Introduction to Criminal Justice: Systems, Diversity, and Change
Instructor Resources
Multimedia Resources
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Chapter 1: An Introduction to Crime and the Criminal Justice System
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Audio 1.1: Rising Incarceration Rate Isn't Reducing Crime, Says Report
Description: A report from the Council of Economic Advisors suggests longer sentences increases rates of recidivism, resulting in little impact on crime rate. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with CEA chief Jason Furman.
Audio 1.2: Despite Grim Media Reports, Crime Rates Are Actually Down In The U.S.
Description: NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Matthew Friedman, an economist at the Brennan Center and co-author of this report, about why crime is down and why murder rates are slightly up.
Video 1.1: The True Cost of Incarceration in Baltimore's Poorest Neighborhoods
Description: TRNN's Stephen Janis talks to Justice Policy Institute Executive Director Marc Schindler about how Maryland spends millions incarcerating residents of inner city neighborhoods.
Video 1.2: Everyday Cybercrime
Description: James Lyne reminds us that it's not only the NSA that's watching us, but ever-more-sophisticated cybercriminals, who exploit both weak code and trusting human nature.
Web 1.1: Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
Description: Website for the Bureau of Justice Statistics
Web 1.2: Restorative Justice
Description: Website for Restorative Justice
Chapter 2: The Nature and Extent of Crime
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Audio 2.1: California Cops Frustrated With 'Catch-And-Release' Crime-Fighting
Description: Discussion of Prop. 47. The measure converted a list of nonviolent felonies into misdemeanors, which translated into little or no jail time for crimes such as low-value theft and possession of hard drugs.
Audio 2.2: Wall Street Fraud
Description: Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates outlined the department's new efforts to hold individuals responsible in corporate fraud cases in a speech at New York University Law School Thursday.
Video 2.1: Creepware
Description: Pam Brown reports on Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf's ordeal after a 'creepware' attack and the FBI's crackdown on this software.
Video 2.2: Labeling Theory - Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Description: Blacks, whites and the thin blue line: Views on race and police in America.
Web 2.1: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting
Description: Website for the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting
Web 2.2: National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
Description: Homepage for the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey
Chapter 3: Criminal Justice and the Law
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Audio 3.1: Anti-Abortion Activists Indicted On Felony Charges In Planned Parenthood Case
Description: A grand jury in Houston has returned indictments against two members of a group that targeted Planned Parenthood with a string of undercover videos last year.
Audio 3.2: Obama Expected To Sign Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill Of Rights Into Law
Description: Renee Montagne talks to Amanda Nguyen, an activist for the rights of sexual assault victims, who was instrumental in getting the Survivors' Bill of Rights passed by both houses of Congress.
Video 3.1: How I defend the Rule of Law
Description: Every human deserves protection under their country’s laws — even when that law is forgotten or ignored. Sharing three cases from her international legal practice, Kimberley Motley, an American litigator practicing in Afghanistan and elsewhere, shows how a country’s own laws can bring both justice and “justness”: using the law for its intended purpose, to protect.
Video 3.2: Four Ways to Fix a Broken Legal System
Description: The land of the free has become a legal minefield, says Philip K. Howard — especially for teachers and doctors, whose work has been paralyzed by fear of suits. What's the answer? A lawyer himself, Howard has four propositions for simplifying US law.
Web 3.1: Deterrence
Description: A new flyer released by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) summarizes years of research confirming that “the certainty of being caught is a vastly more powerful deterrent than the punishment."
Web 3.2: Wells Fargo Restitution
Description: Wells Fargo Fined $185 Million Over Creation Of Fake Accounts For Bonuses
Chapter 4: The History of Policing
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Audio 4.1: As D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier Steps Down, A Look At Women's Role In Policing
For a decade, Police Chief Cathy Lanier served as a white woman in majority-black Washington, D.C. As she heads for a new post at the NFL, we consider the impact women have had in policing culture.
Audio 4.2: In The Digital Age, Connecticut State Police K-9 Unit Trains Edogs
Description: For years police have used dogs like German Shepherds to sniff out things a human officer might miss. As more evidence goes digital, officers are training K-9s to sniff out clues there, too.
Video 4.1: Drug War
Video 4.2: Police diversity lags in many cities
Description: A USA TODAY investigation finds that in 50 medium-to-large cities in the U.S., the community's diversity is not reflected in its police force. Hear what police chiefs and city leaders think needs to be done to change that.
Video 4.3: Changes in Law Enforcement,
Description: Lietenant Brian Fitch discusses changes in law enforcement over the last three decades.
Web 4.1: Why are British police officers called “Bobbies”?
Description: A brief overview of the reason why British police officers were referred to as bobbies.
Web 4.2: Remembering August Vollmer
Description: A look back at August Vollmer, who was credited with moderning American policing.
Chapter 5: On the Streets: Organization, Responsibilities, and Challenges
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Audio 5.1: New NYPD Commissioner Led Shift Toward 'Community Policing'
Description: Incoming NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill takes the job at a challenging time for American policing. O'Neill is a 33-year-old police veteran who's overseen the department's shift toward a "community policing" model. NPR went to the Bronx, where O'Neill once served as commanding officer, to find out how the rollout is working.
Audio 5.2: Publicizing Use-Of-Force Videos Included In Chicago-Area Sherriff's Reforms
Description: NPR's Scott Simon asks Cook County's Sheriff Tom Dart about his new reforms, including publicly posting videos in cases where officers have been convicted of using excessive force against detainees.
Video 5.1: I love being a police officer, but we need reform
Description: Incoming NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill takes the job at a challenging time for American policing. O'Neill is a 33-year-old police veteran who's overseen the department's shift toward a "community policing" model. NPR went to the Bronx, where O'Neill once served as commanding officer, to find out how the rollout is working.
Video 5.2: Crime Theory
Video 5.3: CompStat: An Inside Look at the NYPD's Crime Fighting Tool
Description: CompStat, the crime fighting tool that helped turn New York into America's safest big city, requires police officers to question not just suspects but each other
Web 5.2: Police Culture
Description: Articles discusses police culture and whether it still exists
Web Link: Department of Justice Organization, Mission, and Functions Manual
Description: Department of Justice Website
Chapter 6: Police and the Rule of Law
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Audio 6.1: Police Union President: 'Officers Aren't Perfect' But Deserve Due Process
Description: NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Chuck Canterbury, the national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, about changing law enforcement and the rioting in Baltimore.
Audio 6.2: Need A Public Defender In New Orleans? Get In Line
Description: Discussion of New Orleans where some defendants, especially poor people arrested for major crimes, are going without legal representation. Public defenders say there are not enough lawyers or enough money to handle the caseload so now there's a waiting list for felony suspects who can't afford their own warriors and a class-action lawsuit over the problem.
Video 6.1: Stop and Frisk
Description: Huge drop in stop-and-frisk as NYC crime increases raises fear that cops are reluctant to confront criminals
Video 6.2: Protections Against Unreasonable Searches
Video 6.3: Arrest Warrant
Description: Arrest warrants issued for Jill Stein, running mate after N.D. protest
Web 6.1: Supreme Court
Description: U.S. Supreme Court website
Web 6.2: Exclusionary Rule
Description: Opinion analysis: The exclusionary rule is weakened but it still lives
Chapter 7: The Courts and Judiciary
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Audio 7.1: Superior Court
Description: A sweeping ruling from a superior court judge in Connecticut could mean historic changes for the state's schools, including how it funds its poorest districts.
Audio 7.2: Court Delays
Description: Public defenders in the Bronx filed a lawsuit Tuesday against lawmakers in New York. They charge that courts are chronically understaffed, jeopardizing the right to a speedy trial for many defendants.
Video 7.1: Cosby Court Delay Rejected
Description: Bill Cosby has lost a bid to delay a key hearing Tuesday in his criminal sex-assault case.
Video 7.2: Drug Court
Description: Former heroin addict thanks Drug Court program for saving his life.
Web 7.1: About the Supreme Court
Description: Overview of the Supreme Court
Web 7.2: State Court Structure Charts
Description: Website for the State Court Statistics Project
Chapter 8: The Prosecution, Defense, and Pretrial Activities
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Audio 8.1: Ahead Of Pretrial Hearing, Menendez Defense Points Fingers At Prosecutors
Description: Democratic Senator Robert Menendez is fighting bribery and fraud charges. He'll appear in court Thursday in New Jersey for the latest round of incendiary legal arguments ahead of his trial.
Audio 8.2: Study: Blacks Routinely Excluded From Juries
Description: NPR host discusses the Equal Justice Initiative study on black jurors.
Video 8.1: A prosecutor's vision for a better justice system
Description: When a kid commits a crime, the US justice system has a choice: prosecute to the full extent of the law, or take a step back and ask if saddling young people with criminal records is the right thing to do every time. In this searching talk, Adam Foss, a prosecutor with the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office in Boston, makes his case for a reformed justice system that replaces wrath with opportunity, changing people's lives for the better instead of ruining them.
Video 8.2: Martin Shkreli hires Benjamin Brafman
Description: Martin Shkreli hires Benjamin Brafman, high-profile attorney who defended Sean Combs, Michael Jackson and Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Web 8.1: Racist Prosecutors
Description: The Economist article discusses the U.S. Supreme Courts attempt to crack down on racist prosecutors.
Web 8.2: Racial Diversity in Juries
Description: Lack of racial diversity leads judge to dismiss jury pool
Chapter 9: The Criminal Trial and Sentencing
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Audio 9.1: Judge Allows Criminal Case Against Bill Cosby To Proceed
Description: A Pennsylvania judge ruled Wednesday that comedian Bill Cosby can be forced to stand trial on criminal charges that he allegedly drugged a woman and sexually assaulted her.
Audio 9.2: Brock Turner's Sentencing Revives Mandatory Minimums Debate
Description: The effectiveness of mandatory minimums is up for debate. NPR's Scott Simon talks to retired federal judge and Harvard Law professor Nancy Gertner about the topic.
Video 9.1: Capital Trial
Description: Testimony begins in capital murder trial for Portland park shootings.
Video 9.2: Victim Impact Statements
Description: Video of Victim Impact Statements.
Web 9.1: California’s New Three-Strikes Law: Benefits, Costs, and Alternatives
Description: RAND article that discusses the benefits, costs, and alternatives to the three-strikes law.
Web 9.2: Costs of the Death Penalty
Description: The Death Penalty Information Center website page that discusses the costs of the death penalty.
Chapter 10: Correctional Responses in the Community
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Audio 10.1: Juvenile Probation
Description: Probation with a Therapeutic Approach Keeps Kids Out Of Juvenile Hall
Audio 10.2: Electronic Monitoring Devices
Description: Measures Aimed At Keeping People Out Of Jail Punish The Poor
Video 10.1: Special Courts
Description: For veterans in legal trouble, special courts can help
Video 10.2: The Neuroscience of Restorative Justice
Description: Daniel Reisel studies the brains of criminal psychopaths (and mice). And he asks a big question: Instead of warehousing these criminals, shouldn't we be using what we know about the brain to help them rehabilitate? Put another way: If the brain can grow new neural pathways after an injury ... could we help the brain re-grow morality?
Web 10.1: Domestic Violence Courts
Description: The National Institute of Justice Domestic Violence Courts page
Web 10.2: Net Widening
Description: Restorative Justice Net Widening page
Web 10.3: Crime Victim' Rights Act
Description: United States of Department of Justice Crime Victims' Rights Act
Chapter 11: Institutional Corrections
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Audio 11.1: Solitary Confinement
Description: Rachel Martin speaks to Secretary Gregg Marcantel about reforming the New Mexico state penitentiary system. He appears on season 2 on A&E's "Behind Bars."
Audio 11.2: Rikers Island Jail Population
Description: New York City's mayor and the state's chief judge announced a plan Tuesday to cut the number of pre-trial detainees at the notorious Rikers Island jail. It's not unusual for defendants to spend a year or more at Rikers awaiting trial.
Video 11.1: Inside Eastern State Penitentiary
Description: America's first prison, Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, became the model for all prisons. It was built in 1829 by the passive Quakers, who believed that solitary confinement was the best way to serve penance.
Video 11.2: Life in a Supermax Prison
Description: If Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is sent to the United States Penitentiary Administrative-Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado, he'll be cut off from the world. See what life is like for inmates inside a Supermax prison.
Web 11.1: A World Without Prisons
Description: Imagining A World Without Prisons For Communities Defined By Them
Web 11.2: Using Technology to Make Prisons and Jails Safer
Description: National Institute of Justice article that discusses the use of technology to make prisons and jails safer
Chapter 12: Prison Life and Life After Prison
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Audio 12.1: Solitary Confinement
Description: White House Adviser On 'Devastating Consequence' Of Solitary Confinement
Audio 12.2: Prison Gangs
Description: Members of white supremacist prison gangs are among the suspects in the killings of law enforcement officials in Texas and Colorado, putting a spotlight on the organization and other prison gangs.
Audio 12.3: Prison Rape
Description: Prison Rape Law A Decade Old, But Most States Not In Compliance
Video 12.1: Torment of Solitary Confinement
Description: Inmates in Pelican Bay State Prison’s Security Housing Unit (SHU) spend 22.5 hours of the day in a windowless cell—it is one of the most notorious supermax prisons in the United States. In this short documentary, Our Voices Are Rarely Heard, the filmmakers Cali Bondad and Gabrielle Canon recorded inmates’ experiences in the facility. The film aims to provide “a cinematic glimpse of the personal anguish and monotony described by inmates living in long-term isolation.”
Video 12.2: Prisoner Reentry
Description: Obama previews new criminal justice reforms on prisoner re-entry
Web 12.1: Deprivation in Prison
Description: Prisoners Allege Claims of Deprivation, Physical and Sexual Abuse
Web 12.2: Prisoners' Rights
Description: ACLU webpage on Prisoners' Rights
Chapter 13: The Juvenile Justice System
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Audio 13.1: Native Americans and Juvenile Justice
Description: Juvenile Justice System Failing Native Americans, Studies Show
Audio 13.2: Treatment of Juveniles
Description: Study: Judges Treat Juveniles Of The Same Race As Themselves More Harshly
Video 13.1: Montgomery vs. Louisiana
Description: U.S. Supreme Court ruling on life sentences for juvenile killers stirs up painful Madison County cases
Video 13.2: School-to-Prison Pipeline
Description: Are increased police presence in schools and zero tolerance policies putting students on the path to prison?
Web 13.1: Juvenile Justice
Description: Website for the Coalition for Juvenile Justice
Web 13.2: Juvenile Justice History
Description: An introduction to Juvenile Justice in America
Chapter 14: Exploring Specialized and Topical Issues
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Audio 14.1: Friend Of San Bernardino Shooter Charged With Aiding Terror Plot
Enrique Marquez, a friend of San Bernardino, Calif., shooter Syed Farook, was charged Thursday with conspiring to provide support for terrorism. He also purchased two of the rifles used in the attack.
Audio 14.2: Sexual Assault on Campus
Description: Curbing Sexual Assault Becomes Big Business On Campus
Video 14.1: U.S. releases human trafficking report
Description: The U.S. State Department released the Trafficking in Persons Report which rates 188 countries on their efforts to stamp out human trafficking.
Video 14.2: Hate Crime
Description: Beating Of Black Iowa Student Investigated As A Hate Crime
Web 14.1: Department of Homeland Security
Description: Website for the Department of Homeland Security
Web 14.2: Forensic Science
Description: National Institute of Justice webpage for Forensic Science
