150+ Research Paper Topics for Criminal Justice Students in 2024

For those pursuing criminal justice, you already know the tightrope that you are walking on. The mantle to make this world a fair and honest place rests on you, and we salute you for your effort. Now, when it comes to writing a research paper on criminal justice, choosing topics that are relevant and trending might be a tricky affair. One mistake in selecting the topic and the line between right and wrong fades in seconds. So, how do you choose the right criminal justice research topic that does not border on controversial or drab? Read on for some fantastic tips.

How to choose a good criminal justice research paper topic?

The criminal research paper topic you choose must focus on a definite issue. Unless the slant is centred, presenting succinct ideas in the thesis statement will become difficult. Moreover, your research topics on criminal justice should offer a convincing hypothesis based on relevant legislative acts. This is precisely why you must go for a topic that you are familiar with and confident about.

Here is a list of questions to ask yourself when choosing criminal law thesis or essay topics:

• Is the issue relevant enough for the current time?
• What is the importance of the topic?
• What is the global significance of the topic?
• Is your criminal justice research paper a comparative review or a research review?
• What are the relevant counter arguments for the criminal justice research topic?
• Are there any similar research papers that elaborate on the same context as your topic?
• Is the topic vast enough to meet the grading system?

As you can see, selecting a good criminal justice research topic would need hours of research. To save your time and energy, we have come up with a list of 150+ basic criminal justice research topics. Go through the list and choose one that you find interesting.

50+ Relevant Criminal Justice Research Paper Topics & Questions

If you are looking for the most topical and interesting topics for your criminal justice research paper, here we are to spoil you with too many choices:

1. What are the main problems of the prison system in your country?
2. An explanation of the theory of deterrence and rational choice
3. How should the law punish workplace sexual offenders?
4. Do you think there is a reason why men receive capital punishment more often than women?
5. Study the criminal motifs, common features, and behaviour of two different kidnapping and ransom cases
6. What are the basic tenets of crime prevention?
7. An elaborate system for professionals to understand whether a person was fired off deliberately or accidentally
8. An overview of the motifs of cybercriminals
9. How are mass media, crime, and justice related to each other?
10. Reasons why parental abduction laws should be reviewed and altered
11. A study of the aspects of experimental criminology
12. How can we prevent wildlife crime?
13. Discuss the impact of the infamous 1966 case of Miranda versus Arizona in the present times
14. An overview of the process of selecting a jury
15. Explain the different aspect of felon disenfranchisement
16. What is the relationship between organised crime and corruption?
17. A study about victim services
18. A research review of violence and rape in prison
19. An elaborate study of juvenile recidivism in your country
20. The role and functions of forensic science
21. Should the laws against theft and shoplifting be altered?
22. What differences should be brought into the Witness Protection Program?
23. Steps to prevent and punish date rape
24. A study of the relationship between crimes and substance abuse
25. The severity of identity theft and preventive measures for it
26. The changes that a country’s government can implement to protect youngsters from online predators
27. A comparative review of two or more landmark criminal and civil cases
28. Preventive measures and laws to protect victims from domestic abuse
29. A study on the rise in elder abuse
30. The relevance of strain theory in criminology
31. What is the relevance of ethics in criminal justice?
32. What problems related to law enforcement in your country should be solved? 
33. How does information sharing technology help fight terrorism?
34. The similarities in mental faculties of serial killers
35. How is drug abuse related to youth homicide?
36. A study on the relationship between crime and aggressive behaviour
37. What is the importance of community correctional services?
38. An elaborate analysis of sentencing a criminal in your country
39. Terms established for different types of punishment types.
40. Why is unwarranted arrest a step against human rights
41. What law enforcement should be implemented to avoid human trafficking?
42. A study on the initiative of the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN)
43. How has forensic science evolved due to technology?
44. A comparative study of homicide, murder, and manslaughter
45. How can offenders be classified based on the extent of crime?
46. What is crime mapping, and what is its role?
47. Should crime be considered from the perspective of gender? Study and compare a case of female crime with a male crime?
48. The consequences of poor living conditions in prisons
49. What are the causes of victimisation?
50. An overview of the rights of a rape victim
51. The importance of problem-solving courts in a country’s judicial systems
52. What is the purpose of the three-strike rules and mandatory sentencing?
53. The evolution of criminal courts in your country over the last two decades
54. The reason behind hate crimes
55. How do youth gangs influence the moral principles of a society?
56. The importance of fieldwork in criminology
57. The role of distributive justice in criminal justice
58. The history of capital punishment and amendments over the years
59. Should criminals and prisoners be given the prerogative to exercise rights?
60. What are the reasons behind campus crime?
61. A study of the process of a criminal trial
62. How can crimes committed on a racial or religious basis be punished?
63. A comparative review of cases of fraud in the forensic field
64. The effectiveness and implementation of prosecution laws
65. How can crime be classified?
66. What steps can parents take to protect their children from cyber-stalking and cyber-bullying?
67. What laws can organisations take to fight forgery cases in offices, educational institutions and other entities?
68. How do drug courts work?

Choose one from the above list of criminological and forensic science research topics for your research paper. If you are still looking for more criminology topics, we have best criminal law assignment help service.

Top Criminal Justice Controversial Topics

Here are some of the best controversial criminal justice topics you can explore:

69. Which one is better: Punishment or reform?
70. A comparative study of the restorative justice model as a criminal justice tool
71. War on drugs: How does it help in solving the drug problem?
72. Should the judiciary system consider insanity a reason for exemption?
73. What is the role of the special juvenile justice system?
74. Should schools and colleges have a school-based system of drug testing?
75. What preventive measures should be taken for better gun control?
76. Should pornography be considered a type of sexual violence?
77. An elaborate study of Jack the Ripper
78. How does racism affect the modern justice system?
79. How can an accused person fight against a false accusation?
80. The need to change the attitude towards concealed weapons in criminal codes
81. Are race and crime correlated? If yes, how?
82. Should the judiciary system register sex offenders in public records?
83. How are juvenile delinquency and bad-parenting related?
84. Why should employers run a criminal background check on recruits?
85. A study of the rise in delinquency cases among immigrant youngsters
86. Can restrictive housing help reduce congestion in prisons?
87. Is community policing useful enough to prevent homegrown crimes?
88. Prostitution legalisation: a study on the controversial law
89. The efficacy of eyewitness testimony in investigating crimes
90. Are boot camps for youthful offenders effective?
91. Is predictive policing effective enough?
92. What is the role of selective incapacitation in the reduction of crime?
93. Are social class and crime related?

If you fear that you might cross a line with these criminal justice research paper topics because of the controversial factor, we have some more topics in store for you.

Top Criminal Justice Debate Topics

Before you choose a debatable topic for your criminal justice paper, remember that are such issues usually have no single solution. So, tread on if you think you will be able to do justice to the topic. Here are some debate topics that you can share your views on:

94. The efficacy of using death penalties to deter crime
95. The fairness of extradition law fair – discuss.
96. Your take on deceit and trickery in investigations and interrogations
97. Prison spies – is it an acceptable practice?
98. Should juveniles be subjected to death penalties?
99. Supermax prisons – Are they effective or cruel?
100. Are the reasons behind police shootings valid enough?
101. Why should drunk drivers be given severe punishment?
102. Decriminalisation of marijuana and its effect on social events and the medical world?
103. Is the zero-tolerance policy suitable for reducing crime?
104. Should plea bargaining be considered an acceptable way of settling criminal cases?
105. The role of the Victims’ Rights Amendment in your country’s constitution
106. Jury nullification: why should jurors deviate from the law at times?
107. How does the Patriot Act threaten our civil liberties?
108. Should shaming be considered a criminal punishment?
109. Should criminals receive parole in mandatory prison sentences?

Some More Criminal Justice Thesis Topics

If you are striving to get a degree in criminal justice, here are some thesis topics that you can use:

110. Historical twists that affect the modern world of criminal justice
111. The accessibility and efficacy of the judicial system
112. The role of private companies in the public justice system
113. How would the legalisation of drugs affect the criminal justice field?
114. Why should sex offenders be registered in public records?
115. How to make reentering offenders’ name seamless?
116. Why should law enforcement representatives wear cameras?
117. Why do criminals who serve sentences do not defer from the path of wrongdoing?
118. Are the strategies used to stop criminal behaviour effective enough?
119. Do criminals deserve to be victims of the unlawful force used by law representatives?
120. The depiction of the criminal justice system in movies, television, and novels
121. How do people who make public policy decisions affect the criminal justice system?
122. What are some cases of wrongful conviction, and how to prevent this?
123. How can the legalisation of marijuana change the levels of violence and delinquency in the present times?
124. A comparative study of the role of ethics in Capital Punishment.
125. An elaborative overview of criminal law code in Mental Hospitals
126. The efficacy of using sniffer dogs in investigations
127. Medical Marijuana – why should it be legal?
128. The importance of a regulatory board for monitoring Police Officer Limited Rights
129. How does racial bias affect an investigation?
130. Should violent lyrics in rap music be banned to prevent crime?
131. Explain the state legal codes in your country
132. A study of the increasing cases of college campus violence

Basic Criminal Justice Research Paper Topics

133. Write a paper on the evolution of Criminal Ethics in your country.
134. Should private prisons be banned? Why?
135. A study of war crimes compared to civil crimes.
136. How are cultural traits and religious crimes interlinked?
137. Domestic Violence and Alcoholism – how are they related?
138. Necessary amendments in the Substance Abuse Prevention Act
139. The efficacy of the court procedure for Criminal Justice
140. How can crime be prevented in educational and training institutes?
141. A comparative analysis of the laws to monitor workplace harassment
142. How does gender bias affect legal investigations?
143. A study of the role of incarcerated parents
144. What reforms should be introduced in your country’s Criminal Justice System?
145. Preventive measures to reduce economic crimes
146. Amendments needed in the Gun Control Act
147. How can we increase the transparency of the process of Juvenile Detention?
148. What steps can the government take to restrict Human Trafficking?
149. How to deal with organised crime?
150. Restrictive measures to stop the abuse of power among police officers
151. The need for stricter and safer laws for gun possession
152. An analysis of criminal justice laws related to eve-teasing
153. Racial bias against criminals and prisoners in your country
154. The African American Legislative during the Apartheid
155. The evolution of the Punishment & Slavery Act
156. A study of famous Afro American prisoners and their contribution to the society
157. How does racial discrimination affect the negotiation process?
158. The issue of gender bias of eyewitnesses
159. How do racial conflicts affect college campuses?
160. What can be done to reduce the crime rate among immigrants in a diverse country?
161. The importance of a recorded interrogation in the criminal justice system
162. A study of Transitional Justice in Practice
163. A comparative analysis of various Armed Crime Groups
164. What corrective methods can be taken to strengthen Cyber Criminology?
165. A study of the most infamous art fraud cases
166. How is social media intertwined with identity theft?
167. Child Abuse & TV Violence: how are they related?
168. What can be done to stop aggression against homeless people?
169. The efficacy of forensic identification methods
170. Rehabilitation steps for crime witnesses with ADHD and PTSD

If you are finding it hard to select a topic from the deluge of options, make sure to choose a slant that falls as an ethics criminal justice research topic. And when working on a controversial idea, always be sensitive, empathetic and respectful.

If you still cannot figure out which slant to choose or how to write on the topic, you can take help from our experts.

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