Sexual crime, past and present, is rarely far from the headlines. How these crimes are punished, policed and understood has changed considerably over the last century. From hormone injections to cognitive behavioural therapy, medical and psychological approaches to sexual offenders have proliferated. This book sets out the history of such theories and treatments in England.

Beginning in the early 20th century, it traces the evolution of medical interest in the mental state of those convicted of sexual crime. As part of a broader interest in individualised responses to crime as a...