Criminal justice policy in Britain since 1945, Anthony Bottoms and Simon Stevenson; crime, community and conflict - the multi-agency approach, Geoffrey Pearson, et al; discourse and decision-making in Scottish prisons, Michael Adler and Brian Longhurst; security, control and humane containment in the prison system, Roy King and Kathleen McDermott; researching the discretions to charge and to procecute, Roger Leng, et al; ethnic minorities, crime and criminal justice - a study of a provincial city, Tony Jefferson, et al; talking about policing, Rod Morgan; crime and criminal justice in the media, Philip Schlesinger and Howard Tumber; women's criminal careers, Pat Carlen; the victims of fraud, Michael Levi and Andrew Pithouse; it's not what you do but the way that you do it, Doreen McBarnet.

Brings together the major findings of 11 projects funded under the "Crime and the Criminal Justice System Initiative" by the Economic and Social Research Council in the mid-1980s.