Whilst they retain a recognisable common core, probation systems round the world are enormously varied, and many are in a state of rapid change. Probation Round the World is a study of probation in ten countries, ranging from the well-resourced and heavily professionalised services of Britain and the old Commonwealth to the reliance on lay-supervisors in Japan and the community-based system which has recently been set up in Papua new Guinea. Probation Round the World resulted from collaborative research conducted by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the British Home Office. The first part of the book comprises a review of the development and convergence of probation within the Civil Law and Common Law traditions. The second part describes the origins and functions of systems in the ten countries, drawing out salient differences and similarities. It will provide invaluable reading for students of criminal justice and criminology and for professionals working in probation managment and government.