This book investigates the institutional development of government policy regarding crime victims in England and Wales and the emergence of the National Association of Victims Support schemes. Paul Rock, a prominent sociologist and criminologist, utilizes his extensive research into criminal justice systems to map the interplay between state bureaucracy and grassroots advocacy. By comparing the British experience with his previous work on the Canadian victims' movement, Rock provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how official responses to crime victims are constructed and implemented within a national legal system.

Experts in the fields of criminology and sociology recognize this work as a foundational text for understanding the institutionalization of victim support services. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous, evidence-based account of policy evolution in the United Kingdom.