Comparative Criminal Justice

Systems

The Sentencing Process:Custodial Sanctions - Imprisonment

Reichel / Albanese

Imprisonment

Essentially all countries use imprisonment (deprivation of liberty) as a sentence type, but there is extreme variation in its use.

For example, Venezuela uses custodial sentences almost exclusively, Finland uses them very seldom.

Deprivation of liberty: any period of incarceration short of life imprisonment.

8.75 million people are held in penal institutions throughout the world (either pretrial or convicted and sentence criminals). About half of them in China, Russia, or the United States.

The country with the highest prison population rate is the United States (715/100,000). In contrast, the median number of inmates per 100,000 is about 130.

Question

Imprisonment is often considered the

severest penalty inflicted in most societies.

Do you feel this is the case? Explain.

What is the purpose of imprisonment?

Limits of Prison Data

Definition problems: what counts as a prison and what counts as a prisoner.

Adult and juvenile prisoner populations.

Stock design (data obtained from one period in time) versus flow design (prison admissions over time).

Penal populism (policies grounded in the public appetite for punitiveness with little concern about effectiveness) versus penal policies (polices grounded in justice and sentencing research). U.S. examples of penal populism include: truth-in-sentencing, sentencing guidelines, three-strikes-and-you’re out, and mandatory sentencing.

Countries in Contrast France: Over 38% of inmates in French prisons are remand inmates

(unconvicted or serving less than a one-year sentence). Some detainees are kept in jail for several years while their cases are investigated by examining magistrates.

Germany: Prisons are known for their extensive use of rehabilitation programs – unique environmental conditions, extensive work and training opportunities, and community integration programs.

China: Reform through labor and thought reform. The primary purpose of labor is to augment the education and reform process (plus add to the country’s economic growth). Thought reform has inmates confess their wrongdoing and construct a new self-image that fits with the beliefs of the Socialist agenda.

Countries in Contrast(cont’d)

Japan: Japanese prisons are a symptom of failure, and being a prisoner is a disgrace for both the inmates and their families. The Japanese believe that the tough methods used in prisons are necessary for a safer society, i.e., isolation and physical restraint. These methods are believed to break down a prisoner’s resistance and force him to acknowledge guilt and remorse. The goal is to mold him into a peaceful, obedient member of society. (Rehabilitation)

Saudi Arabia: Prison is not the conventional sentencing recourse because of corporal punishment. Lack of available information makes it difficult to assess the kind and quality of correctional facilities. Saudi correctional theory implies that written rules to regulate the prison system are unnecessary because the rights of prisoners are guaranteed according to Muslim law (Shari’a).

Poland: The primary goals of imprisonment are rehabilitation of prisoners and their restoration to society. The basic means to achieve these goals are through activities related to work, education, and cultural endeavors.

Prison Populations: Major Issues

Women in prison

Racial and ethnic minorities in prison:

Prison crowding

Question

Do low numbers of women prisoner populations create

an atmosphere for poor conditions

and geographic dislocation of women’s facilities?

In most of the world’s countries, new mothers are allowed

to keep their infants with them in prison –

should the United States adopt such a policy? Why?

Would mixed-gender facilities

such as in Sweden work in the U.S.? If so, why?

Racial and Ethnic MinoritiesDisparity Around the World

Major issue: many countries do not keep statistics on racial and ethnic minorities.

The general consensus is that foreign prisoners and racial/ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in prisons around the world.

Examples of ethnic minority populations: Canada – Aboriginals 3% of general population / 16% of prison population; Hungary – Gypsies 5-8% of general population / 40% of prison population.

Examples of foreigner prisoner populations: Switzerland (60% foreign); Luxembourg (60%); Greece (48%); and Belgium (40%).

Countries with possible institutionalized racism: South Africa – Blacks; Austria – Turks; Japan – Koreans; Sweden – Finns; the Netherlands – Moroccans; United States – Latinos, African Americans, and Native Americans.

Prison Crowding

Most countries are at or close to 100 percent capacity.

Examples: England and Wales (112%); Japan (106.5%); Finland (107.1%); and the United States (106%). Uganda (186.4), Madagascar (169.2%), and Hungary (147.7%) are the world leaders in occupancy rates.

Low prison population rates (stock design) do not necessarily explain high overcrowding rates.

Solutions to Prison Overcrowding

Which of the following provide an optimal solution to prison overcrowding? What are some advantages or disadvantages?

Amnesty

Building prisons

Privatization

Shorter sentences and/or Alternative sanctions