The third edition of this definitive, best-selling text offers the most comprehensive and authoritative overview of youth and crime available.

Youth crime and justice are constantly in the news and the subject of ongoing legislative action. This new edition keeps the reader up-to-date on a wide range of contemporary debates and covers all the essentials required in studying the topic of youth and crime at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Two new chapters on Youth Victimology and Comparative and International Youth Justice have been added to provide critical analysis of issues such as institutional abuse, child trafficking, international children's rights and transnational policy transfer. The book also includes new material on:

" antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs)

" gangs

" gun and knife crime

" early intervention initiatives

" the respect agenda

" restorative justice

" child imprisonment

The book offers numerous tools to enhance the learning process, including chapter outlines, summary boxes, key terms, study questions, further reading lists, a glossary and guidance on web resources.

This accessible and theoretically informed text is essential reading for students of criminology, criminal justice, sociology, youth studies and social policy.