The Criminological Foundations of Penal Policy brings together leading international criminologists to examine the link between the fruits of criminological research and the development of criminal justice policy. This volume includes comparative discussions of the United States, Germany, Australia, England, and Wales. It is divided into four parts. Part 1 discusses the theoretical issues surrounding the relationship between public policy and the discipline of criminology. Part 2 consists of three essays exploring historical aspects of that relationship. Part 3 then examines three distinct areas of penal policy: sentencing, policing, and parole, as case studies of the influence of research upon the development of policy. Finally, in Part 4, which is explicitly devoted to international comparisons, there is a consideration of the factors that distinguish research projects that do influence criminal justice policy from those that appear not to.

The Criminological Foundations of Penal Policy is a volume in honour of Roger Hood, Professor of Criminology and Director of the Centre for Criminological Research in the University of Oxford.