The origins of this book lie in the success of The Sage Dictionary of Criminology, thoughtfully conceived and skilfully edited by Eugene McLaughlin and John Muncie. It was the idea of Eugene and Caroline Porter at Sage that the same successful model could be applied to police studies, and we are very grateful to them both for trusting us to take it forward, and for the support and guidance they have continuously provided.

We have also benefited greatly from the support of our International Advisory Board of policing scholars and practitioners, who have provided advice on the list of terms, reviewed entries and themselves authored contributions. The Board comprises professors David H. Bayley (US), Janet Chan (Australia), Clive Emsley (UK), Eugene McLaughlin (UK), Peter K. Manning (US), John Muncie (UK), René Lévy (France), Clifford D. Shearing (South Africa) and P.A.J. Waddington (UK), and Commissioner Simone Steendijk of Rotterdam-Rijnmond Police (Netherlands) and Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon of Victoria Police (Australia).

Special thanks are owed to our 110 contributors, many of them the leading international experts in their fields, on whose scholarship the book is founded. We are proud to include academics and practitioners from 14 countries, and receiving their well thought out and authoritative contributions has been the most enjoyable aspect of this project as we have seen the book take shape.

Finally, thanks are due to all who have helped with the organization of this project. We have greatly appreciated the patience, enthusiasm and sheer hard work of Caroline's team at Sage, including Sarah-Jayne Boyd, Ian Antcliff and Louise Skelding and the efficiency of Gita Raman and her team at Keyword in preparing the manuscript. Special thanks to Laura Bevir for the comprehensive index. Richard Wild made an important contribution to the book's early development, and we are grateful to the administrative staff at the Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies for their assistance. Finally, particular thanks are due to family, friends and colleagues, particularly Rod Rhodes and Carrie-Anne Myers, for their help and encouragement along the way.