Criminal Justice Resource Guide
You can search the following selected databases for criminal justice-related articles. You may also be interested in other related guides including social work, psychology, sociology, forensic sciences, and public administration.
Many of the databases listed below include at least some full text articles, but very few databases are 100% full text. Look for the 
button or try the E-Journal Search.
Criminal Justice Abstracts VCU
Citations and abstracts of international journal articles, books, and governmental and non-governmental reports on a wide range of topics in criminal justice. You may also want to search Criminal Justice Periodical Index (Cabell Library Reference Z5118.C9 C74) covering 1975 - 1998 and Criminology, Penology and Police Science Abstracts (Cabell Library Reference HV6001.E9) covering 1980 - 1997.
NCJRS: National Criminal Justice Reference Service VCU
Criminal justice related reports, articles, and audiovisual products from the U.S. and around the world. You can also search a free version of NCJRS, but the free version does not include Get it @ VCU. The full text of some of the documents included in the database are available in the NCJRS microfiche collection (3rd floor).
America: History and Life VCU
Article abstracts and citations of reviews and dissertations covering the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Includes information about notorious figures such as Jesse James and Bonnie and Clyde as well the history of the U.S. and Canadian Justice systems.
Dissertations Abstracts Online VCU
Abstracts of dissertations completed in the U.S. and abroad. See finding dissertations for additional help.
Factiva VCU
Although it is most often thought of as a business database, Factiva includes the full text of many scholarly and professional publications in other disciplines, including British Journal of Criminology, Corrections Today, Criminology, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, and Social Justice.
Academic Search Complete VCU
Comprehensive scholarly multi-disciplinary full-text database. Includes over 5,500 full-text periodicals and indexing/abstracting for over 9,500 journals.
LexisNexis Academic VCU
Contains federal and state court decisions, statutes and regulations, legal publications as well as the full text of national and regional newspapers and magazines. Search tip: To access legal information, click on the Legal Research link to the left of the main screen.
PAIS International VCU
Abstracts from the international literature on public affairs, public and social policies, and international relations.
PsycINFO VCU
Scholarly psychology material including empirical research and peer reviewed journal articles. Covers psychological aspects of related fields such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, anthropology, business, and law.
Science Direct VCU
Science, arts and humanities, social science, business, engineering and technology, mathematics, medicine, and psychology journals.
Social Sciences Citation Index VCU
Database of references cited in articles from more than 1,725 major journals across 50 social sciences disciplines.
Social Sciences Index VCU
Citations to articles of at least one column in length from English-language periodicals. Coverage includes a wide range of interdisciplinary fields covered in a broad array of social sciences journals.
Sociological Abstracts VCU
Over 2,000 journals in 30 different languages are checked for inclusion in this index in the fields of sociology, social work, and other social sciences.
For an overview of criminal justice-related topics, you can consult the following reference books:
Dictionary of Criminal Justice
Cabell Library Reference HV7411.R87
Encyclopedia of American Crime
Cabell Library Reference HV6789.S54
Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice
Cabell Library Reference HV6017.E52
Encyclopedia of Criminology and Deviant Behavior
Cabell Library Reference HV6017.E53
FORENSICnetBASE VCU
Full-text searchable database of CRC Press forensic science and criminal justice handbooks and reference books. Search or browse individual books, or search multiple books. Texts are in interactive PDF format.
You can search the library catalog for additional books, including electronic books, related to criminal justice. You can access the library catalog from the main VCU Libraries Web page at http://www.library.vcu.edu by clicking on the Catalog tab (near the top of the screen) and then clicking on the VCU Library Catalog link.
To search for materials from other libraries, use Worldcat 
or check the catalogs of other Virginia libraries. You can try Interlibrary Loan to obtain materials that VCU Libraries does not own.
If you need help developing a search strategy, Ask a Librarian.
The following selected sources will help you find statistics related to criminal justice research. See the Government Resources section for more sources of statistical information.
Bureau of Justice Statistics
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
Primary source for criminal justice statistical information about the United States. BJS publishes the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics each year.
Crime in Virginia
http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Crime_in_Virginia.shtm
Annual crime statistics from Virginia.
Crime Incident Information Center (Richmond Police Department)
http://www.ci.richmond.va.us/departments/police/Crime_Incident_Info.aspx
Database of City of Richmond crime statistics.
FedStats
http://www.fedstats.gov/
Federal statistics from more than 70 agencies arranged by topic (including criminal justice), subject (including crime), and agency.
Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center
http://fjsrc.urban.org/
Comprehensive compilation of information about suspects and defendants processed in the federal criminal justice system. Includes the Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics.
LexisNexis Statistical VCU
Abstracts for statistical publications from 1973 forward; full-text of selected publications, 1995+. Power Tables feature searches words appearing in statistical tables. Includes statistics from government sources, as well as major international intergovernmental organizations, professional and trade organizations, commercial publishers, independent research organizations, state government agencies, and universities. For items with a SRI, ASI, or IIS record number, check the Statistical Reference Index (SRI), American Statistics Index (ASI), or Index to International Statistics (ISI) microfiche collection.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD/index.html
Originally established by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the archive holds over 700 data collections relating to criminal justice. The web site provides browsing and downloading access to most of this data and documentation.
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/index.html
Criminal justice data from more than 100 sources.
TRAC FBI Web Site
http://trac.syr.edu/tracfbi/
From the Transactional Records Clearinghouse at Syracuse University comes this site aimed at increasing the public's awareness of the FBI and its criminal enforcement efforts. After free registration, users can access tables, maps, graphs and other data detailing the activities of the FBI. There are links to similar sites for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the Internal Revenue Service, and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Uniform Crime Reports
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm
Annual statistical publications including Crime in the United States, Hate Crime Statistics, and Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted produced from data provided by nearly 17,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States.
The following sources will help you find government resources. There are too many other federal and state agencies covering social work-related topics to list in this guide, so you may want to see Government Information or use a government-specific search engine such as FirstGov.gov or Google's U.S. Government Search for federal resources. For state resources, try the main state Web page like the Commonwealth of Virginia or Maryland. There is a list of State and Territorial Governments provided by FirstGov and county information is available at http://www.naco.org/ (select a Find a County from the About Counties menu near the top right of the screen).
Federal Bureau of Investigation
http://www.fbi.gov/
Information about ongoing FBI investigations, testimony and other communications with the U.S. Congress, speeches, press releases, and crime statistics. Site includes recent issues of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin and statistics from the Uniform Crime Reports
Federal Bureau of Prisons
http://www.bop.gov/
Information about federal inmates and facilities including an inmate locator and statistics. For state information, see the list of State corrections departments listed by state provided by FirstGov.
Government Printing Office (GPO) Monthly Catalog VCU
Citations for publications of the U.S. government. Includes legislative materials and the vast array of publications from the executive branch agencies.
LexisNexis Government Periodicals Index VCU
Citations for articles on a variety of topics published in US Government magazines/newsletters. Some of these are available online through the Government Periodicals on the Web link.
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS)
http://www.ncjrs.gov/
One of the world's largest sources of criminal justice information. This site is divided into subject areas including corrections, courts, crime prevention, criminal justice statistics, drugs and crime, juvenile justice and victims. Each section includes full text documents, fact sheets, and links to other Web sites and listservs. The NCJRS Abstracts Database contains bibliographic information and abstracts for over 140,000 documents reflecting the world literature in criminal justice. The full text of some of the documents included in the database are available in the NCJRS microfiche collection (3rd floor).
National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/
NIJ is the primary federal sponsor of research in crime and criminal justice. The site includes an online newsletter, NIJ Journal, information about funding opportunities and reports of ongoing and completed research.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/
Resources aimed at preventing, treating and controlling juvenile delinquency and improving the effectiveness and fairness of the juvenile justice system.
Office for Victims of Crime
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/
Information about victims' rights and services.
PAVNET (Patrners Against Violence)
http://www.pavnet.org/
Joint effort of 7 federal agencies to provide information about effective violence prevention initiatives.
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services
http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/
Information about program areas; text of recent legislation and regulation affecting the agency and its customers; a state criminal justice agency directory; links to other related sites; and information about upcoming conferences and other events.
Virginia Department of Corrections
http://www.vadoc.state.va.us/
Information about state inmates and correctional facilities including an inmate locator. For information for other states, see the list of State corrections departments listed by state provided by FirstGov.
Virginia State Police
http://www.vsp.state.va.us/
Information about current activities and divisions; statistical data including Crime in Virginia; list of wanted criminals; job listings.
The following selected sources will help you find legal resources, both legislative and judicial, related to criminal justice research.
CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Library
Full text of the Congressional Quarterly and Congressional Researcher, publications covering Congress and topics of legislative interest.
LexisNexis Congressional
U.S. legislative information including bills, reports, hearings, and public laws from 1970 - present. Search tip: Start with a legislative history search. For example, search using no child left behind as your search phrase, and you will retrieve a legislative history containing a summary, related bills, and references (and links) to relevant Congressional Record entries (which feature floor debate), reports and hearings.
THOMAS
http://thomas.loc.gov/
U.S. legislative information including bills, public laws, votes, the Congressional Record, and reports from 1973 - present.
Virginia General Assembly and Legislative Information System
http://legis.state.va.us/
Legislative information from Virginia's General Assembly including bills and resolutions, Code of Virginia, Virginia Administrative Code, Rules of the Supreme Court, and House and Senate Documents. For additional state government resources, see our state & local government information research guide.
Federal Courts Finder (Macmillan Law Library, Emory School of Law)
http://www.law.emory.edu/FEDCTS/
Directory of federal court Web sites.
Federal Judicial Center
http://www.fjc.gov/
The Center is the federal courts' agency for research and continuing education focusing on improving judicial administration. Site includes numerous full text reports and studies.
Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School)
http://www.law.cornell.edu/
"Known internationally as a leading 'law-not-com' provider of public legal information," offering opinions of the United States Supreme Court handed down since 1992, with over 600 earlier decisions of historic importance, over a decade of opinions of the New York Court of Appeals, and the full United States Code. Also covers a number of legal topics providing explanatory guides and resource listings.
LexisNexis Academic
Contains federal and state court decisions, statutes and regulations, legal publications as well as the full text of national and regional newspapers and magazines. Search tip: To access legal information, click on the Legal Research link to the left of the main screen.
State Court Web Sites
http://www.ncsconline.org/D_KIS/info_court_web_sites.html#state
Directory of state court Web sites.
United States Sentencing Commission
http://www.ussc.gov/
The Commission establishes sentencing policies, procedures and guidelines for the federal courts. This site includes a wealth of information on the federal sentencing guidelines, including manuals, newsletters, relevant case law, statistics, and reports to Congress and other research results.
The following resources will help you with criminal justice research. Please note that the list is selective. For more Web resources, you can search some of the sources listed below. When using the Web for research, remember to evaluate your sources.
American Bar Association - Criminal Justice Section
http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/home.html
Reports, newsletters, and other information of interest to criminal justice practitioners. The Section's Juvenile Justice Center monitors federal and state legislation affecting juvenile justice.
American Civil Liberties Union
http://www.aclu.org/
The ACLU has issue sites for Criminal Justice and the Death Penalty.
American Society of Criminology - Division on Critical Criminology
http://www.critcrim.org/
Collection of critical papers and other resources that relate to the Division's purpose of fostering research and theory development in the field of critical criminology.
Death Penalty Information Center
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
Reports, briefs, and statistics examining all aspects of capital punishment. A state-by-state listing outlines and compares legislation.
Prentice Hall's Cybrary
http://talkjustice.com/cybrary.asp
Directory of over 12,000 criminal justice Web sites.
United Nations Crime and Justice Information Network
http://www.uncjin.org/
Global crime prevention and criminal justice information network. Site includes country-specific information, international statistics and research sources, and UN documents.