The study used information from records, observations, and interviews with members of the judiciary, criminologists, and prisoners. The analysis documents the nature of the differences between policy and practice in the two societies and discusses how and why the Dutch developed a policy that brought about, in relative terms, the lowest prison population in Europe without more severe consequences in recidivism and crime than those of the British penal policy. Individual chapters detail the similarities and differences in the criminal justice systems of The Netherlands and England, penal trends since World War II, the relevance of various theories of decarceration to sentencing trends in The Netherlands, and the consequences of the sentencing trends in The Netherlands. Further chapters focus on changes in policies toward drugs in the Netherlands, the attitudes and experiences of prisoners who have been imprisoned in both countries, and the relevance of Dutch policies to England. The analysis concludes that policymakers in England should consider reforms that would result in less use of imprisonment as well as more humane standards. Tables, figures, index, and 224 references.