Six sections provide a broad overview of some of the most important issues facing the criminal justice system and an assessment of what to expect in the 21st century. The text begins with a section on crime in the United States that covers the nature and extent of crime, specific crime problems such as substance abuse, and causes of urban crime on violence. The second section covers law enforcement and includes such topics as community policing, police crackdowns, police use of deadly force, the control of police behavior, and policing for crime prevention. The third section is concerned with drug courts, the priority prosecution of dangerous offenders, private counsel versus public defenders, effects of pretrial publicity on jurors, judicial limits, and the impact of sentencing guidelines. In focusing on corrections, the fourth section covers probation practices and outcomes, home confinement, electronic monitoring of offenders, intermediate sanctions, three strikes legislation, AIDS in correctional facilities, and the death penalty. The fifth section addresses juvenile justice system issues, including the epidemiology of serious juvenile violence, juvenile gangs, female juvenile offenders, and the restorative approach to juvenile justice. The final section explores future criminal justice trends in relation to violence prevention, organized crime, and probation. Supplemental information on criminal justice organizations and information sources and leading cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court are appended. References, notes, tables, and figures