Criminal Justice Research Topics for Research Papers

Immediately someone asks you "what is criminal justice" law enforcement, victims, the courts, crimes, the law, prison systems, and justice, among others come to mind. Thinly defined, criminal justice refers to a system used by governments to mitigate or prevent the occurrence of crimes within and beyond their jurisdictions. Criminal justice sanctions violators of the law while maintaining peace and the rule of law or order. You must note that different parts of the world have different criminal justice systems.

Research statistics indicate that criminal justice assignments come second after the law or legal studies assignments. Notably, the two are tough and give students a headache to complete.

Writing a criminal justice research paper requires accuracy, keenness, and patience. Besides, you have to use credible scholarly sources to support the facts and ideas in your paper.

However, it is always prudent to first find outstanding and unique criminal justice research topics. This here is the most challenging task that students undertake. Some even fear to construct criminal justice research paper topics. Instead, they will ask themselves, "what topics are there involving criminal justice for a research paper."

This list of potential criminal justice research topics answers the question, "what are some good research paper topics in criminal justice."

In this article, you will find over 100 plus criminal justice research topic ideas. When handing your criminal justice assignment, you can always trust our paper writing help agency for assistance.

Defining Criminal Justice Research Paper

So, what is a criminal justice research paper? You may ask. Criminal justice research papers or writing assignments are taken by law students or those pursuing criminology. They are papers that mostly deal with crime and justice.

With criminal justice studies, students are taught how to identify crime, analyze it, prevent it, and look into different illegal acts. It entails the analysis of legislation, court studies, and examination of various theories of crime and peace.

When writing a criminology research paper, it is paramount that you choose an excellent criminal justice research topic.  However, you must note that a criminal justice research paper topic must take into consideration the heterogeneity of legislations from state to state.

Sometimes, if it is a broad criminal justice paper, going international through exploring different case studies and sources of conflict can always be prudent.

After choosing a good topic, you should come up with a great thesis statement for a research paper. Besides, you should be willing to format the paper and proofread it before submitting it. If it is an argumentative research paper, be sure to indicate the arguments for and against then draw a strong conclusion.

Criminology Topics for Research Paper

1. The portrayal of domestic violence in the media
2. Impacts of domestic violence on children
3. Exploring and critiquing theories of crime
4. Integration of former prisoners into the community
5. Relationship between unemployment and the rise of gangs and crimes in the U.S.
6. How intelligence affects crime rates
7. Impacts of drunk driving on rising accident statistics
8. Online fraud and global banking systems
9. Violence against the homeless
10. Elderly abuse in nursing homes
11. Does capital punishment deter crime?
12. The war on drugs
13. Gun violence in the U.S.
14. Hate Crimes in the United States
15. Police brutality in the US
16. Does crime mapping help prevent crime?
17. Criminal record systems
18. Cyberbullying and cyberstalking: the mediating role of technology.
19. Organized crime and transnational crime
20. The rise of homegrown terrorists
21. The link between organized crime and terrorism.
22. Victimless crimes
23. The social production of crime
24. Predictors of criminal behavior
25. Rates of Recidivism and Race
26. Professional crime and crime within an organization pose special problems for the theories of crime because many of those involved have high social status. Why should this be a problem and how can such crimes explain?
27. When does the use of professional discretion cross ethical boundaries? 

Controversial Criminal Justice Research Paper Topics

1. Limited Rights of police officers.
2. Causes of college or campus violence.
3. The use of body cameras in law enforcement.
4. Ethics of different crime punishments.
5. Racial biases in investigations in the US.
6. Connecting Crime and Modern Music like Hip Hop and Rock.
7. Legal codes used in America
8. Sexual exploitation by media personalities and the rich in America
9. Gun violence and prevention policies
10. Criminal justice reforms in the US.
11. Youth offenders and Bootcamps
12. Detention of immigrants in squalid conditions.
13. Abuse of power by criminal justice practitioners
14. Zero tolerance policy and crime rates
15. Drugs, human, and arms trafficking in the contemporary world
16. Prostitution and human trafficking
17. A wave of financial crimes and their connection to terrorism.
18. Private prisons
19. Prison labor
20. Prison-industrial complex
21. Criminalization of poverty
22. Medical marijuana and crime rates.
23. The Rise of Punitive Criminal Justice Policy in the United States.
24. Race and politics of criminal justice.

International Law Assignment Topics

1. International criminal law treaties.
2. The role of Interpol in fighting international crime.
3. Amnesty international and criminal justice systems.
4. Women and international criminal law.
5. Controversial decisions made by the ICC, ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia), and the ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda).
6. Child soldiers in Africa. A case of Sudan, Somalia, and Congo.
7. Blood minerals
8. Methods used in drug trafficking
9. Famous and notorious arms trafficking routes globally
10. International offenders
11. The global fight against corruption and socio-economic crimes
12. Human rights violations in Sudan or Uganda.
13. Transnational crimes and international laws.
14. International criminal tribunals.
15. Human right violations during wars
16. The role of the International Criminal Court
17. Crimes against humanities
18.  How may English law and social policy impact upon the lives of those who come into contact with services?

Related Read: List of social issues to research.

Reasonable Criminology Research Topics

1. Juvenile delinquency treatment program in a community of choice
2. Crime Victim processing
3. Importance of recognizing the signs of stalking
4. Criminal definition of stalking in your jurisdiction
5. Offender processing
6. Criminalization of poverty
7. Stricter laws and gun possession
8. Strategies to reduce economic crimes
9. Gender bias in investigations
10. Criminal Justice reforms
11. Juvenile detention procedures
12. Incarcerated parents and crime
13. Digital Storytelling as a Crime Prevention Initiative for High-Risk Communities

Related: Interesting research paper topics.

Criminal Justice Research Topics (Crime and Communities)

1. Civilian review boards
2. Gang identities
3. Prison architecture and construction
4. Community policing and crime
5. Policing protest
6. Criminalizing activism and protest
7. Juvenile justice
8. Criminalization and disaster
9. Reentry of prisoners
10. The families of prisoners
11. Forensics and investigations
12. Parole and probation and crime
13. Child protection services
14. Legalization of sex work would decrease the number of violent sexual crimes
15. Selection of jury
16. Women in prison
17. Criminalization of the youth of color
18. Censorship and surveillance
19. Racial discrimination among prisoners
20. Racial discrimination during arrests
21. Discrimination during the negotiation process
22. Immigrants and rates of crime and incarceration
23. The profile of famous American prisoners
24. Rap music and the connection between crime and gangs
25. Restorative justice processes and procedures
26. Child abduction cases
27. Social control theory
28. Crime control theories
29. Victimization theories
30. Social learning methods
31. Transitional justice
32. Methods of interrogations
33. Attorney honesty and the rule of law
34. White-collar crime
35. Nigerian Nationals and Online Fraud
36. Mandatory sentencing
37. Jury nullification
38. Wrongful convictions
39. DUI policies
40. Civilian review boards
41. Identity theft and digital media
42. Legacy of Rodney King
43. Forensic processing of crime scenes
44. Overcriminalization and decriminalization in the USA
45. Planted evidence
46. Men's rea and Actus rea
47. Intellectual property laws
48. Preventing football hooliganism
49. False confessions
50. Explain why both communications and decision-making are important within law enforcement organizations.

More Criminology and Criminal Justice Research Topics and Ideas

Below are some of the most exciting and good topics for your criminal justice paper. We have also included some questions that can give you topic ideas for your papers.

1. The school-prison pipeline
2. The challenges of the prison system
3. Sustaining prison populations
4. Key principles of crime prevention
5. Use of criminalistics to narrow down to specific crime suspects
6. Role of interprofessional collaboration in corruption and fraud investigation
7. Steps of investigating a crime scene
8. Role of secondary crime scenes in corroborating witness accounts
9. Legal perspectives of cybercrime
10. Revenge leaks, trolling, and defamation as serious internet crimes
11. Internet vigilantism
12. Long-term effects of school suspensions on adult crime
13. Impacts of domestic violence on crime
14. Role of mass media in fighting crime
15. Problem-Oriented Policing vs. Community Oriented Policing
16. Understanding criminal behavior through Differential Association Theory
17. The perspective of Foucault and Becker on Crime and Punishment
18. Governmentality and the problem of crime
19. Governmentalization of the State and Criminal Law
20. Legal and Social perspectives of crime commission
21. Recent innovations in experimental criminology
22. Benefits and challenges of sex offender registry
23. The process of jury selection
24. Zero-tolerance policies and the school to prison pipeline
25. Role of probability and statistics in criminology
26. Sexual assault in schools and workplaces
27. Sexual predation among the clergy
28. Are the theory of rational choice and deterrence theory relevant today?
29. Understanding crime of passion
30. Main components of the criminal justice system
31. Preventing wildlife crime
32. Role of forensic science in wildlife crimes
33. Understanding felony disenfranchisement laws
34. Prison violence and rape
35. Link between substance abuse and crime
36. Mertons Anomie theory in explaining crime
37. Identity theft in the digital age
38. How online predators identify their victims
39. Role and functions of forensic science in the modern criminal justice system
40. Terrorism in perspective: control, characteristics, and causes
41. Types of serial killers
42. Building an offender profile
43. Alternative sentencing for juveniles
44. Types of punishments in criminal justice system
45. Information sharing technology and collaboration in fight against terrorism
46. Role of national security bodies
47. Role of technology in modern forensics
48. Problems that law enforcement solves today
49. Understanding similarities and differences: manslaughter, murder, and homicide
50. Effects of gun control strategies in America
51. Role of the president in the criminal justice system
52. Classifying the type of offenders
53. Crime mapping in the contemporary world
54. Victimization theories
55. Rights and privileges of rape victims
56. Three-strike rule and mandatory sentencing
57. How hate crime develops
58. Challenges of street gangs
59. Modus operandi of youth gangs
60. How fieldwork is done in criminology
61. The place of distributive justice in criminal justice
62. The effectiveness of three-strike laws
63. Problem-solving courts: structure, operations, and functions
64. Abolition of capital punishment
65. Link between religion and crime
66. How to prevent campus crime
67. Criminal trial process
68. Role of code of ethics for criminal justice departments
69. Florida and Maryland legislative frameworks
70. Role of code of ethics for Texas department of criminal justice
71. Copyright and discoveries of researchers
72. Role of intellectual property rights in preventing fraud in the scientific field
73. How prosecution laws are applied
74. Cyberstalking and cyberbullying: Role of parents and teachers
75. Detecting and preventing forgery cases in educational institutions, government agencies, and workplaces
76. How drug courts operate
77. Classification of crime systems
78. Countries with the best criminal justice systems
79. Countries with the lowest crime rates
80. Role of expert witnesses in criminal trials
81. Is pornography a form of sexual violence?
82. Criminal codes in various states for concealed weapons
83. Correlation between race and crime
84. Role of racial discrimination in criminal justice
85. Registry of sexual offenders should be made public
86. Helicopter parenting and juvenile delinquency
87. Employees should be checked for a criminal background
88. Should and employee be informed about their background checks?
89. Drug testing when employing law enforcement officers
90. Immigrant children and delinquency
91. Can restrictive housing help decongest prisons?
92. How to combat homegrown crimes
93. Effectiveness of predictive policing
94. Is selective incapacitation an effective crime management policy?
95. Role of social class in crime
96. Can death penalty deter crime?
97. Is extradition law fair?
98. Devious interrogation: are they valid?
99. Effectiveness of the REID interrogation technique
100. The effectiveness of the PEACE interrogation technique
101. Kinesic interview and terrorist suspects
102. Supermax prisons
103. Pros and cons of decriminalization of marijuana
104. Legalization of marijuana in the United States
105. How crime thrives in Mexico and columbia
106. Link between prostitution and community policing
107. Use of predictive policing to fight and prevent crime
108. Link between housing and crime
109. Can neighbourhood influence criminal behavior?
110. Is having youthful offenders in boot camps an effective strategy?
111. Understanding the motivations of Jack, the Reaper
112. Is the modern criminal justice racist?
113. Reliability of eyewitness testimony
114. Methods to combat international drug trafficking rings
115. Crime commission during emergencies
116. Gender disparity in the criminal justice system
117. Impacts of solitary confinement
118. The efficacy of the drug courts
119. Impacts of prison to children of the incarcerated parents
120. Relationship between people and the police in America
121. Understanding the challenges of the elderly in prison
122. Strategies for truth and reconciliation
123. Transnational crime: motivations and prevention
124. Role of international cooperation in criminal justice
125. Globalization and trends in crime
126. The theology of crime, punishment, and redemption
127. Therapeutic jurisprudence
128. Role of the religious authorities and the clergy in fighting crime
129. Cults, religious extremism, and crime
130. Role and impacts of NGOs in crime prevention
131. Community crime prevention strategies
132. Effective community policing strategies
133. Causes of urban insecurity
134. Professionalization of criminal justice
135. Fear of crime and crime
136. Restorative justice: what is it?
137. Victim assistance
138. Media construction of criminals and crime
139. Indigenous justice: is it effective?
140. Trafficking in protected species
141. How organized criminals operate
142. Elderly victimization
143. Understanding property crime
144. Profiling sex crimes
145. Gangs and organized crimes
146. Detecting environmental crimes
147. Role of crime and Terrorism in National & International Decisions & Interventions
148. Citation and content analysis in criminology
149. Edge ethnography in criminology studies
150. DAWN and ADAM programs
151. Wrongful convictions in the USA
152. Exploring careers in Forensic Science or Criminology
153. Role of crime scene investigations

Criminology Research topics and Ideas

1. History of criminology
2. Legal and social perspectives of crime commission
3. Public policies and criminology
4. Criminology is a social science
5. The link between crime and age
6. The link between criminal behavior and immigrant status
7. Ownership of firearms and law violations
8. Exerted aggression and chances of crime commission
9. Impacts of educational level on white-collar crime
10. Is football hooliganism a crime?
11. Social status and crime
12. Citizenship and crime
13. Why so many homeless people commit crimes
14. Sources of violence in society
15. The link between mental health and law violation
16. Is marijuana to blame for criminal behavior
17. Budget management in criminal justice organizations
18. Hiring and training officers
19. Affirmative action policies in criminal justice agencies
20. Diversity in policing/criminal justice organizations
21. Management and labor union relations in criminal justice organizations
22. Promotion in criminal justice organizations
23. Officer and staff recruitment
24. Internal investigations in criminal justice organizations
25. Impact of excessive use of force on criminal justice organizations
26. Diversity in criminal justice organizations
27. Usage of less-than-lethal force in law enforcement
28. Use of undercover officers
29. Gender issues in criminal justice management (hiring, promotion, discrimination, etc.)
30. Impact of Homeland Security and federal funding on state and local criminal justice organizations
31. Retirement age in criminal justice agencies
32. Staffing issues in prisons
33. Prison overcrowding and its impact on staffing
34. Educational opportunities for criminal justice personnel
35. Understaffing of juvenile system and its impact on children
36. Usage of alternatives to incarceration
37. Workplace stress in criminal justice organizations
38. Use of conductive energy devices by police
39. The problem with rank in criminal justice organizations

Criminology Topic Ideas based on Criminology Theories

1. Using theoretical integration to explain crime
2. Social learning theory and criminal behavior
3. How the structures within society pressure citizens to commit a crime
4. Impacts of social media policing on crime
5. The social construction of crime
6. Neighborhood ecological characteristics correspond with crime rates
7. Criminal behavior as a social response
8. Wrongful convictions and racism in law enforcement
9. How life events can affect the criminal behavior of individuals
10. Understanding criminal behavior from the psychological perspective
11. Using routine activities theory to explain the propensity to commit a crime
12. Dominant crime theories exclude women
13. Criminal behavior can be influenced through social interactions
14. Vandalism of public infrastructure: Causes, consequences, and remedies
15. Corruption in sports: The role of law enforcement
16. Impacts of mass violence on society
17. Victimization of vulnerable populations
18. Biological and classic theories of crime
19. Labeling and symbolic interaction theories
20. Social control theory and crime�
21. Strain theories and crime
22. Psychological theories of crime
23. Life-course criminology
24. Classical criminology theories
25. Cultural transmission theory and criminal behavior
26. Feminist criminology
27. Convict criminology
28. Critical criminology
29. Rational choice theory and deterrence
30. Crime classification systems

Topic Ideas based on Types of Crime

1. Causes and consequences of property crimes
2. Public order crimes
3. Blue-collar crimes
4. White-collar crimes in the corporate world
5. Transnational organized crimes
6. High tech crimes in the digital era
7. How the internet facilitates human and drug trafficking
8. Hubs for human trafficking
9. Human trafficking in China and India
10. Causes and consequences of robbery with violence
11. Causes and consequences of sex tourism
12. Identifying and shielding terrorism

We are hopeful that with these criminal justice research topic ideas, you will come up with the best criminal justice research paper topic. Our professional writers created the list through an internal topic suggestion contest.

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Related Article: Psychology research paper topics and titles.

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