Criminal Justice Review

General Information:

1. The Criminal Justice Review will consider for publication only manuscripts that have not been published previously and are not being considered for publication elsewhere. A manuscript being considered by the journal may not be submitted, simultaneously or serially, to any other publication source while this consideration is taking place. Authors will be notified when their manuscripts have been received and assigned for blind review. We strive to have this review process completed within two months, but this is not always possible and authors will be notified as soon as possible concerning the status of the manuscript—accepted for publication, revisions needed, or rejected.
2. Once a manuscript is accepted for publication, it becomes the property of the Criminal Justice Review. Permission for reproduction of materials published in the journal must be obtained in writing from the publisher.

Formatting of Article, Research Note, or Commentary Manuscripts

1. Manuscripts must be written in English. They must be typed, appear in 12-point font size, and be double-spaced throughout (including reference section, end notes, tables, figures, and indented quotes). Avoid the use of abbreviations in the text. You may use common abbreviations such as i.e. or e.g. only in parentheses. Make sure all pages are included and omit page numbers.
2. Two Documents are to be submitted: 
       COVER LETTER that includes the following:
           1. Title of the article
           2. Names and primary affiliations of the author(s) and address
           3. Authors' telephone numbers and email addresses
           4. An abstract of no more than 200 words
           5. A maximum of 5 key words indicating content of the article
       MAIN DOCUMENT that includes the following:
           1. Title of the article
           2. An abstract of no more than 200 words
           3. A maximum of 5 key words indicating content of the article
           4. Article - Text, References, Figures, Tables, Appendices
3. End notes are to be used for substantive comments rather than citations. Identify them in the text by consecutive superscripted numbers. Please group notes at the end of the text, beginning on a page identified by the title “Notes.” Double-space the end notes.
4. Tables and figures should be used only when necessary. Their positions should be indicated in the manuscript (e.g., INSERT TABLE 1 ABOUT HERE); however, the tables and figures themselves should be located at the back of the manuscript. Figures and charts that cannot be typeset electronically must be submitted as camera-ready copies of professional quality.
5. To the extent required by law, permission for the use of copyrighted materials quoted in a manuscript must be obtained in writing from the copyright holder by the author. A copy of the release must be submitted to the Criminal Justice Review.
6. Use the following formats for headings and sub-headings:
   First-level head: centered with the first letter of each major word capitalized
   Second-level head: flush with the left margin with the first letter of each major word capitalized
   Third-level head: initial letter of each major word capitalized, italicized and flush to the left margin. Regular text follows period.
   Fourth-level head: initial letter of first word capitalized, italicized and indented. Regular text follows period.
7. Citations must conform to the style prescribed by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. When citing references in the text, adhere to the following guidelines:
   1. In a direct citation, place only the date in parentheses. Example: Brown (1989).
      In an indirect citation, place both the name and the date in parentheses with a comma after the author’s surname. Example: (Brown, 1989).
   2. If a cited work has two authors, cite both authors’ surnames in the text. Example: (Brown & Smith, 1991). In citing two authors, use the full form of citation at all times.
      For three, four, or five authors, use the full form only for the first appearance in the text. Example: Merrill, Mundi, and Pierce (1996). Thereafter, use only the first author’s surname, followed by “et al.” Example: Merrill et al. (1996).
   3. For six or more authors, use the first author’s surname followed by “et al.” and the date, even for the first appearance in the text. However, in the reference list, list the initials and surnames of each author.
   4. Include page or paragraph numbers only in the case of direct quotations, using the following format: (Brown, 1989, p. 213). If you cite material that spans more than one page, hyphenate page numbers as follows: 1-10; 68-69; 101-102; 115-119; 1000-1001; 1000-1023; 1000-1256.
   5. In citing more than one work by an author, follow this format: Adams (1993, 1995); (Brown, 1993, 1996, in press).
   6. If the works were published by the same author(s) in the same year, label each item with a letter. Example: (Smith, 1985a, 1985b).
   7. Within parentheses, use a semicolon to separate the citations to different authors.
   8. Arrange surnames in alphabetical order (that is, the order in which the references are listed in the reference section). Example: (Brown, 1984, 1988; Jones et al., 1993a, 1993b; Smith & Brown, 1996).
   9. Cite court cases as follows: Miranda v. Arizona (1966).
   10. Cite laws, treaties, and statutes as follows: Armed Career Criminal Act (2001).
8. The Reference section must conform to the style prescribed by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. Arrange the references in alphabetical order, double-spaced. When developing the reference section, adhere to the following guidelines:
   1. Type the first line of each reference item flush to the left-hand margin; indent subsequent line(s) of the item. Supply complete information on each reference.
   2. List surname, first initial, and middle initial (if any) of author(s). Example: (Brown, A.B.)
   3. List the date that the work was published in parentheses, followed by a period. Example: Brown, A.B. 2009).
   4. Italicize the name of the journal in which an article appears with the first letter of each major word capitalized and followed by a comma. Next, provide the volume number and page numbers of the journal.
   5. Italicize book, report, and electronic source titles and use sentence-style capitalization whereby only the first letter of the first word, all proper nouns, and the first word after each punctuation mark are capitalized.
   6. In book and report references, include the location and name of the publisher. Name the city in which the publisher is located. Name the state only when the location of the city is not commonly known or when more than one state has a city of that name (e.g., Springfield). Use standard two-letter abbreviations for names of states (e.g., IL, TN, NJ).
   7. If a book is a second or later edition, include this information.

      Examples of references:
            Article with single author:
            Anshel, M. H. (2000). A conceptual model and implications for coping with stressful events in police
            work. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 27, 375- 400.
            Article by two authors:
            Cook, P. E., & Hinman, D. L. (1999). Criminal profiling: Science and art. Journal of Contemporary  
            Criminal Justice, 15, 230-241.
            Article with three (or more) authors:
            Courtright, K. E., Berg, B. L., & Mutchnick, R. J. (2000). Rehabilitation in the new machine? Exploring  
            drug and alcohol use and variables related to success among DUI offenders under electronic  
            monitoring—Some preliminary outcome results. International Journal of Offender Therapy and   
            Comparative Criminology, 44, 293-311.
            Book reference:
            Rosenbaum, D. P. (1994). The challenge of community policing: Testing the promises. Thousand  
            Oaks, CA: Sage.
            Item in edited volume:
            Manning, P. K. (1988). Community policing as a drama of control. In J. R. Greene & S. D. Mastrofski  
            (Eds.), Community policing: Rhetoric or reality (pp. 27-45). New York: Praeger.
            Magazine or newspaper article, no author:
            Fosdick goes after computer hackers. (1996, February 29). Lawman’s Weekly, pp. 6-19.
            Unpublished manuscript:
            Yeh, S. (1994, January). Diffusion of innovation: An exploratory study on community policing. Paper
            presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Miami, FL.
            Unpublished doctoral dissertation:
            Jockman, J. S. (1988). The death penalty in ancient Rome. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Brown 
            University.
            Court case:
            Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). Legal Statute or treaty:
            Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924e (2001).

9. Any manuscript failing to conform to the above specifications will be returned to the author(s) for revision before being considered for publication.
10. Each article, research note, or commentary manuscript submission must be accompanied by a cover letter, addressed to the Editor, expressing the author’s intent and noting that the manuscript is not being considered for publication elsewhere. If there is more than one author, indicate clearly in the cover letter the one to whom correspondence should be addressed.
11. Each article, research note, or commentary manuscript submission must be accompanied by a biographical sketch for each author, not to exceed 150 words, outlining relevant educational and professional experiences.
12. If you would like to discuss the formatting of your materials prior to submission, please contact the editor, Timothy Brezina, at the following email address: cjr@gsu.edu.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

CJR encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

Authorship

Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.

The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This is all those who:

1. Made a substantial contribution to the concept or design of the work; or acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data,
2. Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content,
3. Approved the version to be published,
4. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

Authors should meet the conditions of all of the points above. When a large, multicentre group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship.

Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship, although all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.

Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.

Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.

• Acknowledgements

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

Per ICMJE recommendations, it is best practice to obtain consent from non-author contributors who you are acknowledging in your paper.                                                           

• Third Party Submissions

Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

• Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
• Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
• Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

Funding

CJR requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 

Informed Consent Statements

Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, and all papers reporting or human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee, in addition to the approval number.

For research articles, authors are also required to state in the methods section whether participants provided informed consent and whether the consent was written or verbal.

Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text. Please do not submit the participant’s actual written informed consent with your article, as this in itself breaches the participant’s confidentiality. The Journal requests that you confirm to us, in writing, that you have obtained written informed consent but the written consent itself should be held by the authors/investigators themselves. The confirmatory letter may be uploaded with your submission as a separate file.

Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants.

How to Submit Your Manuscript

Online submission and review of manuscripts is now mandatory for all article, research note, and commentary manuscripts.

New User Account

Please log onto the Sagetrack website at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cjr.

If you are a new user, you will first need to create an account. Follow the instructions and please be sure to enter a current and correct email address. Creating your account is a three-step process that takes a matter of minutes to set up. When you have finished, your User ID and password is sent via email immediately. Please edit your user ID and password to something more memorable by selecting “Edit Account” at the top of the screen. If you have already created an account but have forgotten your details, type your email address in the “Password Help” field to receive an emailed reminder. Full instructions for uploading the manuscript are provided on the website.

New Submission

Submissions should be made by logging in and selecting the Author Center and the “Click here to Submit a New Manuscript” option. Follow the instructions on each page, clicking the “Next” button on each screen to save your work and advance to the next screen. If at any stage you have any questions or require the user guide, please use the “Get Help Now” button at the top right of each screen.

To upload your files, click on the “Browse” button and locate the file on your computer. Select the designation of each file (i.e., main document, submission form, figure) in the drop down next to the browse button. When you have selected all files you wish to upload, click the “Upload Files” button.

Review your submission (in both PDF and HTML formats) then click the “Submit” button.

You may suspend a submission at any point before clicking the “Submit” button and save it to submit later. After submission, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. You can also log back into your author center at any time to check the status of your manuscript.

Please ensure that you submit editable/source files only (Microsoft Word or RTF) and that your document does not include page numbers; the Criminal Justice Review SageTRACK system will generate them for you, and then automatically convert your manuscript to PDF for peer review. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor’s decision and requests for revisions, will be by email.

Submitting a Revised Manuscript

Authors submitting revised manuscripts should follow the instructions above to submit through the SageTRACK system. To create a revision, go to the “Manuscripts with Decisions” option in your Author Dashboard and select “Create a Revision” in the “Action” column. Authors of all revised submissions should, when prompted, provide information explaining the changes in your manuscript, as this will be provided to reviewers.

For Book Reviews:

Submit book review manuscripts electronically via email to:
Timothy Brezina
Editor, Criminal Justice Review
Email: cjr@gsu.edu