This book applies settler colonialism, critical race, and tribal critical race theories to examine the relationship between settler colonialism and Indigenous and Black disproportionality in criminal justice systems of English-speaking Western liberal democracies including the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia.

It argues that colonial legacies of respective countries established a set of subjugating strategies that continue to manifest today in criminal justice disproportionality.  Erroneously thought of as a concluded historical event, the modern manifestation of subjugating strategies is embodied in punitive law enforcement actions disproportionately targeting Indigenous and Black bodies.

This book examines how we evolved to this point in history, opening the door to a discourse on how to approach untethering respective criminal justice systems from their colonial practices in the name of social justice.  Finally, the monograph offers educational opportunities for sociologists, criminologists, social workers, criminal justice reform advocates, and other stakeholders.

Bryan Warde is Professor of Social Work at Lehman College.