The report describes the main characteristics of each system and comments on extant statistical information so as to analyze how the systems work. For these purposes, the data in the Third United Nations Survey have been supplemented by information obtained from national correspondents and other sources. A total of 35 European countries were invited to respond to the survey, and 29 had responded at the time when the analysis was undertaken. Responses from Canada and the United States are also provided. This report indicates that the amount of reported crime has continued to increase, and that the control of crime is increasingly shifting to agencies and mechanisms outside the criminal justice system proper. The taking of a final decision on criminal cases is shifting from the courts and other adjudicatory bodies to the agencies responsible for the earlier stages of the criminal justice process, i.e., the prosecutor and the police. The report concludes that there is no clear relationship between the criminal justice resources implemented and the problem of crime, and it argues that there is a need for a clearer analysis of where the actual "problem" of crime lies. There is also a need for a more realistic appraisal of the potential of the various crime-control options. The report also recommends that the criminal justice system should be reviewed regularly, the extent of the use of imprisonment should be limited, and special attention should be given to limiting the length of pretrial detention. 33 tables