An Undergraduate Guide to Criminal Justice Reform

Anne Douds’ An Undergraduate Guide to Criminal Justice Reform is arguably the first text to bring together scholarship, community-based research, and activism to provide an evidence-based guide for local-level criminal justice reform at critical stages. It begins with three chapters explaining the history of criminal justice reform efforts, with attention given to critical theory. The first two chapters explore how evidence has been used, with mixed success, to promote change. The second chapter highlights some emerging successes, such as the victims’ rights movement and death penalty reform. These chapters also explore informative failures, such as boot camps and the war on drugs, to highlight the role that race, class, and bias played (and continue to play) in reform proposals. Finally, the third chapter discusses community-based learning and research and how that pedagogy interfaces so well with criminal justice reform initiatives. Building upon the foundational opening chapters, the next nine chapters examine law, policy, and activism with respect to discrete areas of inquiry. Each chapter opens by educating the reader on the current status of law and policy concerning the specific content area. It then moves into research and evaluations of current reform efforts. Each chapter ends with ideas for how students can initiate action plans in their communities with specific examples provided.

Anticipated publication date: Summer 2023

An Undergraduate Guide to Criminal Justice Reform

Anne Douds’ An Undergraduate Guide to Criminal Justice Reform is arguably the first text to bring together scholarship, community-based research, and activism to provide an evidence-based guide for local-level criminal justice reform at critical stages. It begins with three chapters explaining the history of criminal justice reform efforts, with attention given to critical theory. The first two chapters explore how evidence has been used, with mixed success, to promote change. The second chapter highlights some emerging successes, such as the victims’ rights movement and death penalty reform. These chapters also explore informative failures, such as boot camps and the war on drugs, to highlight the role that race, class, and bias played (and continue to play) in reform proposals. Finally, the third chapter discusses community-based learning and research and how that pedagogy interfaces so well with criminal justice reform initiatives. Building upon the foundational opening chapters, the next nine chapters examine law, policy, and activism with respect to discrete areas of inquiry. Each chapter opens by educating the reader on the current status of law and policy concerning the specific content area. It then moves into research and evaluations of current reform efforts. Each chapter ends with ideas for how students can initiate action plans in their communities with specific examples provided.

Anticipated publication date: Summer 2023

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Anne Douds

Anne Douds, JD, PhD, is Co-Chair and Associate Professor of Public Policy at Gettysburg College, and the Program Lead for the Eisenhower Institute’s Women and Leadership program. She is a retired trial attorney with 20 years of experience in civil litigation, and she was awarded the Dr. Ralph Cavaliere Endowed Teaching Award in 2020 and 2022.

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