Book excerpt: Sentencing guidelines & intermediate sanctions are two of the most significant criminal justice policy developments in recent decades. Half the States have adopted or considered statewide guidelines; & in early 1997, sentencing commissions were at work in more than 20 States. Intermediate sanctions have proliferated since 1980. This report describes separately the past 20 years of the respective policy & research developments of sentencing guidelines & intermediate sanctions; & the modest efforts, to date, to combine the two. Includes suggestions of next steps that policymakers might consider. Tables & figures.