NCJ Number
91331
Date Published
1983
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the development and orientation of Finnish criminology, the characteristics of criminology as an occupation, research, crime patterns, and offender characteristics.
Abstract
In Finland, criminology has developed with an orientation toward criminal statistics which indicate the level and trend of criminality as well as psychological research which focuses on individual factors. The criminologist in Finland is a researcher interested in offenses, offenders, and the crime control system. Most Finnish criminologists believe that the ultimate aim of crime control policy is to keep the societal costs related to crime at a tolerable level. Professional criminologists are to be found almost exclusively within the Ministry of Justice in the Research Institute of Legal Policy, meaning that the bulk of criminological research occurs outside the universities. Association among criminologists occurs through seminars held by the Scandinavian Research Council of Criminology and through participation in the Helsinki Institute for Crime Prevention and Control. Crime patterns are discussed for larceny, assault, homicide, and drunken driving, and data on offender age and sex are presented for 1950-75. Some examples of criminological research performed in Finland are briefly portrayed. Twenty-two annotated bibliographic entries are provided.