Crime continues to be a major area of public policy and debate, and societies expend huge amounts of intellectual and financial capital attempting to measure and understand it. The second edition of this highly respected text provides an accessible, comprehensive introduction to the study of crime in Britain, helping you to understand and critically evaluate the key issues. It is designed particularly for students coming to the subject for the first time but also those who want to dig deeper into the issues for more advanced study. Crime and Society is essential reading for students, researchers and practitioners of criminology, criminal justice, sociology, social policy and of key interest more widely across the social sciences.