This text certainly achieves the goal of not only introducing the student to the central issues relating to the victims of crime but also to encouraging an appreciation of the tensions which exist between policy and practice. The occasional use of case studies to illustrate both practical and theoretical problems is done in a very interesting and valuable fashion will appeal to practitioners and service providers.

- The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice,

How can victims of crime best be helped? What are their needs? What rights do they, and should they, have? A new book Working with Victims of Crime, designed to answer these three key questions, provides an excellent introduction to criminal victimisation for any interested in the policies, politics and practices of victim support. The author, Brian Williams, is Senior Research Fellow at De Montfort University, Leicester. A former probation officer, the book is based on his experience of working with both victims and offenders and builds upon previous work undertaken with Mike Kosh, Hilary Nettleton and Sandra Walklate. It also draws heavily upon interviews with staff and volunteers from Victim Support and SAMM. With the emphasis on providing objective information in an area which has become increasingly politicized in recent years, the book outlines the development of the victim's movement in the UK and elsewhere and goes on to look at some of the questions that has raised. It then addresses issues specific to particular types of crime. Topics examined also include: how profeesional and voluntary service providers can help recovery; the role of agencies involved in supporting victims; how the criminal justice system can improve its service to victims; why victim support has become an issue and how the state has reacted to the growth of victim support organisations. The book is intended for readers with an interest in social policy and criminology, as well as those specifically involved in planning and providing direct services to victims and in training those who provide such services. As for the future, Brian Williams welcomes the diversity of groups providing victim services. However, he also argues that support to victims of crime could be improved by greater liason between service providers and he warns of the danger of the different agencies involved becoming involved in fighting "turf wars". "Otherwise energy will increasingly be wasted on defending agency boundaries and competing for funding and recognition, rather than responding constructively to vicimisation," he writes.

- Victim Support,

The reader is hooked and engrossed in this unique book. It is very well written and easy to read and covers all aspects of dealing with victims of crime including the policy and the politics in today's climate. The inclusion of case histories in each section brings home to the reader the importance of this subject. The book is well referenced and includes an appendix listing the landmarks in support for victims of crime from 1963 to 1998. And it meets the need for information on dealing with victims of crime. It will be of interest to those who work in the accident and emergency field, social policy and to those who plan and provide services to victims. It will also be of use to those who provide training.

- Accident and Emergency Nursing,