This collection arose out of a conference organised by the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies as part of the second-century events funded by the School of Law to celebrate its move into the state-of-the-art new building—the Liberty Building. The conference involved speakers from academia and the public and private sectors, many of whom have contributed to this collection. It was also the first and, to date, the only conference at the Law School to result in a public demonstration outside its buildings! As with all such collections this one owes much to the original participants of the conference and those with whom we have debated the issues with since. Particular thanks go to our contributors who have produced thoughtful and insightful chapters which significantly develop and enhance debates about private sector involvement in criminal justice. The final production of this book was greatly assisted by Rachel Evans, and we would like to thank her for her diligent work. We would also like to thank the team at Palgrave who displayed enviable patience whilst waiting for the manuscript to arrive.