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CRIMINAL JUSTICE: GENERAL RESOURCES

This guide highlights general resources for the criminal justice field including “gateways,” directories, academic sites, clearinghouses, “think tanks,” and professional associations/ organizations.  It does not provide direct links to government agencies, either on a national or international level; however, links to government sites may be included within some of the resources discussed here.


BUBL LINK: Crime

•   Directory of links to 40 websites concerned with criminal justice-related resources/topics, including “gateways,” official national/international agencies, professional organizations/associations, institutes/”think tanks,” commission reports, special topics
•   Annotations accompany links; includes author, topic, resource type
•   Browsable only by site name
•   Excellent; selection of sites is somewhat eclectic; most interesting feature is links to topical sites (escapes from Alcatraz, Lockerbie Trial, “Outlaws and Highwaymen”


Crime Spider

•   “Crime Spider Crawls the Web for the Best Crime and Law Enforcement Sites”
•   “Crime, criminal justice, and legal research resource for educators, universities, writers, police and other law enforcement personnel”
•   Directory of links to hundreds of sites for over 30 criminal justice-related categories
•   Links to resources available in other “general” sites, criminal justice system, corrections, government agencies (national/international), law enforcement, forensics
•   Also links to crime-specific categories (arson, homicide, “most wanted,” TV/movies, unsolved crimes, “Weird or Bizarre”)
•   Categories are sub-divided by topic, for easier browsing
•   Links are accompanied by brief annotations; each link includes the date it was added to the site, number of “hits;” also offers user rating capability
•   Accepts free listings; also includes information on editing listings
•   Many sites contain commercial content (private investigation, supplies/equipment, etc.)
•   Excellent; does an admirable job of linking to basic resources, but what makes this site noteworthy are the crime-specific categories (which often border on the bizarre and sensational); entertaining as well as informative


Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science: Sources for Scholars and Aficionados

•   Written by Kristine M. Alpi, Associate Director, Samuel J. Wood Library, Weill Medical College, Cornell University
•   Published in the October 2003 issue of College & Research Library News
•   Directory of links to the following criminal investigation/forensic science topics: directories, e-journals, databases, professional associations/organizations, television “entertainment” (Court TV: Forensic Files, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), specific disciplines in forensic science (botany, etymology, dentistry, disaster response, medical examiners/coroners)
•   Links are accompanied by excellent annotations
•   Outstanding; a great place for an overview of the field and to begin research


Criminal Justice Ethics Sources on the Internet

•   Posted on the Law Library Resource Exchange (LLRX); authored by Ken Strutin, “law librarian, criminal defense attorney, and well-known writer and speaker”
•   “Focuses on the Internet sources of codes, ethical opinions and other materials governing the conduct of legal professionals, and collections with links to codes for other professionals in the criminal justice system”
•   Discusses the following categories: ethics collections/finding aids, lawyer codes of professional conduct, criminal defense ethics, criminal justice ethics
•   Also links to additional legal ethics sites for general resources, paralegals/legal assistants, prosecutors, legal ethics hotlines, “current awareness” resources
•   Excellent annotations accompany links and citations
•   Resources utilized include academic sources, law schools, legal search engines, professional associations/organizations, public interest organizations
•   Most content consists of links to free-of-charge Internet resources, citations for a limited number of print resources
•   Some of the general legal ethics sites link to commercial content (announcements for print resources)
•   “Published October 15, 2005”
•   Outstanding; one of the best Internet sites currently available for this topic


Criminal Justice Links

•   Maintained by Cecil Greek, Associate Professor, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University
•   Directory of links to 17 categories of criminal justice-related resources, including federal agencies, international resources, police agencies/directories, corrections and topic-specific sites (forensics, education, juvenile delinquency, etc.)
•   Each category divides into sub-categories, which include directory information for the category and several sub-topics
•   Federal agency information is presented much more clearly than it is in many other pages; also particularly useful for clearinghouses, state resources
•   Outstanding; with hundreds of links, this resource is an excellent place to begin research and its organization makes this a very user-friendly process


Criminal Justice Resources

•   Maintained by Jon Harrison, Criminal Justice Specialist, Michigan State University Libraries
•   “Gateway” to criminal justice information for 77 topics which include the judicial system, policing issues, statistics, specific types of crime, government resources, terrorism, professional resources (journals, associations, etc.)
•   All topics include links to websites; many also link to online articles (primarily from academic or research resources)
•   Most links/articles are accompanied by annotations, many of which are extensive
•   Many topics include introductory essays, which are quite useful for determining the best methods for the most efficient use of resources
•   Includes “links last checked” information for most sites
•   Excellent topical cross-referencing
•   There are links to some topics dealing with international issues, but most content is for the U.S.
•   Outstanding; this is probably the most extensive directory of free online criminal justice resources currently available; it certainly is one of the best; very useful for the novice as well as the experienced researcher; highly recommended


Criminology Websites: An Annotated “Webliography”

•   Authored by Kenneth Fink, Information Services Librarian, Pepperdine University
•   Guide to criminology websites for the following resources: federal agencies, university/”think tanks,” journals, databases, “crime prevention”
•   Primarily American in scope, with very limited international links
•   Discussion of federal criminal justice links is excellent; does a magnificent job of discussing and defining the often-confusing relationships between agencies, examining their similarities as well as differences
•   “Crime prevention” section links to a variety of types of sites which offer practical advice on avoiding/minimizing the effects of crime
•   Includes advice on the most productive methods for obtaining maximum research benefits from each site
•   Outstanding; while not extensive, this site does a superb job of selecting and analyzing those areas of criminology which it covers; annotations and commentary that accompany links are among the best currently available; highly recommended


Guide to Criminology/Criminal Justice

•   Maintained by the Shady Grove Library, University of Maryland Libraries
•   Directory of database, print, e-journals and Internet resources for criminal justice in the library
•   Access to databases and e-journals is restricted to the University of Maryland academic community; they may be found in academic libraries or large public libraries
•   Print resources include dictionaries/encyclopedias/thesauri, “reference books,” journals; they may be found in academic libraries or large public libraries
•   Links to websites are primarily to government resources, professional sites, directories; these are not extensive, but very well-chosen for “the basics”
•   Also identifies video resources
•   Excellent annotations accompany most citations and links
•   Outstanding; one of the best academic pages for criminal justice resources; well-organized, clearly written


Internet Center for Corruption Research

•   “A Joint Initiative of the University of Passau and Transparency International”
•   “Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2005” is “… a comparative assessment of [a] country’s integrity performance, alongside with related academic research on corruption”; currently ranks 159 countries
•   Includes information on sources utilized in compiling the report, “a detailed description of the methodology underlying” the report and an FAQ feature
•   Links to CPI reports from 2000 – 2004, “older indices” (1995 – 1999; these are less comprehensive) and “Measuring the dark side of human nature: The birth of the Corruption Perception Index”
•   Outstanding; the best resource for gauging the extent of international corruption levels on a national basis


Internet Resources for Criminal Justice

•   Maintained by Erin C. Daix for the University of Delaware Library
•   Links to sites for the following categories: “general resources,” corrections, drugs/alcohol issues, federal agencies/offices, international resources, juvenile delinquency, law enforcement, criminal justice statistics, professional associations/organizations, discussion groups/mailing lists, e-journals, newsletters
•   Annotations accompany most links
•   Excellent; this is one of the most useful academic library sites for this field; while not extensive, its well-chosen links offer a great overview and starting point for research; easy-to-navigate


Law Enforcement Search Engines

•   Directory of links to law enforcement “gateways” for the following: international organizations/resources, federal agencies, careers, memorial sites, “official” directories (state police, police department homepages), portals for broad-based information (associations, job hunting/posting, news, forums/”chat rooms,” conferences/events, training opportunities,
•   Outstanding site for all sorts of information and resources pertaining to police work on international, national, state and local levels


National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NCAD)

•   “NACJD was established in 1978 under the auspices of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Science Research (ICPSR) which is part of the Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan”
•   “Primarily sponsored by agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice”
•   Mission: “To facilitate research in criminal justice and criminology, through the preservation, enhancement, and sharing of computerized data resources; through the production of original research based on archived data; training workshops in quantitative analysis of crime and justice data”
•   Serves as an archive for thousands of criminal justice-related data collections/studies from the federal government and other sources; each data collection/study includes a “Bibliographic Description” (title, principal investigator, funding agency), “Scope of Study,” “Methodology,” “Access and Availability”
•   May be browsed topically, by broad category (12) or specific topic (over 300)
•   Includes detailed instructions on using the archive and accessing data
•   Searchable
•   Downloading of data collections/documents requires registration (free-of-charge)
•   Includes information on NACJD’s educational resources, programs, conferences
•   Outstanding; this is the best resource for accessing data collections created by various Justice Department agencies and additional resources


Redwood Highway: Crime, Law and Related Links

•   Maintained by Patrick Jackson, Department Head, Criminology and Criminal Justice Department, School of Social Sciences, Sonoma State University
•   “The Redwood Highway contains links from and about the world that deal with the nature, extent, control, and prevention of crime”
•   “Attempts to focus on quality links and is annotated”
•   Directory of links to basic resources in the criminal justice field: “general information,” international resources,” law enforcement, law/courts, corrections and crime-specific topics (arson, death penalty, corporate crime, domestic violence)
•   Also links to professional resources (events/conferences, journals, listservs, professional associations/organizations, jobs/internships)
•   “Usually updated every month or more frequently”
•   Searchable
•   Outstanding; one of the best academic criminal justice pages currently available; it’s extensive, extremely well annotated and very navigable


Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC)

•   A research center within the School of Public Policy at George Mason University"
•   “The first center in the United States devoted to teaching, research, training and formulating policy advice in transnational crime”
•   At present, the bulk of research has been concentrated on countries comprising the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, but efforts are underway to broaden the scope of the Center’s research activities
•   “Links to Internet Resources on Transnational Crime” concentrate on transnational organized crime (all regions), corruption, money laundering, human trafficking; while some links are to reports/policy papers (which are somewhat dated), many other links offer more recent material
•   Includes information on TraCCC’s events, initiatives, programs, projects, publications, resources, services
•   Excellent resource for information on transnational crime


World Criminal Justice Library Network (WCJLN)

•   “Formed at a meeting of librarians and criminal justice information specialists in April, 1991, at the Rutgers School of Criminal justice, New Jersey, U.S.A.”
•   “Mission: To develop specific ways of sharing services and criminal justice information on a global scale”
•   Currently includes member academic research centers/organizations in 22 countries
•   Membership is free
•   Serves as a clearinghouse for criminal justice information in a variety of formats, including statistical resources (for over 80 countries), online periodicals (full text or table-of-contents), bibliographies
•   “Criminal Justice Links Annotated” provides access to governmental criminal justice/legal sources for over 80 countries; may include links to a country’s legal system, law enforcement agencies, corrections information, anti-corruption/fraud resources (comprehensiveness of links vary from country to country)
•   “International” section of “Criminal Justice Links Annotated” provides access to extensive links for 19 categories of justice, law enforcement and topic-specific resources (including hate crimes, human rights, money laundering, terrorism, et al)
•   Also includes information about WCJLN’s activities, publications, resources and services
•   Outstanding; one of the best resources for monitoring criminal justice activities on a national and international basis; highly recommended


Zeno’s Forensic Site

•   Maintained by Zeno Geradts, “a forensic scientist at the Netherlands Forensic Institute of the Ministry of Justice”
•   Links to over 1,200 sites for “General Information Resources,” “Forensic Sciences,” “Forensic Medicine”
•   “General Information Resources” links to a variety of professional resources in the field, including “general” sites, associations/societies, conference, education, jobs, journals/literature, mailing lists
•   Much of the remainder of the content of this site consists of listings for commercial services from laboratories, consultants, “expert witnesses”; there are 18 categories in “Fields of Expertise”
(arson, DNA, explosives, firearms, image processing, toxicology, additional resources)
•   Also available in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish
•   Each link is accompanied by an annotation, date when the site was added, number of “hits,” user rating of site
•   Provides the ability to add/modify a link; also offers free e-mail updates
•   Searchable
•   Excellent; links to “general information” offers extensive professional information; one of the best resources for connecting with sources of technical expertise and the “business side” of forensic science


Websites discussed on this page are for informational purposes only. Johnson & Wales University Library is not responsible for the accuracy, content, or stability of any websites linked to this page. When in need of legal, medical or nutritional advice, consult a professional.

Compiled by Rick Keogh 5/06; links last checked 12/07

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