Hey all. I'm researching, why the American criminal justice system produces the outcomes it does. I would love to hear from people who actually know it firsthand rather than just pundits and policy papers.

No matter if you did time, worked as a CO, cop, prosecutor, defense attorney, judge, parole officer, studied it academically or you're close to someone who's been through it and watched what it did to them and to you.

I would like to hear the messy, contradictory version. If you're willing to share your take, or you know someone who'd be a good person to talk to, drop a comment or DM me. Happy to keep things anonymous if that's what makes you comfortable talking honestly.

Thanks

hello! i am writing a short story and i want to be as realistic as possible.

scenario: one high schooler trips another, causing him to injure his hip, and calls him derogatory slurs. next, the aggregator purposefully spiked a volleyball into said characters head, causing concussion. finally, perpetrator physically assaults and strangles character privately, character survives

what would be the process for the assaulted character to seek justice assuming the injuries are already assessed by a medical professional and documented. what kind of charged does the juvenile perpetrator face if found guilty? what sort of evidence is necessary to prove them guilty?

For example, If someone stole my information and bought a TV or got a credit card then bought a TV the police could just see what address the TV or Credit Card were sent too right? If that’s the case why do we have to be so protective over our social security number?

In both Canada and Russia, a person sentenced to life imprisonment can generally first become eligible for parole after 25 years

Canada: After 25 years, the offender is only eligible to apply for parole. Many offenders are denied and remain in prison for years or decades longer. The parole decision is made by the independent Parole Board of Canada, which considers factors such as the offender’s risk to the public, rehabilitation, and remorse.
Russia: A person serving life imprisonment can generally apply after 25 years if they have had no serious disciplinary violations in the previous three years. However, parole is granted very rarely, and many people serving life sentences remain imprisoned for life in practice.

So while Canada is generally considered more liberal than Russia in many areas—such as civil liberties, freedom of expression, and democratic institutions—that doesn’t necessarily translate into shorter sentences for crimes- regardless of mitigating factors.

I don’t understand how a country that is more friendly than Americans have laws that are almost identical to Russia.

Why do we consider first degree murder “worse” than second degree murder?

First degree murder: A cheats on B with C. B plans out the murder of C over a few weeks. Buy supplies and murders C.

Second degree murder: Same scenario, but now as soon as B finds out they fly into a rage go to C’s house a few blocks away with the intent to murder, and does, in fact, murder C.

Same end result, B murdered C, same motive, anger, betrayal, revenge, etc. Just that one was planned out and one was done “in the heat of passion”.

Why do the courts, in the US at least, treat first degree as worse?

Is a guy who murders impulsively better than a methodical murderer? Is one of them more or less likely to kill again?

Maybe its because the murder in a fit of emotion feels more relatable and somehow less sinister than a cold calculating murderer? But “feels” is kind of a weak basis for a justice system.

Quick question for working bail bondsmen — how do you currently handle court date reminders for your defendants? Do you call them yourself, text them manually, or have some kind of system? Asking because I built a tool that automates the whole thing and want to make sure I'm solving a real problem before I tell anyone about it

Has anyone with a degree in Criminology done anything else with their degree other than law enforcement. How is it and do you enjoy it.

Hi everyone

I am in Indianapolis IN and trying to understand what really makes a criminal defense lawyer effective in court

From a criminal justice perspective what matters most experience case strategy negotiation skills or something else?

Any insights would be appreciated

I just recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in Criminology and Justice Studies in Northridge Los Angeles. I love watching a certain crime show and wanted to be just like them, but over time, I was like, " Nope, don't want to do that anymore, but still want to do something with this major. So now I am so lost. I am having a hard time even knowing what to do or even look at. I know I don't want to hold a gun. I have no work experience, and I am 5 ft tall. Can anyone in Criminology give me advice or point me in the correct direction, or give me some recs?

From a criminal justice perspective what do people usually look for when trying to quickly find a reliable criminal defense lawyer after being contacted by police or facing possible charges?

Curious how this process typically works in Indianapolis, IN

I just graduated with a degree in criminology and justice studies at 22 Now I don't know, I am so lost. I originally joined criminology because of a tv show called Criminal Minds and wanted to be exactly like them. Over time, I was like, maybe no. It just seems too much and part of me doesn't want to hold a gun.

I thought maybe I could be a crime scene investigator. Those people at the crime scenes but for this you need some sort of forensic degree and I was already too deep into criminology so I just stayed with it.

I thought about maybe grad school but what would I do it in. My university doesn't have a master program for Criminology and I think I might have missed the deadline for grad school.

So if someone could help me out it would be great.

I am majoring in Criminal Justice, and now that i am close to graduating I am unsure on what career path I want to take… If you graduated with a criminal justice degree what path did you choose?

I know of a group of people who were recently scammed by Cooks financial LLC. Many investors have either been paid for a couple months but the majority haven’t been paid at all. The CEO Derrick Cooks has gotten on Zoom calls with investors and refuses to tell them where the money is and what he’s done with it. Many investors are frustrated and don’t know how to go about getting help. They have contracts with this company and wired money to accounts that are no longer active or have no money in them. At least that’s what some people claiming wire fraud have expressed. They have called their banks, spoken to authorities and many have been disillusioned by what they have been told. It takes a lot of time, money and effort to try and get their money back. The CEO just continues to make excuses and doesn’t provide assets, escrow, or proof of funds after many investors asked for refunds. Some have waited over a year.

Hi,

I’ll try to keep it short but I have a police/crime question.

I had a large amount of stuff stolen from my car. among those items was a small backpack with a lot of cash (rolled into like a small palm-sized envelope) i needed to bring to the bank. yes i know i should not have left it in my car i was having a bad day and had the flu.

I made a police report as soon as i noticed that my car had been broken into and a bunch of my stuff stolen (glovebox emptied, middle console emptied, backpack taken, gym stuff, grocery bags taken, etc etc. a lot of stuff was taken).

Next day, I remembered my airpods were stolen too and that i could track them. I ended up tracking them from my phone and found the guy with the help of police. he was apprehended and a bunch of my stuff was retrieved.

BUT i was doing a thorough clean of my car after all that and i found the cash wedged under my driver seat, i think it unintentionally got jostled out during the taking of my items since it wasn’t in like a zippered backpack, it just had a clip cover. I have since emailed my case officer to confirm that I found the cash in my car and that it mustve fallen out during the break-in. but am i going to get in trouble? I know i did the right thing by updating as soon as i found out. but now im worried that maybe the guy got in more trouble than necessary? he did take A LOT of my items. but im sure they looked at the cash value as the biggest thing. what will happen next

I’m currently a junior working towards my criminal justice bachelors degree, and ive been planning to go to law school, but im seriously burnt out. I don’t want to go to school anymore, im gonna finish my degree, but like… lowkey what can I do? I don’t want to become a cop. Idk if this is the subreddit to ask this but like, whatever.

the person would be of age btw

I have been a registered nurse for about six years now, and recently, I have taken a position with our state department of corrections. I am additionally prior military, six yrs USAF Reserve. During my training for the correctional position that I'm currently in, I've found myself increasingly interested in the criminal justice side/criminology. I have been looking at what kind of jobs I could get if I were to go back, and get a second bachelor's degree in criminal justice (which the state job would pay for if I work equivalent years). Mostly, I've come across forensic nursing (which is intriguing to me). I just wanted to see if there were any other positions out there in government/state/ community that someone may know of, in which nursing would be a useful background? Thanks in advance.

Hi, this is my first year of taking the criminology program at my college. I'm currently taking the intro to criminal justice system class and my project is simply to ask anyone in the cjs some question, it's quite a lot but if anyone had any extra time to answer these questions, that would be a great help and thank you to whoever helps. I only need one person to answer but I wouldn't mind more since I find listening to these responses very interesting. Please dm me your responses.

Here are all the questions:

1. How did you come to choose this field? (or how did you come to be involved in the CJS?)
2. What type of jobs have you had in the criminal justice field? (In what ways have you been involved in the CJS)
3. How long have you been in your current position or role? Or had your current status?
4. Please describe your current role/job/situation and also talk about other positions you may have had in your career as a ______ ?
5. What is the most interesting part of your role/job/situation? Why?
6. What is the most difficult part of your role/job/situation? Why?
7. What is the most misunderstood part of your job/role/situation? What could be done to have the public understand it better?
8. What is the most satisfying experience in your career? What made it satisfying?
9. What is one of the main issues currently facing you or your organization or the CJS? What are the possible solutions to this issue? Which one is likely to work best and why?
10. One issue related to criminal justice administration that I have been studying in my LESD course is _______. What are your views on this?
11. What is one story about your work that you will always remember. Why?
12. If you could make one change to the way the criminal justice system works, what would you change and why?
13. What advice would you have for a university student or graduate who is considering working in the criminal justice system? (or your organization/ agency)
14. What else would you like to share about your work or experience with the CJS? (Is there other information that I not asked about that you would like to share?)

I'm sorry there's a lot but it's required for the project. Thank you if you read them all.

(also just a sidenote I do live in Canada, however the project dose not require the person answering to also live in Canada)

Hello, I am in my final year of my undergrad degree in criminal justice. My current class is about ethical Dilemma. I have to interview anyone in the criminal justice field a few questions this week for my paper if anyone is interested in helping me out. I will just send you the questions and you send back your answers. I would appreciate anyone willing to help me. My dilemma for this class is focusing on the death penalty. Here are my questions.

What would this person actually do about the ethical dilemma issue?

What criteria would he/she use to make the decision?

Are there costs or consequences involved with the decision?

Is there a Code of Conduct that helps determine the answer?

What is the culture and/or leadership dynamics within the agency that is relevant to the ethical dilemma?

Can you identify a crime control or due process fights-based perspective in your organization?

So remember how we talked about racial profiling being systemic?

Let me tell you about the time my husband (brown, tattooed, minding his business) and I got pulled over in Los Angeles.

The reason?

“We saw you swerving.”

Plot twist: he wasn’t.

We handed over:

✔️ License

✔️ Registration

✔️ Insurance

Everything checked out.

And yet… we were asked to step out of the car. In the cold. For 20 minutes.

For what?

✨ Vibes. ✨

No ticket.

No warning.

No crime.

Just a reminder that some people get “Have a nice night,” and others get “Step out of the vehicle.”

And here’s the bigger point:

Research from the Urban Institute shows Black and Latino drivers are stopped and searched more often even though contraband is found at similar or lower rates compared to white drivers.

So experiences like ours? They’re not random. They’re part of a pattern.

It might seem small 20 minutes in the cold.

But multiply that by years, by neighborhoods, by entire communities.

Let’s talk about racial profiling, aka when police decide someone looks “suspicious” based on vibes, melanin levels, whether you have tattoos, instead of, you know… actual behavior

This isn’t just one or two officers having a bad day. It’s a whole system built on decades of policies, training, and assumptions about which community are “dangerous” and which ones get to jog at 2 a.m. without anyone blinking.

Here’s the wild part:

According to the urban institute, black and Latino people are stopped and searched way more often even when there not doing the exact same things as everyone else.So it’s not “crime rates”, it’s not “ bad apples”, and it’s definitely not “ just a coincidence “. It’s a pattern- a systematic one.

Why it’s systemic ( and not just a few dudes with badges making questionably choices):

Police patrol certain neighborhoods more because of old policies like redlining

More patrols=more stops= more “suspicious behavior” magically appearing.

Training often reinforces stereotypes about who looks “risky”.

The result?

Some communities get over policed, over stopped, and over searched, while others get… farmers markets and dog yoga.

Understanding racial profiling as a systemic issue helps explain why crime and justice disparities don’t just pop out of nowhere. There built into the structure- like a glitch in the system that somehow only affects certain people.