Introduction to Criminal Justice: Operations, Obstacles, and Outcomes

Reviewed by Jennifer Sem, Teaching Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Superior on 11/16/25

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text provides a comprehensive list of the various parts of the American criminal justice system. The Table of Contents is easy to understand and provides a logical progression of the criminal justice system.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The information in the text is accurate. The author provides many scholarly sources, which the students can access immediately through the links provided, to support the information provided within the text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This text was published in 2025 and provides recent case examples to illustrate concepts discussed. This will assist students' understanding of the material as they will be able to relate it to recent events they are more familiar with.

Clarity rating: 5

This text is written in a manner that is easy for introductory students to understand and comprehend. Important terms are used in a clear and concise manner.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent with formatting, language, and organization of the material.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is organized into 16 modules which makes it easy to cover each topic throughout the semester. Each section is organized into smaller reading portions, with each topic being labeled adequately.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization of the text is presented in a logical order for the students to understand the history of the criminal justice system, the theories behind certain practices, and examples of what these look like in current times.

Interface rating: 5

I did not experience any type of interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors were noted.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text was not culturally insensitive or offensive. Rather, it professionally and appropriately discusses problematic areas within our criminal justice system that disproportionately affect marginalized communities.

This text is very well written and will be a perfect option for my introductory course in lieu of a traditional textbook.