Left realism is a school of critical criminology that arose in Great Britain in the 1980's to reassert the centrality of the victim in the development of a progressive criminology. Critical realism recognizes the seriousness of street crime for its victims, acknowledges that there is public support for a core group of laws, and advocates various types of criminal justice reform and crime prevention strategies. In Great Britain, left realists conduct local crime surveys to measure patterns of victimization and policing; such research remains largely underdeveloped in North America. This book presents the case for left realism; offers a critical assessment of left realism, based on an analysis of realist criminology in Canada and Cuba and its influence on issues such as prostitution and corporate law; discusses the relationship between left realism and feminism; and explores the implications of left realism for victimology. Chapter references