THE FOCUS OF THIS INQUIRY IS THE 'LABELLING' OR 'INTERACTIONIST' PERSPECTIVE, ALTHOUGH DETAILED COMPARISONS ARE MADE WITH OTHER CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF CRIMINALITY (STRUCTURAL, CONFLICT, CRITICAL, AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL). BY CONCENTRATING ON THIS PROCESS OF SOCIAL TYPIFICATION AND THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN LABELLED AS CRIMINAL OFFENDERS AND THOSE WHO FIND THEM OFFENSIVE, THE ANALYSIS ILLUSTRATES THE NATURE OF LABELLIING PROCESSES CHARACTERISTIC OF ALL SOCIAL INTERACTION. A MAJOR CONTENTION OF THIS BOOK IS THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LABELLING PERSPECTIVE HAS NOT OCCURRED INDEPENDENTLY OF THE CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL CONTEXT, AND THAT IT HAS DEFINITE IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL POLICY, PARTICULARLY THOSE RELATING TO CRIME CONTROL. POSSIBLE FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS, BOTH IN SOCIETY AND IN SOCIOLOGY, THAT MAY ALTER THE ROLE OF THE LABELLING PARADIGM ARE CONSIDERED. AN INDEX AND A 10-PAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED.