Includes index.

Contents:The Foundations of criminal justice: Crime and justice in the United States -- Crime and its consequences -- Explaining crime -- The Rule of Law -- Law enforcement: History and structure of American law enforcement -- Policing: roles, styles, and functions -- Policing America: issues and ethics -- The Courts: The administration of justice -- Sentencing, appraisals, and the death penalty -- Corrections: Institutional corrections -- Prison life, inmate rigts, release, and recidivism -- Community corrections -- Juvenile justice: juvenile justice -- The Future of criminal justice in America: understanding and predicting the future of criminal justice.