Race, Gender, Class, and Criminal Justice: Examining Barriers to Justice

In the United States, those who become involved or interact with the criminal justice system often experience the system differently based on their race, class, and/or gender. To better understand this problem, the textbook examines race, class, and gender from a historical perspective to help the reader make the connection between the terms historical connotations and how they are used today. The remainder of the text focuses on how one s race, class, and/or gender can impact interactions with the police, courts, corrections, and reentry after prison.

To provide more in-depth information on issues that are relevant to the topics being discussed, each chapter includes In Focus text boxes as well as a Global Spotlight text box that discusses the topic from a global perspective. Each chapter also ends with a series of discussion questions to encourage further engagement and reflection with the topic. Teaching materials includes PowerPoint lectures, test questions, and ideas for further classroom engagement.

The fourteen chapters cover the following topics: DEFINING RACE AND ETHNICITY; DEFINING SEX AND GENDER; SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, THE AMERICAN DREAM, AND COLONIALISM;
THE EVER-EVOLVING DEFINITION OF CRIME;
RACIAL PROFILING AND THE POLICE;
MILITARIZATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING; JUDGES, PROSECUTORS, AND INDIGENT DEFENSE;
PROBLEM-SOLVING COURTS; THE DEATH PENALTY; OVERUSE OF INCARCERATION AND POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES; REENTRY; DOMESTIC VIOLENCE; HUMAN TRAFFICKING;
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?