The Student Edition is divided into six units:

Crime includes sections on victims, victim rights, history of crime, methods for measuring crime, youth gangs, white-collar crime, swindlers and con artists, elements of crimes, murder, theft, hate crimes, cyber crimes, and legal defenses to crime.

Police includes sections on history of law enforcement, criminal investigations, crime labs, search and seizure, interrogations and confessions, the exclusionary rule, the use of force, police corruption, racial profiling, and police-community relations.

The Criminal Case explores a hypothetical criminal case from arrest through trial. It includes all the key steps of the criminal trial process.

Corrections includes sections on theories of punishment, history of corrections, sentencing, alternatives to incarceration, prison conditions, parole, recidivism, capital punishment, and current debates on corrections.

Juvenile Justice includes sections on the history of the juvenile system, delinquency, status offenses, steps in a juvenile case, rights of juveniles, juvenile corrections, transfer to the adult system, and death penalty for juveniles.

Solutions includes sections on the debates over the cause of crime, racism in the justice system, history of vigilantism, policy options to reduce crime and make the criminal justice system fairer, and options for individual citizens.

The Criminal Justice in America Teacher's Guide provides detailed descriptions of teaching strategies, activity masters, chapter and final tests, background readings, and extra resources to supplement the text.The Criminal Justice in America web site offers links to supplementary readings, the latest statistics, cases mentioned in the text, and much more.