Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators.

Fundamentals of Forensic Science, Third Edition, provides current case studies that reflect the ways professional forensic scientists work, not how forensic academicians teach. The book includes the binding principles of forensic science, including the relationships between people, places, and things as demonstrated by transferred evidence, the context of those people, places, and things, and the meaningfulness of the physical evidence discovered, along with its value in the justice system. Written by two of the leading experts in forensic science today, the book approaches the field from a truly unique and exciting perspective, giving readers a new understanding and appreciation for crime scenes as recent pieces of history, each with evidence that tells a story. - Straightforward organization that includes key terms, numerous feature boxes emphasizing online resources,historical events, and figures in forensic science - Compelling, actual cases are included at the start of each chapter to illustrate the principles being covered - Effective training, including end-of-chapter questions – paired with a clear writing style making this an invaluableresource for professors and students of forensic science - Over 250 vivid, color illustrations that diagram key concepts and depict evidence encountered in the field

The criminal justice system is a key social institution pertinent to the lives of citizens everywhere. Fundamentals of Criminal Justice: A Sociological View, Second Edition provides a unique social context to explore and explain the nature, impact, and significance of the criminal justice system in everyday life. This introductory text examines important sociological issues including class, race, and gender inequality, social control, and organizational structure and function.

Criminal science can best be conceptualized as the holistic and interdisciplinary study of crime and criminals. All major features of criminal development are taken into account, and all sources of data (including medical, legal, sociological, ecological, and psychological) are considered. Criminal scientists center their investigative energies on the individual offender, cognizant that this individual is part of a wider system of interacting physical, social, and psychological influences. Presented in two volumes, this tome explores the complex interplay of variables that give rise to criminal outcomes. Volume 1 considers knowledge development as represented by research examining the contextual, empirical, and theoretical foundations of crime. Building on knowledge reviewed in the first volume, Volume 2 addresses the issue of knowledge utilization. Assessment, prediction, classification, intervention, prevention, and several other categories of application science are featured. The author addresses ways in which society can inspire pro-social behavior and criminal offenders can find noncriminal solutions to their problems--something that is in the best interests of both groups. This book will be of great value to criminologists and students of criminology/criminal justice, as well as behavioral scientists and law enforcement officials.

This book uses humanity-rationality and experience and the freedom of human will as a theoretical perspective to examine the basic framework of criminal law theories constructed by the criminal classic school and the criminal empirical school. The author puts forward the principle of the duality of rationality and experience of humanity and affirms the determinism of human behavior in the ontological sense and the freedom of will in the axiological sense. From this point of view, this book examines the humanistic foundations of crime and punishment, legislation and justice.

Fundamentals of Criminology provides students with a comprehensive overview of the critical theories that are generally taught in undergraduate courses. The valuable insight and information within the text encourages discussion and consideration of policy implications, applications, theoretical evaluation, and the criminal justice system itself. The book begins with an overview of crime, criminology, and the criminal justice system, along with an introduction to various databases used to study topics related to crime and justice. In later chapters, students learn the fundamental theories of criminology, including the classical school of thought, the positivist school of thought, social structure theories based on socioeconomic status, power, and wealth, and theories of social learning and social reaction. For each theory, there is a clear introduction and discussion of its key propositions and concepts, followed by an examination of its impact on the criminal justice system and policymaking. The book concludes with chapters addressing white-collar crime, terrorism, and tools for addressing the evolving challenges within the field. Fundamentals of Criminology is well-suited for undergraduate courses in sociology, criminal justice, and criminology, especially those that address criminological theory. Divvya Sharma holds a Ph.D. in sociology and master's degrees in sociology and criminal justice. Her research focuses on topics related to informal banking systems; comparative criminology and criminal justice research; and immigration, globalization, and ethnic identity. She has been using mixed methods to study these topics and has collected data in India, Kenya, and the United States.