Criminal Law Essay Topics

Statistics show that criminal justice essays fall right behind general law assignments in terms of difficulty. As with topics on medical science (healthcare and nursing ), writing on criminal law essay topics is an endeavor that requires ultimate tact. Writing about basic law essay topics is already complicated enough, but criminal law? It requires an exceptional grasp of the intricacies of criminal law and fortitude in researching, so to speak. This is the kind of academic writing requires both pinpoint accuracy and unwavering determination, along with sufficient credible sources to support ideas and arguments. The first task is look for reliable and relevant criminal law essay topics, which most students find challenging – most criminal law essay topics they find are either too broad or too narrow. Halfheartedly choosing an unworthy criminal law essay topic, as such, could potentially lead to a badly written paper, and then the inevitable instance of dealing with a failing grade - this makes choosing a topic of utmost importance.    

How to Choose a Good Research Topic: General Rules to Consider

As with every writing task, one should always focus on the issue at hand. If the ideas are merely jotted down and scattered meandering across the paper, the thesis statement will not be clear. Criminal law essay topics, in particular, are limited and flexible because they already come with hypotheses, usually based from well-known cases and legislative acts.  Remember to choose a criminal law essay topic you are confident about and particularly interested in, as the process of writing can be especially dragging if the chosen criminal law essay topic does not spark any curiosity in you. The key to writing a good criminal law essay is an almost fanatical interest, as your mindset about your work will translate to your paper. 

Writing Your Criminal Law Paper

• Focus on the particulars.   Remember that you are not limited to any historical time period or by any country, but still, you are operating on a limited time and the number of pages for your paper.  Choosing a broad and complicated criminal law essay topic will cause you problems, so it is best to stick to a narrow and less complex one. For instance, you can write about how a single law is interpreted and implemented in different countries.
• Keep your audience in mind. You may be one of the best in your class, but if you do not cater to the needs of your audience, your essay will an exercise in futility, and the reader might not even be halfway before they decide to stop. You will quickly lose their interest, especially if you write in jargon or dwell in numbers. Even if not everyone is thoroughly familiar with criminal law essay topics, the language that you use should cover the entire spectrum of your readers. Be clear without being elementary, be elaborate without being verbose. 
• Remember to use actual cases to support your paper.  What better way to strengthen your paper than with the help of actual cases? Remember that these are actual events that have already transpired – instances wherein the law has been applied and working in action. While not all criminal law essay topics have a multitude of landmark cases that can serve as reference, make sure that the cases you choose are solid and noteworthy. 

Criminal Justice Research Topics for Topnotch Grades

Looking for good research topics is already difficult, and searching for criminal law essay topics and criminal justice essay topics can direct you to a haze of confusion and frustration. To save you time and effort, we have gathered some of the most relevant topics in criminal justice, sorted according to specific categories:

General Criminal Law Research Topics

If you are unsure if your instructor will approve of an original research direction, it is best to just choose a standard topic. These topics usually plague the media, be it on TV, the internet, and newspapers. In most cases, these best general criminal law essay topics will be of interest to you as well. 

• What’s wrong with the prison system?
• Reflections on terrorism
• The theory on deterrence and rational choice
• School and workplace sexual offenders should be punished by law
• The case of men receiving capital punishment more often than women
• Kidnapping and ransom cases: common features, criminal motifs, and behavioral patterns
• The connection between public health and criminal justice
• Crime prevention
• Decoding arson: deliberate or accidental?
• Cybercrime: A legal perspective
• Mass media, justice, and crime
• A review on parental abduction laws
• War crimes committed by America (or another country)
• Police and civilians: deciphering the blurry relations
• A comparative analysis of policing models: mafia to organized crime
• Prevention of wildlife crime
• Miranda versus Arizona (1966) and the extent of its impact
• The jury selection process
• Felon disenfranchisement
• The relationship between organized crime and corruption 
• Rape and violence: inside prison life
• Juvenile recidivism
• The roles and functions of forensic science
• Cases on theft and shoplifting
• How can date rape be prevented?
• Substance abuse crimes
• Cases on identity theft
• Protecting children against online predators
• Criminal and civil cases: differences and similarities
• What kind of laws protects domestic abuse victims?
• Abuse of the elderly
• Ethics and criminal justice
• Current issues the US Law Enforcement should be dealing with
• How has information sharing technology improved the fight against terrorism?
• Types of serial killers
• The types and elements of robbery
• Correlation of youth arrests and drug use
• Criminology application in public policy
• Aggressive behavior and crime
• The inner operations of a criminal justice court
• The process of sentencing: how does it work?
• Punishment types and establishment
• From a human rights perspective, is unwarranted arrest acceptable?
• The truth about human trafficking
• The crime of racial profiling
• Technology and forensics
• The similarities and differences of murder and homicide
• Classification of offenders
• Crime mapping
• How are female crimes different from male crimes?
• The effects of poor health conditions in prisons
• Who takes care of the prisoners’ children?
• Causes and effects of victimization
• The rights of a rape victim
• A discussion of mandatory sentencing and the three strike rules
• The history of criminal courts
• Hate crimes and motivations
• Are youth gangs dangerous? What motivates and influences their behaviors?
• The role of distributive justice in criminal justice
• The history of capital punishment
• Rights granted to criminals and prisoners
• Cases of campus crimes
• Understanding the criminal trial process
• The punishment of crimes with  religious or racial basis 
• Fraud in the scientific field: Can researchers protect their findings using copyright?
• The application and effectiveness of prosecution laws
• How can parents protect their children from cyberbullying and cyberstalking?
• How do drug courts work?

Controversial Criminal Justice Research Topics

If you wish to cover and explore the best criminal law essay topics that touch on controversial issues, consider the list below:

• Which one brings more benefits, punishment or reform?
• Is the restorative justice model the best criminal justice tool?
• War on drugs:  does it truly alleviate the drug problem?
• Should insanity be considered a reason for exemption from liability?
• The special juvenile justice system: should it be eliminated?
• School based drug testing on high schools and colleges
• Should mine offenders be put on probation instead?
• Gun control and violence: what needs to be done
• Should pornography be considered a type of sexual violence?
• Who was Jack the Ripper? Was he ever caught?
• The presence of racism in the modern justice system
• False accusations: protecting yourself
• The attitude towards concealed weapons in various states
• The correlation between crime and race
• Should sex offenders should be be registered in public records
• The relationship between poor parenting and juvenile delinquencies
• Running a background criminal check on all new employees: ethical?
• There is correlation of delinquency cases and immigrant children: true or false?
• Restrictive housing: can it help decongest prisons?
• The legalization of prostitution
• The importance of eyewitness testimony in helping crime investigations
• The effectiveness of boot camps for youthful offenders
• The relationship between social class and crime

Criminal Justice Research Topics on Racism & Discrimination

Racism and discrimination continues to play a role in the world of crime. Here are some of the best criminal law essay topics to ruminate: 

• Racial prejudice and the prisoners in America
• The history of punishment and slavery
• Famous African American prisoners
• The presence of discrimination in the negotiation process
• Gender bias in eyewitness programs
• Racial conflicts in college campuses
• Unwarranted police searches on African Americans
• The use of police force on Black teenagers

Criminal justice thesis topics

There is a surge in the number of young people pursuing a degree in criminal justice, and the final step to attaining this, of course, is thesis writing. As you search for the criminal law essay topics best suited for you, remember that the world of criminal justice constantly evolves depending on the social and political climate. Paramount to your decisions should be its relevance, along with the interest it commands not only to your professors but other degree seekers.  If you remain doubtful, consult the list below:

• The impacts of vital historical twists in the  modern world of criminal justice
• The accessibility and effectiveness of the judicial system:  are there any reforms that can improve current legal proceedings?
• A discourse on the role of private companies in the public criminal justice system
• If all drugs were legalized today, what would the criminal justice field look like?
• An offender’s reentry into life and society: how can it be made seamless?
• The case of law enforcement representatives wearing cameras to monitor their actions. What are the possible effects of this implementation on the judicial system and law enforcement agencies?
• Why do released criminals fall back into their habits?
• The effectiveness of strategies used to deter criminal behavior 
• A discussion of instances of unlawful force use by law representatives. Do criminals deserve this kind of cruelty? 
• A comparative analysis of police treatment in different countries
• Media accuracy: how accurately do films, television, and literature depict the criminal justice system?
• The influence of people making public policy decisions on the criminal justice system
• Stories of innocent people serving their sentences because of judicial mistakes. What preventive measures should be taken?
• Similarities between the Mexican drug war and drug use in the United States. Can the legalization of drugs deter violence?
• The accuracy of criminal activities predictions: what determines it?

Criminal Justice Debate Topics

Law debate topics are complex enough due to. However, criminal law essay topics are mainly concentrated on pertinent problems, often concerning the general public and still have no unequivocal solutions:

• The effectiveness and impartiality of using capital punishment to dissuade crime
• Understanding the extradition law: is it fair?
• The use of trickery and deceit:  are they acceptable or not for investigations and interrogations?
• The use prison informants: ethical or unethical
• Should death penalty be implemented on juveniles?
• Looking into supermax prisons: effective or just cruel?
• Can police shootings ever be justified?
• Drunk drivers should go through severe punishment
• Marijuana decriminalization and its effects on business, social events, and medicine
• Zero tolerance: the best policy for reducing crime?
• The use of plea bargaining on settling criminal cases 
• The Patriot Act: threat to our civil liberties?
• Should shaming be part of the criminal punishment?
• The possibility of receiving mandatory prison sentences on criminal charges without parole and its effects on families of criminals, employers, and general social structures

There are still more out there, but we truly hope that this list of criminal law essay topics serves as the light at the end of the tunnel for you, so that your exhausting search will finally come to an end. The world of criminal justice constantly moves and changes, and with laws to deal with, it is important to remain within the boundaries of ethical norms. Even as you choose to write about controversial essay topics, remember to be sensitive and respectful – you are, after all, dealing with life and other people. 

One thing to remember: this list of the best criminal law essay topics, along with the supplementary lists of law debate topics and law thesis topics are all-encompassing. For instance, know your chosen criminal law essay topic can also serve as the law debate topic of your choice if you are preparing for a debate. In similar fashion, the law debate topic can also be your law thesis topic, should the need arise. 

An essay writing service for you

Due to the fast-paced nature of the criminal justice world, looking for the most suitable criminal law essay topic remains to be a force to be reckoned with amongst students. The process of writing it is even harder, of course. As you struggle to keep the rest of your life intact, being assigned a less appealing criminal law essay or research paper topic can just become the iceberg to your already rocky journey. Luckily, there are writing services out there now, like CustomEssayMeister. We’ve been on the market since 2006, catering to the academic help needs of students, such as yourself. We specialize in various topics, including criminal law and justice, as our writers are professionals in their respective fields.  Should you need any help with academic requirements, don’t hesitate to contact us!