Over the past decade, the political climate in the United Kingdom has changed dramatically with the expectation that this change would result in a shift in government policy on crime and punishment. However, the nature of this change has not always been what was expected. This book provides a collection of essays which examine the policy developments in crime control and assesses their significance. There is an underlying theme that a qualitative change has taken place in the politics of crime control since the early 1990's. With imprisonment rates continuing to climb, crime has become a central policy issue for government. In addition, the politics of crime has taken on a pronounced gender, race, and age preoccupation. The contributors of this book draw on international comparisons in their research. References