These sample search terms can be used for inspiration in picking a topic, or for brainstorming possible terms to search for in databases or the library catalog. It's important to think about synonyms when searching. Use these as a jumping off point.
Corrections
Correctional Institutions
Detention Facilities
Imprisoment
Gangs
Gang
Gang Membership
Gang Prevention
Metropolitan Areas
Youth Gangs
Police and Legal Issues
Arrest (Police Methods)
Black Police Associations
Community Policing
Criminal Justice Administration
Criminal Justice Personnel
Criminal Justice Policy
Discrimination in Criminal Justice Administration
Discrimination in Law Enforcement
Hate Crime Investigation
Hate Crimes
Judicial Process
Juvemile Courts
Law and Legislation
Law Enforcement
Legal Status
Other Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities
Police
Police Protection
Prison Sentences
Punishment
Restorative Justice
Sentences (Criminal Procedure)
Victims of Crime
Race Relations
African American Criminals
African American Prisoners
Blacks - United States
Civil Rights Race Discrimination
Crime AND Race
Cultural Competency
Cultural Relations
Culturally Sensitive
Equality
Ethnic Groups
Ethnic Relations
Ethnicity
Intergroup Relations
Minorities
Minorities - Crimes Against
Minority College Students
Multiculturalism
Racial Bias
Racial Differences
Racial Inequality
Racial Minorities
Racial Profiling
Racism
Social Justice
Victims of Crime
Social Issues
Civil Society
Criminal personality
Intergroup Relations
Justice - Social Aspects
Social Conditions
Social Control
Social Groups
Social Integration
Social Problems
Social Values
Victims of Crime
Theories
Activity Theory
Attachment Theory
Behavior Change Theory
Co-Cultural Theory
Critical Race Theory
Culture Based Theories
Deterence Theory
Differential Association Theory
Grounded Theory
GroupThink Theory
Hirschi's Self Control
Justice Theory
Minority Group-Threat
Minority-Threat
Planned Behavior Theory
Problem Behavior Theory
Self-Determination Theory
Social Learning Theory
Social Network Theory
Socialization Theory
Strain Theory
Temporal Crime Theory
Yochelson-Samenow's Theory
Women
Femal Offender
Gender
Women Prisoners
Youth
Adolescence
Adolescents
Adulthood
Juvenile and Adult Offenders
Juvenile Courts
Juvenile Delinquency
Minority Offenders
Young Adults
Youth Development
Corrections
Afro-American prisoners
Aged offenders
Aged prisoners
Alternatives to imprisonment
Amnesty
Arrest
Arts in prisons
Bail
Bail bondsmen
Capital punishment
Capital punishment--Religious aspects
Chaplains, Prison
Children of prisoners
Children of women prisoners
Clemency
Collective bargaining--Correctional institutions
Community-based corrections
Community-based corrections--Evaluation
Community-based corrections--Law and legislation
Community service punishment
Conjugal visits
Convict Labor
Convict ships
Correctional institutions
Correctional institutions--Design and construction
Correctional institutions--Fires and fire prevention
Correctional institutions--Health aspects
Correctional institutions--Law and legislation
Correctional institutions--Planning
Correctional issues
Correctional law
Correctional personnel
Correctional personnel--Assaults against
Correctional personnel--Attitudes
Correctional personnel--Job stress
Correctional personnel--Legal status, laws, etc.
Correctional personnel--Malpractice
Correctional personnel--Training of
Correctional psychology
Corrections
Corrections--Administration
Corrections--Contracting out
Corrections--Dataprocessing
Corrections--Evaluation
Corrections--Government policy
Corrections--History
Corrections--Philosophy
Corrections--Research
Criminal anthropology
Criminals--Rehabilitation
Death row
Deinstitutionalization
Delinquent girls
Detention of persons
Discrimination in capital punishment
Early release programs
Electrocution
Electronic monitoring of parolees and probationers
Escapes
Ex-convicts
Ex-convicts--Econimic conditions
Ex-convicts--Employment
Ex-convicts--Legal status, laws, etc.
Ex-convicts--Psycology
Ex-convicts--Rehabilitation
Ex-convicts--Services for
Ex-convicts--Suffrage
Executions and executioners
Exile punishment
False arrest
False imprisonment
Female offenders
Female offenders--Attitudes
Female offenders--Biography
Female offenders--Drug use
Female offenders--Rehabilitation
Fines (Penalties)
Forgiveness
Fugitives from justice
Galleys
Gas chambers
Grievance procedures for prisoners
Halfway houses
Hanging
Hispanic American prisoners
Home detention
Imprisonment
Imprisonment--Cross-cultural studies
Imprisonment--Government studies
Imprisonment--Moral and ethical aspects
Imprisonment--Philosophy
Imprisonment--Psychological aspects
Imprisonment--Religious aspects
Imprisonment--Social Aspects
Imprisonment in literature
Indeterminate sentences
Information storage and retrieval systems--Corrections
Inmate guards
Inmates of institutions
Insane--Commitment and detention
Intensive probation
Intermittent sentences
Interviewing in corrections
Jails
Jails--Desing and construction
Jails--Law and legislation
Jails--Overcrowding
Jails--Social aspects
Jails--Standards
Journalism, Prison
Juvenile corrections
Juvenile delinquents--Counseling of
Juvenile delinquents--Deinstitutionalization
Juvenile delinquents--Drug use
Juvenile delinquents--Education
Juvenile delinquents--Family relationships
Juvenile delinquents--Government policy
Juvenile delinquents--Legal status, laws, etc.
Juvenile delinquents--Mental health
Juvenile delinquents--Psychology
Juvenile delinquents--Rehabilitation
Juvenile detention
Juvenile detention homes
Juvenile parole
Juvenile probation
Juvenile recidivists
Last meal before execution
Legal assistance to prisoners
Life imprisonment
Mandatory sentences
Mexican American prisoners
Military prisons
Music in prisons
Open prisons
Pardon
Parole
Parole officers
Penal colonies
Police supervision
Political prisoners
Pre-release progrmas for prisoners
Pre-sentence investigation reports
Pre-trial intervention
Pre-trial release
Pre-trial service agents
Preventative detention
Prison administration
Prison contraband
Prison discipline
Prison films
Prison furloughs
Prison furloughs--Law and legislation
Prison gangs
Prison homicide
Prison hospitals
Prison hulks
Prison industries
Prison libraries
Prison periodicals
Prison psychology
Prison reformers
Prison release gratuities
Prison riots
Prison sentences
Prison theater
Prison violence
Prison visits
Prison wardens
Prisoners
Prisoners--Alcohol use
Prisoners--Attitudes
Prisoners--Biography
Prisoners--Civil rights
Prisoners--Classification
Prisoners--Correspondence
Prisoners--Counseling of
Prisoners--Death
Prisoners--Deinstitutionalization
Prisoners--Diseases
Prisoners--Drug use
Prisoners--Education
Prisoners--Family relationships
Prisoners--Health risk assessment
Prisoners--Law and legislation
Prisoners--Lega status, laws, etc.
Prisoners--Medical care
Prisoners--Mental health
Prisoners--Mortality
Prisoners--Personal narratives
Prisoners--Recreation
Prisoners--Religious life
Prisoners--Services for
Prisoners--Sexual behavior
Prisoners--Songs and music
Prisoners--Statistics
Prisoners--Substance use
Prisoners--Suicidal behavior
Prisoners--Vocational education
Prisoners, Foreign
Prisoners, Transportation of
Prisoners as artists
Prisoners as authors
Prisoners' families
Prisoners in literature
Prisoners in popular culture
Prisoners' songs
Prisoners' spouses
Prisoners' writings
Prisons
Prisons--Accounting
Prisons--Case studies
Prisons--Comparative studies
Prisons--Costs
Prisons--Cross-cultural studies
Prisons--Design and constructions
Prisons--Drama
Prisons--Finance
Prisons--Food service
Prisons--Government policy
Prisons--History
Prisons--Law and legislation
Prisons--Missions and charities
Prisons--Officials and employees
Prisons--Overcrowding
Prisons--Periodicals
Prisons--Poetry
Prisons--Sanitation
Prisons--Security measures
Prisons--Standards
Prisons--Statistics
Prisons, Coeducational
Prisons and race relations
Probation
Probation officers
Punishment
Punishment in crime deterrence
Recidivism
Recidivists
Reformatories
Reformatories for women
Religious work with prisoners
Reparation
Restraint of prisoners
Sentences (Criminal procedure)
Shock incarceration
Social work with criminals
Social work with juvenile delinquents
Solitary confinement
Speedy trial
Stoning
Surety of peace
Volunteer workers in corrections
Women correctional personnel
Women ex-convicts
Women political prisoners
Women prisoners
Women prisoners--Sexual behavior
Work release of prisoners
Work release of prisoners--Law and legislation
Workhouses
Crime and Criminals
Abduction
Abused aged
Abused children
Abused gay men
Abused husbands
Abused lesbians
Abused men
Abused parents
Abused wives
Acquaintence rape
Admissions (Law)
Adult child abuse victims
Adult child sexual abuse victims
Aerosol sniffing
Afro-American criminals
Afro-American outlaws
Afro-Americans--Crimes against
Aged--Abuse of
Aged--Crimes against
Aged offenders
Alcoholism and crime
Alien criminals
Arson
Art--Forgeries
Art thefts
Asian American criminals
Assassination
Assault and battery
Assault rifles
Assault weapons
Athletes--Drug use
Automobile theft
Bank robberies
Bombings
Bribery
Brigands and robbers
Burglary
Burglary protection
Campus violence
Cargo theft
Carjacking
Casinos
Catholic criminals
Child abuse
Child prostitution
Child sexual abuse
Children and violence
Children of abused wives
Children of prostitutes
Chinese American criminals
Church work with criminals
Citizen crime reporting
Cocaine industry
Commercial crimes
Competency to stand trial
Computer crimes
Computer hackers
Confession (Law)
Conjugal violence
Corporations--Corrupt practices
Credit card fraud
Crime
Crime--Classification
Crime--Cross-cultural studies
Crime--Economic aspects
Crime--Fiction
Crime--History
Crime--Political aspects
Crime--Regional disparities
Crime--Religious aspects
Crime--Research
Crime--Seasonal variations
Crime--Sex differences
Crime--Sociological aspects
Crime analysis
Crime and age
Crime and superstition
Crime and the press
Crime and weather
Crime concern
Crime forecasting
Crime in America
Crime in literature
Crime in mass media
Crime in public housing
Crime in television
Crime in the bible
Crime laboratories
Crime prevention
Crime prevention--Citizen participation
Crime prevention--Government policy
Crime prevention--Optical equipment
Crime prevention--Youth participation
Crime prevention and architectural design
Crime stoppers programs
Crime writing
Crimes aboard aircraft
Crimes aboard buses
Crimes of passion
Crimes without victims
Criminal act
Criminal anthropology
Criminal behavior
Criminal behavior--Genetic aspects
Criminal behavior, Prediction of
Criminal courts
Criminal intent
Criminal justice, Administration of
Criminal justice, Administration of--Planning
Criminal law
Criminal methods
Criminal psychology
Criminal registers
Criminal statistics
Criminal syndicalism
Criminals
Criminals--Alcohol use
Criminals--Biography
Criminals--Drug use
Criminals--Identification
Criminals--Rehabilitation
Criminals in literature
Criminology
Dating violence
Decriminalization
Delinquent girls
Detective and mystery stories
Doping in horse racing
Doping in sports
Drinking and traffic accidents
Drug abuse
Drug abuse and crime
Drug legalization
Drug paraphernalia
Drug traffic
Drunk driving
Education and crime
Electronics in crime prevention
Embezzlement
Employee crimes
Employee theft
Escapes
Euthanasia
Exhibitionism
Extortion
False imprisonment
Family violence
Family violence in literature
Fear of crime
Female offenders
Firearms--Use in crime prevention
Forensic sciences
Forgers
Forgery
Fraud
Free press and fair trial
Fugitives from justice
Gambling
Gang members
Gang rape
Gangs
Gangster films
Gangsters
Graffiti
Handicapped--Abuse of
Hate crimes
Heroin industry
Hispanic American criminals
Homicide
Homicide--Psychological aspects
Homicide investigation
Hoodlums
Hostage negotiations
Hostages
Husband abuse
Hypnotism and crime
Illegitimacy and crime
Imposters and imposture
Incest
Incest victims
Indecent assault
Indecent exposure
Indians of North America--Crime
Infanticide
Information storage and retrieval systems--Crime and criminals
