This truly groundbreaking textbook explores traditional and broader fields of criminal law and justice to give a full perspective on the subject.

Celia Wells is Emerita Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Bristol. An early exponent of the need to understand law in wider contexts, in 1995 she became the first woman law professor at Cardiff. Awarded the OBE in 2006, she is a past President of the Society of Legal Scholars.

Part I. Approaching Criminal Law: 1. Images of criminal law; 2. Criminal laws in context; 3. Foundations of criminal law; Part II. Law, Order and Security: 4. Social and political constructions of disorder; 5. Securing order: pre-emptive measures; 6. Public order: control mechanisms; 7. Criminal law and justice: emerging themes; Part III. Interpersonal Violence, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Offence Preparation and Participation: 8. Offences against the person; 9. Drug and alcohol abuse; 10. Offence preparation and participation; Part IV. Property and Propriety: 11. Defining and defending private property; 12. Constructing property in criminal law; 13. Property rights and criminal enforcement; Part V. Regulating Sexuality and Bodily Autonomy: A Crisis of Trust and Intimacy?: 14. The social construction of sexuality and bodily autonomy; 15. Sexual violence; 16. Regulating sexuality; 17. Criminalising health care choices; Part VI. Making a Killing: Conceptions of Violence: 18. The social construction of violence and personal harm; 19. The criminal regulation of public safety; 20. Homicide: boundary issues; 21. Murder and manslaughter.