This book is born from an intensive writing course for seniors in the Justice Studies Program at Rhode Island College. Its focus is on technical writing and critical thinking skills. Students integrate theory, research, policy, and social issues relating to crime and justice, and in this course, they selected criminal justice professionals to interview in areas they would like to pursue for their own careers. These nine interviews reflect 23 hours of work, including developing a student survey and analyzing survey results.

What you’ll read in this book is the culmination of twelve different interviews from all sorts of justice backgrounds; from courts and lawyers to federal agents and local police. We highlight examples of restorative justice approaches that our professionals mention; one of repairing the harm and healing victims, our communities, and yes, even the offenders get help. Their perspectives show us that oftentimes the victim is overlooked, and while we need to address the offender and their actions with perhaps a more holistic alternative, our criminal justice system must broaden its scope to incorporate other supports to ensure long-lasting change, too.

You can expect to read about a wide range of experiences and what it’s like to work in these professions. You will learn what education requirements are needed, what the pay is like, and what special skills are required for each. Apart from this, we also obtained insights regarding new recommendations for sentencing on certain crimes like non-violent drug offenses, and what a society with a focus on rehabilitation can look like