Book excerpt: This book aims to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to the subject of domestic violence and its interaction with the criminal justice system- including agencies such as the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the probation service and Children's Services, the courts and the prison service, as well as voluntary agencies such as Women's Aid. The book also looks at how these various agencies work together at a local level and the coordinating role of the Home Office and the direction provided at a central level. Domestic Violence and Criminal Justice examines the phenomenon of domestic violence, the various forms it takes and the theories that have been put forward to explain it. It takes an historical approach to examine policy and legislative developments over the last forty years and how those developments make themselves manifest today. The authors provide an authoritative and critical account of the different agencies and the work they carry out both independently and jointly; they also consider the limits of a crime centred response to domestic violence. The book provides a conceptual framework in which domestic violence and criminal justice might be better understood. It covers all the current issues in this field and it will be a 'source book' in directing readers to further reading. It will be essential reading for both students and practitioners in the field.