NCJ Number
182765
Date Published
1999
Length
65 pages
Annotation
This discussion of Greece’s criminal justice system and crime statistics and trends notes that Greece had low crime and imprisonment rates until the 1980’s and that the criminal justice system has not lagged behind the increases in crime resulting from urbanization, industrialization, and modern processes and the influx of foreign workers.
Abstract
Greece was a homogeneous society until the 1990’s. This homogeneity resulted in a criminal justice system that relied largely on the effectiveness of informal social control. However, the country has experienced rising crime in recent years. Anonymity, heterogeneity, and urbanization are constantly increasing, while informal controls are decreasing and formal controls are not effective. The statutory minimum age of criminal responsibility is 12 years; the age of full adult criminal responsibility comes with the 17th birthday. The Greek Penal Code took effect in 1950. Additional special penal laws regulate other matters and include penal provisions as well. The Greek criminal justice system rests on the Continental tradition and is basically inquisitorial, with strong adversarial elements. Plans for reform of criminal codes, police, crime prevention, victim services, and international agreements are under way. Tables, footnotes, and 51 references