Criminal Justice Policy in United States

Criminal Justice Policy

Garrick L. Percival, in the chapter “Criminal Justice Policy” of the Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government, offers some insight and critically assesses the situation and current state of scholarship on the topic. The following is a summary:This chapter examines criminal justice policy in the U.S. states, discussing the important developments in knowledge in recent years, and outlining key areas for future research in this important area of public policy. The chapter is organized around two fundamental questions. The first is what political forces cause governments to use more coercive forms of crime and social control? The second is how do political forces contribute to the disproportionate level of punishment imposed on racial and ethnic minority groups? Both questions entail basic questions about policing, criminal profiling, and particular campaigns, such as the most recent drug war. In devoting attention to these questions, state and local government researchers have the opportunity to make significant and lasting contributions by moving the field to a more synthesized and theoretically shaped understanding of criminal justice policy in the U.S. states.

Further Reading

• “Criminal Justice Policy”, The Oxford Handbook of American Politics