NCJ Number
87134
Date Published
1981
Length
355 pages
Annotation
This study of convictions in France is based on statistical reports from 1972 and 1976 and examines the classification of offenders and offenses used in deciding cases.
Abstract
The two principal designations for offenders appear to be as persons of 'marginal' or 'worker' status and as those of 'petty bourgeois' or 'skilled worker' status. The offenses of the former tend to be the classical crimes such as theft, destruction of property, violence against persons, or violation of the public or social order. The petty bourgeois category of offenders is convicted for more professional types of criminal involvement. Other social classes (public servants, white collar employees, farmers, etc.) are convicted mostly for offenses such as involuntary bodily harm to others and family offenses. Those having committed the 'classic' offenses are more frequently sentenced to incarceration, while others are given restitutional penalties. Indications are that social class of the offender is a significant criterion upon which justice is meted out. Tabular data are provided with the text and in an additional volume of appended documentation.