Lesley Noakes is a Lecturer in the School of Social and Administrative Studies, University of Wales, Cardiff. Michael Levi is Professor of Criminology in the School of Social and Admistrative Studies, University of Wales, Cardiff. Mike Maguire is Reader in Criminology and Criminal Justice in the School of Social and Administrative Studies, University of Wales, Cardiff.

• Part 1 Comparative criminology: policing apartheid - the discourses of the South African police, M. Brogden; the policing of culture in Trinidad and Tobago, M. Cain; in search of a third world criminology, I. Clegg and J. Whetton; comparative research in criminal justice, L. Zedner. Part 2 Criminal justice issues: inter-agency co-operation and community based crime prevention, A. Crawford and M. Jones; politics and prison management - the Northern Ireland experience, B. Gormally; fraudulent problems - antonomy and decision-making in the Serious Fraud Office, M. Levi; specialist activities in probation - confusion worse confounded, G. Mair; criminal justice cultures - negotiating bail and remand, F. Paterson and C. Whittaker; the supervision of offenders - what works?, C. Trotter. Part 3 Crime, poverty and the underclass: Criminal Justice Act 1991 - management of the underclass and the potentiality of community, S. Gardiner; criminology and the free market - theoretical and practical issues in everyday social life and everyday crime, I. Taylor. Part 4 Policing and prosecution: revising police powers - legal theories and policing practices in historical and contemporary contexts, D. Dixon; democracy, justice and the limits of policing - rethinking police accountability, I. Loader; the end of the public policing?, E. McLaughlin and K. Murji; authors meet critics - the case for the prosecution, R. Morgan.