The book emphasizes four themes: (1) the conflict between the desires for both personal liberty and community safety; (2) the mutual interactions and effects of different parts of the system, (3) decision making within a framework of legal requirements and ethical constraints and with extensive discretion as well, and (4) the desirability of basing decisions and planning on information that is scientifically gathered and evaluated. Individual sections focus on the decision processes of accusation, prosecution, conviction, and punishment; the definitions of crime and the law; the nature and extent of crime; and victim issues. Additional chapters focus on the role and responsibilities of the police, police decision making, police management, and policing innovation; prosecutorial screening, plea bargaining, and prosecutorial discretion; and court structures and processes, pretrial release, trials, juries, and verdicts. Further chapters examine sentencing goals, trends, and decisions; the origins of jails and prisons, jail and prison populations, decision making in correctional institutions, and prisoners’ rights; and probation and parole structures, probation and parole decision making, and intermediate punishments. Other chapters examine juvenile justice policies and juvenile justice reform; research on the effectiveness of deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, and punishment severity; primary and secondary crime prevention; and management information systems. Figures, tables, photographs, glossary, chapter discussion questions, subject and author indexes, chapter reference notes, and computer disk containing a student study guide