Addressing topics such as gun control, prison overcrowding, and the death penalty, this book encourages students to think critically about criminal justice policy. Each chapter confronts a timely and contentious issue in the field. The text maintains an awareness of the effect of race and gender on interactions with the criminal justice system, and includes chapters that discuss race and gender directly. In each chapter, the authors consider the ways in which the examined issue impacts the criminal justice system, politics, and policymaking. The authors have organized the book around the three main elements of the criminal justice system (police, courts, and corrections), and the issues they feature are relevant to both informed citizens and future criminal justice professionals.