Introduction to Criminal Justice: Practice and Process shows you how to think practically about the criminal justice system by offering you a proven, problem-based approach to learning.  Bestselling authors Kenneth J. Peak and Tamara D. Madensen draw on their many years of combined practitioner and academic experience to explain the importance of criminal justice and show how key trends, emerging issues, historical background, and practical lessons can be applied in the field.
New to the Third Edition:
An emphasis on constitutional policing, legitimacy, and procedural justice stresses the importance for police to develop a "guardian" mindset over a "soldier" mindset.
New discussions of contemporary criminological theories―such as social structure theories, social process theories, social conflict theories, feminist theories, and environmental criminology theories―provide you with a concise explanation on why people commit crimes and how to prevent them in the modern world.
An in-depth view of three particularly challenging problems and policy issues―terrorism, the mentally ill population, and illegal immigration―demonstrate how today’s society and the criminal justice system are affected by these issues and what can be done to address the problems.
New examples and case studies of ethical dilemmas illustrate today′s climate of distrust, dissension, and dysfunction to encourage you to think critically about what is considered "ethical". 
New video interviews with criminal justice professionals offer you career advice, provide you with insights into a variety of career paths, and discuss challenges and misconceptions of each profession.
 
Review
"This text provides a clear and interesting format through which students may understand often difficult criminal justice concepts. Peak provides students with an interactive format for learning, complete with up-to-date supplementary information. The text is concise, informative and interesting." -- Tameka Samuels-Jones
 
About the Author
Kenneth J. Peak is emeritus professor and former chair of the Department of Criminal Justice, University of Nevada, Reno, where he was named “Teacher of the Year” by the university’s Honor Society. Following four years as a municipal police officer in Kansas, he subsequently held positions as a nine-county criminal justice planner for southeast Kansas; director of a four-state technical assistance institute for the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (based at Washburn University in Topeka); director of university police at Pittsburg State University (Kansas); acting director of public safety, University of Nevada, Reno; and assistant professor of criminal justice at Wichita State University. He has authored or coauthored 37 additional textbooks (relating to general policing, community policing, criminal justice administration, police supervision and management, and women in law enforcement), two historical books (on Kansas temperance and bootlegging), and more than 60 journal articles and invited book chapters. He is past chair of the Police Section of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and past president of the Western Association of Criminal Justice. He received two gubernatorial appointments to statewide criminal justice committees while residing in Kansas and holds a doctorate from the University of Kansas.
 
Tamara D. Madensen is an associate professor of criminal justice and graduate director at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). She holds a doctorate from the University of Cincinnati. Her research interests include crime opportunity structures, place management, and crowd violence. She is the recipient of UNLV’s Spanos Distinguished Teaching Award, Faculty Excellence Award, and Greenspun College of Urban Affairs Teaching Award. Her publications propose, extend, or test crime science theoretical models. They also help to translate research findings into practice and policy. Her work has appeared in various outlets, including Criminology and Justice Quarterly. She has published numerous practitioner-focused research papers, including two Problem-Oriented Policing Guides funded by the COPS Office and research monographs selected as Herman Goldstein Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing Award finalists. Her book Preventing Crowd Violence (co-edited with Johannes Knutsson), has been translated into two foreign languages. Dr. Madensen serves as director of UNLV’s Crowd Management Research Council, and conducts research and training for police agencies, major sports leagues, and private industries.