NCJ Number
182753
Journal
Justitiele verkenningen Volume: 25 Issue: 8 Dated: 1999 Pages: 82-95
Date Published
1999
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article gives an overview of trends in crime levels and penal systems in the Nordic countries and indicates that the crime level for traditional offenses in Scandinavia is on a par with or lower than that of other European countries.
Abstract
Drug abuse also appears to be less widespread in the Nordic countries than in other European countries. Increases in crime rates during the postwar period have been very substantial in the Nordic countries and elsewhere in Europe. However, the 1990’s may have experienced a stabilization in theft rates, albeit at a high level. Increasing equality between the sexes has probably contributed to an increase in the reporting of violent and sex offenses against women and children, making these offenses more visible. The system of formal control in the Nordic countries includes relatively low police density, a falling clearance rate, the imposition of fines in a high proportion of criminal cases, and low prison populations. International crime victim surveys indicate that fear of crime is comparatively low in Finland and Sweden and that for this reason, people do not feel the need to take special precautions against the possibility of crime to any great extent. Data are not available for Denmark and Norway. Survey participants also appear to be fairly satisfied with the performance of the police and also support limits on the use of prison sentences. Table, figures, and 35 references