Paul Rock is an Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics. His published work has focused chiefly on the evolution of criminal justice policies in Canada and England and Wales, particularly for victims of crime, and on developments in criminological theory.

• 1. Crime in the late 1950s and 1960s: A Preamble 2. The Liberal Hour I – Prologue: The Homicide Act 1957 3. The Liberal Hour I: The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 c.71; Consummation 4. The Liberal Hour II – The Abortion Act 1967 c. 87: Foundations 5. The Liberal Hour II – The Abortion Act 1967 c. 87: Culmination 6. The Liberal Hour III – The Sexual Offences Act 1967 c. 60: Prologue 7. The Liberal Hour III – The Sexual Offences Act 1967 c. 60: Consummation

"This book provides the basis for an empirically informed political analysis of policy developments in that specific locale. It provides an account of political history, as a resource for further analysis in relation to decision-making processes, political discourse, struggle and contestation as a way of making sense of change at the level of policy."Phillipa Thomas, University of Bath, Punishment and Society'..for all of their sometimes unacknowledged limitations, I have loved reading these books. I am touched by the hermeneutic empathy with which the authors approach the voices of their sources. If we read these books attentively, we find that they contain immense resources for rethinking our criminal justice fix. I look forward to completing the set.' Richard Sparks, Edinburgh Law School, University of Edinburgh, Journal of Law and Society