Providing a description of the responses taken by the federal government to issues revolving around criminal justice, each chapter focuses on a different problem and shows what different presidents have said, what policies were proposed and/or passed by Congress, and any cases heard by the Supreme Court on the issue.

"There is a growing body of literature that has begun to look at the Federal role in crime control policy in America, highlighted by a number of authors from varying backgrounds. Marion was at the forefront of this federalization of crime scholarship from the very beginning and she remains one of the leading scholars in this area. She has taken a topic that can be dry and made it very readable and understandable. For those scholars working in the area of crime policy, this will provide an excellent resource for their research and one that they prove beneficial for them to have on their bookshelf." - Willard M. Oliver, Sam Houston State University