NCJ Number
186137
Journal
Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: 2000 Pages: 27-40
Editor(s)
Kauko Aromaa
Date Published
2000
Length
14 pages
Annotation
At the beginning of the 1950's, the prisoner rate in Finland was four times higher than in other Nordic countries and among the highest in Europe; the steady decrease that started soon after World War II, however, continued and Finland was comparable to other Nordic countries at the beginning of the 1990's.
Abstract
The change in the prisoner rate in Finland has been affected by macro-level structural factors and ideological changes in penal history, as well as by legal reforms and changing practices in sentencing and prison enforcement. These factors and changes are discussed in some detail and the relation between the prisoner rate and recorded crime is examined. The comparison of Finland and the other Nordic countries indicates major crime trends have been quite similar, despite striking differences in the use of imprisonment. The author believes the decrease in the prisoner population in Finland has been the result of conscious, long-term, and systematic crime policies. 10 references, 2 tables, and 7 figures