SARs, H1N1, Ebola, COVID-19… The list goes on, as does the necessity of conducting crime scene investigations during the middle of them. When society shuts its doors and hunkers down to avoid spreading whatever the latest pandemic virus is, law enforcement must continue to find ways to remain operationally effective. This includes conducting criminal investigations.
When coronavirus swept across the country, U.S. courts began to shut down. Hearings, trials by juries, and other court procedures were stalled to ensure the safety of all involved parties (e.g. defendants, witnesses, prosecutors, judges, etc.). This created a backlog of cases and raised concerns for court systems and accused individuals across the country. Although many types of hearings moved to teleconferences, the one type of trial that could not move is the jury trial.
Topics: Criminal Justice
Anyone interested in corrections, or even criminal justice, is aware of the issues concerning mass incarceration, institutionalization, the prison-industrial complex and all the arguments and concerns that surround these items. Therefore, waxing philosophical about theories of corrections or providing overwhelming statistics about incarceration would be redundant as you probably know them already. Similarly, if you are interested in education and pedagogy, you are also aware of the benefits of experiential learning and hands-on experiences, making discussion of those items redundant as well.
Topics: Criminal Justice