NCJ Number
85879
Date Published
1980
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This study supports the thesis that the level of repression in criminal policy in capitalistic countries is determined by the level of manifest political conflict and by the balance of power between the different classes in these societies.
Abstract
This study was prompted by the observation that since the 1920's Finland has reported a very high prison population rate compared to the other Scandinavian countries. In an attempt to explain this phenomenon, the criminal policy systems in Scandinavia were analyzed, and the analysis indicated that Finland's high prison rate was just one aspect of a comprehensive represssive control system. A comparative analysis of the Scandinavian countries led to the development of a theoretical model which posited that the reason for the more repressive criminal policy in Finland was the high level of manifest political conflict and the weak political influence from the lower strata (i.e., the political left). To test the model, two methods were used. First, a longitudinal analysis of the political circumstances under which criminal policy reforms had been introduced in the Scandinavian countries was done. This analysis indicated that reforms to reduce the level of repression in the criminal policy systems tended to be initiated at times when the political influence from the lower strata was higher. The second test of the model used a cross-national comparative method. An indicator of repression in criminal policy (prison population rates) was correlated to an indicator of manifest political conflict (and a weak political influence from the lower strata) (strike rates). In support of the model, a significant, positive correlation was found for the 19 industrialized western countries included in the test. Graphic and tabular data are provided, along with 48 notes and 60 references. (Author summary modified)