An overview is provided of the interventions of critical criminology since the 1970's. A thorough critique also is provided of the misplaced ideals and realities of the self-styled 'new realist' approach on the left within criminology. An extensive historical and contemporary account of the left's response to law and order is provided. The myth of black criminality is explored within the context of assumptions behind official responses to inner-city uprisings in London in the early 1980's. The realities of community policing as a reactive attempt at disguised police surveillance and control are discussed; and police use of unreasonable and excessive force and remedies to it are considered. The conditions of imprisonment are examined, and the impact of recent changes in sentencing, parole, and the prison construction program are discussed. Institutionalized responses to deaths in prison and police custody are described, as are inquest procedures. The ways in which women's actions and protests have become criminalized are identified. The experiences of women who suffer male sexual violence within the structural context of male power also are discussed. Finally, the State's response to Northern Ireland is discussed in relation to structural conflicts, increasing authoritarianism, and the normalization of coercive special powers. Chapter notes and index.