NCJ Number
241531
Date Published
2005
Length
39 pages
Annotation
This introductory essay by the editors for the book, "Crime and Punishment in Western Countries, 1980-1999" (Volume 33 in the "Crime and Justice" series) discusses current knowledge of cross-national patterns of crime and punishment.
Abstract
The discussion relies primarily on data obtained from the subsequent essays on trends and patterns in six offenses in eight countries: England, Wales, Scotland, the United States, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, and Australia. Section I describes the method used in the project. The authors of the essays on each country were asked to obtain crime and case-processing data; to adjust and reclassify the data, when necessary, to make it as comparable as possible across countries and time; and to conduct a series of calculations prescribed by a common template (provided in the appendix of this introduction). Section II of the introductory essay discusses cross-national comparisons of crime levels and patterns over time, with attention to the six offenses of burglary, vehicle theft, assault, robbery, rape, and homicide. Section III addresses cross-national comparisons of punishment levels, patterns, and trends over time. Section IV summarizes major findings concerning crime and punishment trends cross-nationally and offers methodological suggestions for improving future research similar to that presented in this volume. 7 figures, 2 tables, appended template for each country's analysis, and 25 references