SU Library: OER by Discipline: Criminal Justice: Find OER in My Discipline

Maryland Open Source Textbook Initiative

The Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) Initiative is a huge source of support for open educational resources, open access, and open pedagogy in Maryland. Find OER through the M.O.S.T. Commons or Stevenson's M.O.S.T. Commons Hub.

Quick Search

Three states -- Maryland, California, and Georgia -- maintain large statewide OER databases. Try these quick searches that are already set for your discipline:

Textbooks and Books

These sites offer multiple books:

Here are some individual books on the topic of criminal justice:

Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System This OER covers law enforcement, criminal courts, sentencing, penal institutions, and community-based sanctions. It also includes historical and contemporary perspectives on components of the criminal justice system, as well as the legal and constitutional frameworks in which they operate.
Criminal Law Welcome to Criminal Law, your guide to a fascinating yet challenging topic. This engaging and interactive textbook will enhance your ability to be successful in academics or a career in criminal justice.
Ethics in Law Enforcement In this book, you will examine the moral and ethical issues that exist within law enforcement. This book will also familiarize you with the basic history, principles, and theories of ethics.
Principles and Procedures of the Criminal Justice System This textbook focuses on the Procedures of the Justice System with topics such as Miranda Rights
Evidence: Rape Shield Rule The Rape Shield Rule, contained in Federal Rule of Evidence 412 and state counterparts is a Rule preventing the admission of evidence concerning the sexual predisposition and behavior of an alleged victim of sexual misconduct, subject to certain exceptions. Through a series of cases and hypotheticals drawn from actual cases, this chapter gives readers a roadmap for how to address any Rape Shield Rule issue in practice.
American Government and Politics in the Information Age This text is a comprehensive introduction to the vital subject of American government and politics. Governments decide who gets what, when, how (See Harold D. Lasswell, Politics: Who Gets What, When, How, [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1936]); they make policies and pass laws that are binding on all a society's members; they decide about taxation and spending, benefits and costs, even life and death.
Criminal Justice: An Overview of the System This OER textbook is designed for an “introduction to criminal justice” class or a similar course. It is designed to provide a survey of the field, including police, courts, and corrections, to students with no background in criminal justice.
Fundamental Cases in Criminal Justice This text provides edited and abridged cases that are intended to be easy to read and provide lower-division students with a gentle introduction to key legal concepts that define the workings of our criminal justice system.

Full Courses

American Justice System 101: Intro to Administration of Justice Organization and jurisdiction of local, state and federal law enforcement, judicial and corrections systems, terminology and constitutional limitations of the system.
Introduction to Criminal Justice This course is designed around four key themes. 1. The field of criminal justice is interdisciplinary and shares elements from criminology, sociology, law, history, psychology, and political science. 2. Criminal justice involves public policies that are developed within the framework of the democratic process. 3. The concept of a social system is an essential tool for analyzing the way criminal justice is practiced. 4. American values, the foundation on which criminal justice in a democracy is based.