• An introduction to comparative policing; an introduction to policing the world stage; approaches to comparative analysis; the impossibility of becoming an expert on everywhere; police systems across the world; variations on a theme; the development of professional police in the United Kingdom and North America; policing Europe - the police systems of continental Europe; post-socialist policing - limitations on institutional change; the colonial tradition; policing in Japan - East Asian archtype; policing issues in international perspective; government and accountability of the police; armed and unarmed police; community policing as cherry pie; police service for crime victims; policewomen - an international comparison; private policing - uniformity and diversity.

'The book is extremely easy to follow ... an excellent reference for those who want to understand the issues surrounding the value of comparing police forces across the world and also in understanding the way history has forged different approaches to policing across the globe.'- Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling