluate and challenge unjust practices in the system. Instructors can use these resources to foster discussions that promote equity and inclusion, making this textbook an invaluable tool for teaching criminal justice in today’s diverse educational landscape.

Integrated Openly Licensed Course Materials

This book includes openly licensed course materials that fully integrate with the open textbook. Anyone can retain, revise, remix, reuse, and redistribute them. Best of all, future instructors can build on existing learning pathways that are aligned with textbook and chapter learning outcomes.

You can access openly licensed course materials in two ways:

• Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System Instructor Course Packs: A collection of aligned and accessible course materials shared by pilot instructors teaching at multiple Oregon institutions. Instructors designed each course pack with an equity lens in consultation with an instructional designer. In most cases, each course pack was revised with feedback from Oregon students and an advisory board of workforce members. Each course pack includes a complete course map, an instructor guide, and ancillary materials including weekly assignment prompts, rubrics, and suggested activities.
• Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System OER Commons Group: An ongoing repository of instructor-created course materials that integrate with the open textbook. Materials may include syllabi, assessments and assignments, lesson plans, activities, and entire course shells. Please note: not all OERC resources are reviewed for digital accessibility.

You are welcome to contribute your own openly licensed course materials that align with this textbook to the OERCommons Group. Thank you for building a more inclusive future for students and future educators!

Last Update

This second edition, completed in September 2024, builds on the success of the original by updating and enhancing the book’s key features. It continues to offer a comprehensive overview of criminal justice, covering essential topics like police, courts, corrections, juvenile law, legal theory, and crime data. The updated edition strengthens its engaging approach by starting each section with questions and key terms to reinforce foundational concepts. Complex topics are made more accessible through student-relevant examples, ensuring that material is relatable and easier to understand. Additionally, this edition includes a stronger focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, integrating perspectives and case studies that highlight systemic inequalities and encourage critical thinking around justice and fairness in the criminal justice system.