Criminal justice systems are the systems in our government that enforce the law, protect the public, prevent crimes, and arrect people accused of crimes. However, criminal justice systems pick and choose who to protect; Latinas often suffer from the criminal justice systems rather than receiving help and support. In Vera Lopez and Lisa Pasko’s Latinas in the Criminal Justice System: Victims, Targets, and Offenders, readers are shown countless testimonies and interviews about system-impacted Latinas and their negative experiences with criminal justice systems. Lopez and Pasko use data and information from academic scholars and practitioners that work closely with system-impacted Latinas. Latinas in the Criminal Justice System explores Latinas’ negative involvement in the criminal justice systems through four distinct parts: the victimization of Latinas, how Latinas become ‘offenders’ and are forced into the systems, immigration and discrimination, and community programming for system-impacted Latinas (Lopez and Pasko).

Overall, Lopez and Pasko’s main argument focuses on the system-impacted Latinas and how the criminal justice systems have negatively affected their lives, especially the police. Lopez and Pasko explain how Latina women’s involvement in the systems is due to several factors: an increase in women immigrating to the United States than in previous decades, an increase in women advocating about domestic violence, and so on. This negative impact occurs because Latinas struggle fighting for their freedom since the systems do not support or help them. Latinas in the Criminal Justice System focuses specifically on Latinas because, according to Lopez and Pasko, there is not enough literature that explains and details the experiences of Latinas when facing the criminal justice systems. Whenever Latinas face the criminal justice systems, there are many of her aspects that are judged: her documentation status, her sexuality, her race makeup, and her ability to speak English (Lopez and Pasko). Lopez and Pasko go in-depth in the subject of system-impacted Latinas and describe the hardships and obstacles Latinas face when they are confronted with problems that require the involvement of the criminal justice systems.  

The authors bring substantial knowledge about feminist criminology in Latinas in the Criminal Justice System. Firstly, Vera Lopez, Ph.D. is a Professor of Justice and Social Inquiry in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University (NYU Press). She has studied feminist criminology and has researched girls’ and women’s involvement in the criminal justice systems. Her most famous book is titled Complicated Lives: Girls, Parents, Drugs, and Juvenile Justice.

Secondly, Lisa Pasko, Ph. D. is currently an Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Denver (NYU Press). She is also affiliated faculty in the Gender and Women’s Studies Program. Pasko is co-author of The Female Offender: Girls, Women, and Crime and Girls, Women, and Crime: Selected Readings. Pasko has primarily studied female offenders, violence in youths, adolescent behavior, delinquency, and the juvenile justice systems as well as sexualities for more than fifteen years.

As previously mentioned, in Latinas in the Criminal Justice System, Lopez and Pasko discuss system-impacted Latinas and how they are negatively impacted by criminal justice systems. In the introduction, the reader is introduced to the four parts that make up the book. Each part delves into a distinct aspect of Latinas’ involvement with criminal justice systems. Lopez and Pasko’s methodology consist of surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and information gathered from government offices.

In the first part, Lopez and Pasko describe the victimization of Latinas and how intersectionality plays a crucial role when it comes to the bullying of Latina girls. Many Latinas experience domestic violence; Lopez and Pasko discuss the tactics abusers use to control their victims, specifically isolation and fear. Abusers separate their victims from family members and friends to instill fear into them and prevent them from finding resources to receive help and support. Latinas who suffer from domestic violence struggle with escaping because of the lack of resources available to them. Regardless of their documentation status, Latinas who are isolated do not have connections that support them and aid them in searching for resources, leading to depression and feeling stuck in an abusive situation (Lopez and Pasko 30). Lopez and Pasko also discuss how Latine culture induces fear in Latinas. Latinas do not want to become the family ‘chisme’, so they fear reporting domestic violence to avoid facing judgment from their families. Also, undocumented Latinas feel like they do not have a choice but to endure their abusive situations because of fear towards the police and their immigration status. They know that the authorities will judge them rather than support them, worsening their situation. Through interviews, surveys, and testimonies, Lopez and Pasko gathered these details and factors that made Latinas afraid of criminal justice systems during their abusive situations. However, Latina women are not the only ones who are victims of violence; Latina girls, especially LGBTQ+ Latinas, face bullying in school settings. According to surveys given to high-school aged students, LGBTQ+ Latinas are more likely to face bullying than heterosexual Latinas. This study and results show the importance of taking intersectionality into consideration; Latinas face many obstacles and struggles, but those obstacles and struggles increase when identities intersect (i.e., being LGBTQ+ and Latina).

In the second part, Lopez and Pasko describe how Latinas become ‘offenders’ and how distinct settings induce Latinas to become ‘offenders’. Lopez and Pasko report research that shows that Latinas who have been in trouble with the law have experienced a variety of difficulties in their lives, such as childhood trauma, abuse, and self-image struggles, and Lopez and Pasko also mention that there has been in increase in girls who are juvenile offenders. After collecting some information from a juvenile diversion program, Lopez and Pasko found that Latinas were more likely to be charged with misdemeanor charges, disorderly conducts, and person offenses than their white counterparts. Moreover, Lopez and Pasko addressed how certain settings and situations cause Latinas to become ‘offenders’. The results from surveys and interviews showed that Latina girls witnessed violence in their homes or communities, a family member involved in a gang, a parent with substance abuse problems, and an important figure in their life jailed more than white girls reported. Lopez and Pasko also address how school settings and authorities promote violence in Latinas by not aiding them when needed; they just wait until Latinas show any sign of violence so that they can expulse them from school and detain them. Latinas are viewed by authorities, judges, and administrators as lazy and untrustworthy, preventing Latinas from willingly reaching for help and support. In this part of the monograph, the authors discuss how Latina girls move in and out of the system and are forced to be on the run. Several girls battle substance abuse, gang affiliation, and homelessness. Latina girls who have a warrant against them must stay with friends and/or partners to have a place to live in, but there are problems that can arise with that: some friends and/or partners could introduce Latina girls to drugs or abuse, forcing Latina girls to leave or feel stuck to avoid further issues with authorities (Lopez and Pasko 112). Rehabilitation is hard for Latina girls, especially if they are connected to gangs; they cannot leave gangs easily, which can lead to further rehabilitation and trauma for Latinas.

In the third part, Lopez and Pasko talk about immigration and discrimination. The opening chapter mentions the several reasons many Latinas immigrate from their home countries to the United States. Most Latinas immigrate from Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and their reasons include poverty, inequality, and state repression. However, Latinas also immigrate for gendered reasons, such as domestic violence and sexual abuse. Lopez and Pasko discuss how the ‘border’ between the United States and Latin America is not only physical; there are language and culture barriers that become obstacles in immigrants’ lives, and systems take advantage of these barriers to criminalize Latines, especially Latinas due to their intersectionality of being a woman and a Latina. Lopez and Pasko explore the case of Adriana and Esther, two Latinas who were sentenced to prison and later deported to Mexico. Language was a huge barrier that affected them in different settings: during their sentencing, in prison, and when receiving medical attention. Language also impacted Adriana and Esther’s reintegration into Mexican society. Esther talks about how she was discriminated during her deportation; she received looks filled with judgment. Esther also mentions how she had to conform to gender norms in Mexico to not be perceived as a criminal and have the ability to start anew. The authors also discuss how immigration separates families (Lopez and Pasko 201). Mothers and children are split from each other, causing emotional trauma and distress in both the mother and the child.

In the fourth part, Lopez and Pasko discuss about the limited resources available to undocumented Latina girls, how Latinas cope with discrimination, and intervention programs installed for system-impacted Latinas. In one case study, Lopez and Pasko discuss Lupe’s experiences growing up as a Latina who was affiliated with a gang (Lopez and Pasko 264). Lupe mentions growing up being a star student and excelling in class. However, when she entered a private middle school, she lost confidence, and her grades reflected her feelings of unworthiness, leading her to join a gang through her cousins. After leaving the gang due to a cousin getting killed during gang violence, Lupe reflected on her past actions, decided to change, and pursued higher education after high school. Due to her undocumented status, she had a lot of hurdles to overcome, especially financial problems. However, the Colorado ASSET law helped Lupe cut her tuition in half. The ASSET law allows undocumented students to receive in-state tuition, making college more affordable for Lupe. Lopez and Pasko also mention how Latina girls react to discrimination based on their mother’s teachings. The results from questionnaires showed that Latina girls exhibit proud feelings of their culture, especially when motivated by their mothers. Latina girls who received positive teachings about their culture from their parents were more likely to dismiss discrimination and feel less impacted by others’ views. Finally, the fourth part is wrapped up with intervention programs and how they should be customized to fit Latinas’ perspectives, cultures, and intersectionality. According to surveys, Latinas believed that intervention programs should focus on how culture is impactful to their behaviors and how respect should be a mutual feeling between patients and staff. An example of a great intervention program is Xinachtli. This intervention program focuses on both gender and culture when it comes to Latinas’ perspectives and experiences. Xinachtli focuses on removing existing stereotypes on identities so that patients can define their own identities.

Overall, the strongest aspect of Lopez and Pasko’s book is the combination of perspectives of system-impacted Latinas. The variety of views and studies shows a collaborative input from academic scholars and practitioners that work closely with system-impacted Latinas. This combination also allows a conversation to occur regarding system-impacted Latinas and bring this topic to the forefront of criminology, more specifically feminist criminology. Many perspectives are brought together to discuss the issue of system-impacted Latinas, and it sets literature focused on Latinas, allowing further research to develop on this topic.

Alternatively, a weakness in Latinas in the Criminal Justice System is that some studies used surveys and questionnaires to gather their data, and self-reported data can have bias and could affect the accuracy of studies. Also, certain questionnaires that require rating an event could be rated differently depending on the individual. For example, some situations may be rated as stressful for one person while another could rate it as calm. Self-reported data can affect the accuracy of results due to how individuals answer questions.

In conclusion, Latinas in the Criminal Justice System discussed the issue and lack of literature around system-impacted Latinas. Vera Lopez and Lisa Pasko united distinct perspectives and brought up different aspects that Latinas face while facing criminal justice systems. This monograph also brings intersectionality into the book, allowing Latinas to think about their identities and see how they impact each other. Furthermore, this allows for more research to be addressed towards system-impacted Latinas, and it could lead to the creation of better, more effective intervention programs to support system-impacted Latinas. Ultimately, Latinas in the Criminal Justice System adds important information towards feminist criminology, and it combines distinct aspects of criminal justice systems that Latinas face.

Works Cited

Lopez, Vera and Pasko, Lisa. Latinas in the Criminal Justice System: Victims, Targets, and Offenders, New

York, USA: New York University Press, 2021. https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479804641

NYU Press. “Vera Lopez.” NYU Press, NYU Press, 21 Feb. 2019. https://nyupress.org/author/vera-lopez/.

NYU Press. “Lisa Pasko.” NYU Press, NYU Press, 21 Feb. 2019. https://nyupress.org/author/lisa-pasko/.

West Virginia University. “Lisa Pasko, Ph.D..” Research Center on Violence, West Virginia University,

https://violenceresearch.wvu.edu/executive-board/research-associates/lisa-pasko