The origins of the Western system of criminal justice in early modern Europe and a comparative analysis of recent developments in Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. Examination of the evolving definition of crime and changes in criminal law, methods of enforcement, and types of punishment in relation to the growth of urban and industrial society and the extension of state power. Topics include witchcraft, the Inquisition, the classical and positivist schools of criminology, prostitution and homosexuality, birth and development of the prison, establishment of professional police forces, the Mafia, and European terrorism.