In this thought-provoking and informative work, Elizabeth Burney takes a critical look at the use of civil and administrative powers by social landlords as a means of preventing crime and disorder. The book ranges widely, with different chapters setting anxieties about: 'nuisance neighbours'; and anti-social behaviour in their social, historical, economic and political context. In particular the author argues that the agenda has been set by a few large Labour-led local authorities where serious management problems stem essentially from a very weak social housing market.The author warns that central and local government may be set on a path which will increase rather than reduce social exclusion - and she argues for more focus on supportive and reintegrative means of reducing bad behaviour. Crime and Banishment is a book which will be of interest to a wide range of people who are concerned about community safety, environmental pressures, the modern emphasis on 'exclusion' when dealing with political, economic or social issues - and some underlying causes of crime in Britain at the end of the twentieth century.