Criminal Justice: The Essentials is an innovative alternative to large, overwhelming texts that attempt to cover every conceivable issue, a goal that cannot realistically be accomplished in a single academic term. Ideal for introductory courses in criminal justice, this volume covers all the fundamental issues faced by law enforcement, the courts, corrections, and juvenile justice, but leaves detailed specifics and tangential topics to the discretion of instructors to cover in class. This approach provides instructors with a great deal of flexibility in orienting their courses, as they can use whatever supplementary materials they feel are most suitable. Each chapter covers the background, current issues and problems, and operational challenges of the subject area. All important materials are incorporated into the normal flow of the text, with abundant examples, but a minimum of sidebars and "highlights." Therefore, students are not forced to sift through encyclopedic amounts of material in order to determine what is the most significant, since only the essentials are presented. Timely data and current examples sustain student interest. The text is also supplemented by a Companion Website and an Instructor's Manual.