Criminology and Justice Studies

The Department of Criminology and Justice Studies at California State University—Northridge joins with the many voices from academia and elsewhere in an unequivocal denouncement of systemic injustice on the basis of race or other dimensions of inequities in social and economic power.  The killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis on May 25 is yet another example of the myriad ways in which institutionalized inequities in the criminal justice system translate too often into acts of devastating violence impacting men, women, Queer, and transgender persons of color.  While the focus has recently been on a Black man—George Floyd—the names of Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Sandra Bland, and many other women, Queer, and transgender people of color need to be remembered as well.  We acknowledge the long history of institutionalized racism that has been enacted in targeted violence perpetrated by some members of law enforcement disproportionately against persons of color, all too often with deadly consequences.  We also denounce the persistent and institutionalized neglect in holding officers accountable for that violence.  Criminology and Justice Studies stands with those who seek justice in the names of those like George Floyd who are victims of institutionalized violence and who seek changes that will better ensure that all received equal protection under and treatment by the law.

Read the full statement from the Criminology and Justice Studies Department.