Book excerpt: This is the eBook of the printed book and may not include any media, website access codes, or print supplements that may come packaged with the bound book. Once again, Schmalleger is the most current and popular text on the market and continues to lead as the gold-standard among criminal justice texts today! Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century, 13e continues to lead as the gold-standard for criminal justice texts. Best-selling, student- and instructor-preferred, and time-tested–Schmalleger is the most current and popular text on the market. This textbook guides criminal justice students in the struggle to find a satisfying balance between freedom and security. True to its origins, the thirteenth edition focuses on the crime picture in America and on the three traditional elements of the criminal justice system: police, courts, and corrections. This edition continues to question the viability of our freedoms in a world that has grown increasingly more dangerous. Students are asked to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the American justice system as it struggles to adapt to an increasingly multicultural society and to a society in which the rights of a few can threaten the safety of many.