criminal justice

American  

noun

1. the system of law enforcement, involving police, lawyers, courts, and corrections, used for all stages of criminal proceedings and punishment.

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Example Sentences

Unlike the city’s homicide detectives, her students in the department of criminology and criminal justice had nothing but time on their hands, even if they didn’t always realize it.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

“This is really becoming a performative crime,” said Kimberly Przeszlowski, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Quinnipiac University who studies takeovers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

The group said most victims "will never engage with the criminal justice system" but that if they do, "it is crucial that survivors have the option to pursue a criminal justice outcome without retraumatisation".

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026

CalMatters recently hosted a panel discussion on what’s next for criminal justice in California that included Los Angeles County Dist.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2026

Racial minorities were always overrepresented in the criminal justice system, but as sociologists have noted, until the mid-1980s, the system was marginal to communities of color.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander