The book includes a brief history of Israel, its state institutions and people. It also includes chapters concerning the scope and nature of crime in Israel; law enforcement; the criminal code, process and procedure; the court system (prosecution, defense and the judiciary); probation, parole and aftercare; and the prison system. The book concludes that, in Israel, criminal justice is a non-system; there is little coordination and no planning among the various components. The common denominator for the police, prosecution, defense, courts and corrections is a need to obtain additional resources. The Israeli National Police (INP) has earmarked its limited resources to combating terrorism, at the expense of fighting local crime. The INP has shifted its crime fighting strategy to community policing; the transition from traditional policing is scheduled to be fully implemented by the year 2000. Court reform is much talked about but progress has been very slow. Probation is viewed as a social service and, even though it is more cost-effective than imprisonment, its underlying philosophy clashes with the get-tough attitude now popular in Israel. Tables, figures, notes, appendixes, bibliography, index