Policies dealing with crime - or at least being seen to deal with it - are a central features of contemporary British political life. Crime and crime statistics receive wide exposure and evoke strong public outcry, and politicians are often judged as much by the speed and tone of their reactions as by their considered responses. In this timely volume Lord Windlesham examines how criminal justice policy is first formulated and then enacted at Parliamentary and Government level. Drawing upon scholarly material and his experience as a former Home Office Minister, Lord Windlesham identifies the pressures which traditionally and typically influence policy decisions. Emerging from his analysis is an appreciation of how the articulation of policy is often less coherent than it seems.Scholarly and accessible, this thought-provoking book will be of interest to the general reader as well as being required reading for academics and those involved in the administration of criminal justice today.