This important text draws together a wealth of experience to present theoretical and practical insights into the way society intervenes in the lives of disabled people, and considers how resources could be used in ways that are more helpful and supportive. Stressing the social contexts within which disabilities become apparent, the contributors highlight two key points: disabled people have practical difficulties only in the area of life affected by their disability and in other respects are no different from anyone else; and they are handicapped not by the parameters of their disability but by the demands and attitudes of society. The contributors consider the position of people with specific types of disability, and more. A collection of essays and book reviews focusing on crime and the policing of urban society in Europe and North America from the 18th century to the present; the administration of justice; law reform; and children and youth in the criminal justice system, reflecting the current revisionist trend in research in criminal justice history. Subjects include anti-Irish violence in Victorian England; combatting the sexual abuse of children in France, 1825-1913; and a historical analysis of tribal police in the US.