Welcome to the United States System of Criminal Justice.

You have taken on the task of learning and understanding the criminal justice system. Many of you will go on to become leaders, managers, and administrators while others will want to deepen their understanding of the myriad opportunities and challenges that face our communities today, as well as the complex solutions that we, as citizens, experts, practitioners, and stakeholders must develop to meet twenty-first century issues. Yet how do you develop a holistic and multivariate perspective of the multiple subsystems and tributaries of the criminal justice system while also gaining more specified knowledge and critical thinking skills? This Criminal Justice Flowchart will provide many of the complexities, concepts, resources, relationships, and processes necessary to developing a refined analytical view.

As you move throughout the system, you will note that the Flowchart is interactive, dynamic, deep and broad, just like the criminal justice system. You will orchestrate your own experiences choosing the particular concepts, descriptions, and resources to explore. You will also be exposed to profound questions, relationships, interactive media, and diverse perspectives as part of your journey.

As persons who will be responsible for implementing justice, your journey necessarily includes both practical and theoretical knowledge, a blend of academic and real-world situations that will facilitate your successful administration of our criminal justice system. Your education must include a wide variety of concepts, theories, structures, and deliberate processes that you are able to recall, synthesize when you step into your professional role. You will begin with foundational and organizational principles applicable to all criminal justice subsystems before turning to law enforcement, courts, and corrections and their unique administrative aspects and challenges. Regardless of the particular branch or field you plan to enter (or within which you are currently practicing), it is imperative that you have the most comprehensive understanding of our entire system, including vital issues such as ethical administration and and decision-making. This Flowchart will help you continue to build layers of knowledge and understanding that you will apply to practical scenarios. Often, in your education and practice, you will be asked to transfer insights and knowledge to new contexts.

If you are an administrator, you will be required to apply best practices to both motivate and support your employees. Within that framework, you must also understand internal and external issues vital to you goals and missions, including employee rights and financial and budgeting challenges. Before turning to assessment, agency, and program evaluation, you must learn that new technology has had a profound impact on how we prevent and control crime both within and between agencies.

Although justice may still be a somewhat elusive notion, you should understand how to apply fair and ethical administrative concepts, theories, and structures toward organizational excellence within our criminal justice system.

You should be prepared to foster and apply a higher-level critical thinking and writing skills toward efficient and effective criminal justice practices. Location and dissection of key information must be combined with application and analysis of essential themes and processes. Graduate students will also be expected to formulate holistic summaries upon which you can make inferences and create new scenarios. As an administrator, the ability to predict and hypothesize will be important, as will the ability to justify judgements and criticisms based upon well articulated criteria.

This illustration is meant to help you visualize the interconnectedness of our various agencies, as well as the potential for conflict based upon opposing goals. Many of you may have a background in criminal justice, other of you may not. This illustration refers to many concepts in criminal justice such as criminogenic behaviors, crime control concepts, environmental factors of crime, and punishment philosophies. These driving concepts are necessarily part of the mission and goals of any criminal justice organization. For private organizations, such as private prisons, these underlying criminal justice theories and philosophies must also be integrated into the administration and management of the institutions. Refer to this illustration as you manipulate facts and make strategic decision that both reflect and impact this intricate and sometimes convoluted process. So sit back, relax, and experience the United States Criminal Justice System.

Your education must include a wide variety of concepts, theories, philosophies, structures, and deliberate processes that you are able to recall, apply, and synthesize when you step into your professional role. Regardless of the particular branch or field you plan to enter or within which you are currently practicing, it is imperative that you have the most comprehensive understanding of our entire system, as they are all interdependent, including vital issues such as ethical administration and decision-making. This Flowchart will help you continue to build layers of knowledge and understanding that you will apply to practical issues and challenges so you are able to transfer those insights and knowledge to new contexts. It will also help you visualize the interconnectedness of our various agencies and allow you to identify conflict and opportunities in order to fulfill our mission of a just society. So, explore, consider, investigate, question, and learn! Welcome to the U.S. system of justice!