Department of Sociology

Criminal justice refers to those formal mechanisms of a society uses to enforce its laws, adjudicate criminal offences, and deliver prescribed outcomes for criminal conduct. In other words, criminal justice is the means by which justice is delivered to those who society has deemed criminals. This course will provide a critical overview of what criminal justice is, the politics surrounding criminal justice, and the actors and means by which justice is delivered. The course will also cover those topics and areas where criminal justice systems struggle to appear just and measured, as well as discuss contemporary views on systems that go beyond the traditional notion of criminal justice. The course will cover topics that are both local and global to reflect on how crime and its control is locally situated and universally undertaken.