`This text represents a major contribution to the literature on crime prevention and community safety. It goes beyond existing literature in bringing together sophisticated theoretical analysis on these topics which are core issues for government at local as well as national levels. And it also brings a much needed international perspective to our understanding of the local governance of crime′ - Kevin Stenson, Professor of Criminology, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College Crime Prevention and Community Safety provides an essential introduction to the complex issues and debates in the field of crime control and the new politics of safety and security across the globe. Collectively the contributions to this volume present a critique of current policy and open up the field of study to new directions. While engaging with the dominant focus on `what works′ in crime reduction and community safety, the book also moves beyond the traditionally narrow, technical boundaries of much previous debate. Crime Prevention and Community Safety: New Directions looks at: -The relationship between crime control, communities and the nation state; -The diverse and changing sites of conflict, compromise and collusion around crime control policies; -Wider issues relating to `risk′, ′safety′ and `security′. The central feature of the volume as a whole is a commitment to exploring new directions for research and analysis, theoretically, empirically and comparatively. In opening up the varying and volatile spaces for crime prevention and community safety within the more general politics of social order, the book provides a critical rethinking of traditional connections between criminology, social policy and politics. Crime Prevention and Community Safety will be essential reading for students of criminology, criminal justice, community safety, socio-legal studies, sociology of crime and deviance and social policy. This is a course Reader for The Open University course D863 Community Safety, Crime Prevention and Social Control