Criminal policy is perceived as a new discipline which includes not only penal measures but also administrative sanctions, prevention, mediation, and nongovernment initiatives like private police and international protective organizations. A historical section examines the ideological underpinnings of criminal policy: liberalism, egalitarianism, and different forms of totalitarianism. Two major government models--the democratic state and the authoritarian state--are studied in their influence on criminal policy. Next, models of society which do not involve a central government in their response to crime are presented. The following section analyzes major movements and attitudes in criminal policy, such as concern for security, criminalization, and decriminalization. A section on the structural restrictions of criminal policy explains the role of constitutional courts and international forces such as Human Rights organizations or the efforts to create more uniform bodies of law within the countries of Europe. Index included