Table of Contents
Definition of Criminal Justice System
(noun) A collection of institutions taken together (police, judiciary, corrections), which create and enforce law.
Example of Criminal Justice System
Criminal Justice System Pronunciation
Syllabification: crim·i·nal jus·tice sys·tem
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /krIm-uhn-l jUHs-tuhs sIs-tuhm/
- British English – /krIm-i-nuhl jUHs-tis sIs-tim/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈkrɪmənəl ˈʤʌstəs ˈsɪstəm/
- British English – /ˈkrɪmɪnl ˈʤʌstɪs ˈsɪstɪm/
Usage Notes
- Plural: criminal justice systems
- Criminal justice systems are studied in criminology and penology.
Related Videos
Additional Information
- Crime and Law Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “criminal” and “justice” and “system” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Briggs, Steven M., and Joan Friedman. 2009. Criminology For Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
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Shepard, Jon M., and Robert W. Greene. 2003. Sociology and You. New York: Glencoe.
Siegel, Larry J., and Clemens Bartollas. 2011. Corrections Today. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Siegel, Larry J., and John L. Worrall. 2012. Introduction to Criminal Justice. 13th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Siegel, Larry J., and John L. Worrall. 2013. Essentials of Criminal Justice. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Stewart, Paul, and Johan Zaaiman, eds. 2015. Sociology: A Concise South African Introduction. Cape Town: Juta.
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Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Cite the Definition of Criminal Justice System
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “criminal justice system.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 23, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/criminal-justice-system/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
criminal justice system. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/criminal-justice-system/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “criminal justice system.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/criminal-justice-system/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“criminal justice system.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/criminal-justice-system/>.