Kriminalpolitik - straffrättspolitik

Forfattere

  • Tapio Lappi-Seppälä

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/ntfk.v87i2.137717

Nøgleord:

Kriminalpolitik, straffrättspolitik

Resumé

This paper discusses of the strengths and weaknesses of the long-term Finnish crime policy and the reform ideology of the 1970s. These ideas were crystallized in slogans such as "crime policy is an inseparable part of general social development policy" and "good social development policy is the best crime policy". The goals of this policy were defined by a two-fold formula: (I) the minimization of the economic and social costs of crime and crime control (the aim of minimization), and (2) the fair distribution of these costs among the offender, society, and the victim (the aim of fair distribution).

During the last 25 years, Finnish crime policy has been guided by these basic ideas. This paper examines the success of this policy. One major indicator of its success has been the decrease in Finlands rate of incarceration. At the beginning of the 1950s, the incarceration rate in Finland was four times higher than in the other Nordic countries and among the highest in Europe. However, the steady decrease that started soon after the Second World War has continued, and by the early 1990s Finland declined to the Nordic level. The paper also examines the relation between incarceration rates and reported crime. A comparison of the Nordic countries reveals that the major crime trends have been essentially identical despite striking differences in the use of imprisonment. It is concluded that the decrease in the prison population has been one of the major victories of the Finnish crime policy. The paper also discusses important reforms to the present crime policy, the role of the criminal law as distinguished from other crime policy mechanisms, the aims and functions of the penal system, and foreseeable problems ("risk factors'') that may threaten the basic tenets of humane and rational crime policy.

Forfatterbiografi

Tapio Lappi-Seppälä

DIREKTÖR, JUR. DR.

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Publiceret

2000-06-29

Citation/Eksport

Lappi-Seppälä, T. (2000). Kriminalpolitik - straffrättspolitik. Nordisk Tidsskrift for Kriminalvidenskab, 87(2), 113–135. https://doi.org/10.7146/ntfk.v87i2.137717

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