Comparative Criminal Justice

Comparative criminal justice is the study of criminal justice arrangements in more than one country, usually at home and abroad. By means of documenting, analyzing, and contextualizing criminal justice processes and institutions in a variety of settings, one can acquire a deeper understanding of the essence of criminal justice. More specifically, comparative criminal justice leads to insights about exotic or outlandish arrangements in foreign jurisdictions. That knowledge may serve to deepen the understanding of domestic arrangements and, in conjunction, may lead to novel conceptualizations of criminal justice and social control. Comparative criminology focuses on offending patterns across countries, while comparative criminal justice is concerned with society's responses to those patterns.