Written for students of criminal justice, Comparative Criminal Justice Systems: Global and Local Perspectives examines the nature of crime and justice in varying countries and cultures in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Using a topical approach, it compares different systems of crime and justice in terms of their differences from, and similarities to, the laws and institutions of modern criminal justice, focusing on the United States as a standard of comparison. By examining different criminal justice systems in terms of their local peculiarities and understanding their change and continuity, readers will gain a well-rounded international perspective of the world's varying systems of criminal justice.