The Government has embarked on a programme of radical reform for the probation and prison services with the setting up of a National Offender Management Service (NOMS). The aim is to make the two services work more effectively together, and to promote private sector involvement in 'corrections' work. This groundbreaking volume takes a critical look at the different aspects of the NOMS proposals, at a time when the Government is still working out the detail of its reforms. No other academic publication has scrutinised the NOMS proposals so closely. Through six contributions from leading experts on probation and criminal justice the report identifies the risks attached to NOMS; assesses the prospects of success; provides ideas for reshaping government plans and presents an authoritative critique of a set proposals that could go badly wrong. The report will be crucial reading for politicians, civil servants and criminal justice managers. Senior probation and prison staff will find it of particular value.

" ... this book deserves to be read by anyone interested in the interactions of politics, public sector management theory and the penal system; there are glimmers of hope, but in the main it shows why NOMS has been nicknamed, after the London base of the Home Office, as 'Nightmare on Marhsma Street.'" Martin Wright
"For students and academics who really want to understand the issues, ideology and implications underpinning NOMS, this book is a carefully constructed contribution from those best placed to comment: heavyweight academics and practitioners with years of correctional experience." Prison Service Journal
"The Authors provide an intelligent discussion of a move towards a national offender management system in Great Britain.... a necessary resource for anyone interested in national offender management systems ... a valuable addition to the library....." International Criminal Justice Review

The three co-editors direct three centres based in the School of Law, King's College London. They have all published widely on criminal justice policy, and are recognised experts in the field. Professor Mike Hough is Director of the Institute for Criminal Policy Research. Rob Allen is Director of the International Centre for Prison Studies. Una Padel is Director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies.