Can a victim's experience really be improved purely by diminishing the rights of offenders and increasing penalties for offending? Writing at a time when the UK is beginning to accept that an offender-led criminal justice system cannot provide direct benefits to the victim of crime, Dr Brian Williams lays bare the assumptions about victims and offenders that currently restrict efficient policy-making. He evaluates proposed solutions, including restorative justice and informal community justice, and draws on evidence and experiences from the UK and around the world to investigate which measures have proved effective and how criminal justice policies might be redressed. This book provides a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the topic for students of criminology and victimology, and is essential reading for practitioners in social work and probation officers.