Transforming Criminal Justice: An Evidence-Based Agenda for Reform

An evidence-based roadmap for how the American criminal justice system can be reformed

This important volume brings together today’s leading criminal justice scholars and practitioners to offer a roadmap for those who want to change the face of the American criminal justice system. This collection of essays addresses thirteen significant issues in justice reform, starting from a suspect’s first interaction with the police and continuing to gun violence, prosecutorial innovation, sentencing reform, eliminating bail, recidivism and re-entry, collateral consequences of crime, and eliminating false convictions. A common theme emerges in this volume: the American criminal justice system is riddled with weaknesses that cause harm and require greater accountability. Each chapter is both educational and prescriptive, helping readers to understand the problems that plague the criminal justice system, how those problems can be addressed, and who should take responsibility for them.

Part scholarly research, part account of the justice system’s workings and failings, and part agenda for action, Transforming Criminal Justice aims to educate and move readers to effect change.