This innovative textbook adopts a series of vantage points to assess the historical emergence, function and purpose of modern criminal justice systems. The areas covered include: origins of the police; police powers, accountability and management; criminal courts and sentencing practices; the emergence of the prison, prison privatization; penal policy; youth justice; punishment in the community; and crime prevention and community safety. Collectively, the chapters provide an accessible overview of the nature of contemporary British criminal justice and encourage historical, comparative and critical analysis of its powers, practices and procedures. The book is the course text for The Open University course D315 Crime, Order and Social Control. It will be an invaluable source for students and lecturers in criminology, sociology, criminal justice and socio-legal studies, as well as those who are seriously interested in confronting the challenge of crime today.