Primary Source Archives
Gale Primary Sources offers criminal justice journal articles and abstracts that provide researchers with firsthand content.
Criminal Justice
Investigate the field of criminal justice in the United States, which involves the investigation of criminal activity and the procedures necessary for the prosecution and conviction of crimes. Criminal justice activities include gathering evidence, arresting suspects, bringing charges, conducting trials, sentencing the convicted, and carrying out punishment.
To this end, the criminal justice system involves law enforcement agencies charged with the prevention of crime and the apprehension of criminal offenders; court bureaucracies charged with determining the innocence or guilt of accused offenders and with the sentencing of convicted criminals; and the network of corrections institutions charged with the control, custody, supervision, and treatment of those convicted of a crime, including probation and parole agencies for when a prisoner is released after serving a sentence. Other important figures are the prosecutor, who makes the case to convict the defendant, and the defense attorney, who makes the case to exonerate the defendant.
Crimes in the United States can be prosecuted in federal, state, or military criminal justice systems. Each state has separate systems for adults and juveniles. Some trials involve juries (a group of citizens specially commissioned to render a verdict), and others are determined by a judge (known as a bench trial).
