Is There a Relationship Between Imprisonment and Crime in Western Europe?

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of prison populations in Western Europe from 1982 to 2011 and its relation with recorded crime trends in the region. Data are taken mainly from the Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics in the case of prison statistics and the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics in the case of police and conviction statistics, both complemented with the Nordic Criminal Statistics and Eurostat Crime Statistics.The results show that prison populations rates (stock) rose constantly until 2005 and seem relatively stable since then. On the contrary, the annual flow of entries into penal institutions has decreased almost continuously since 1987. This apparent paradox is explained by the fact that the average length of detention has steadily increased during the whole period under study. In brief, less people are sent to prison each year, but they remain in prison for longer periods of time. The upward trend in the average length of detention is related to the development of tough on crime policies across Western Europe and to the increase of drug offences and non-lethal violent crime until the mid-2000s. In that context, an analysis by offence shows similar trends in police, conviction, and prison statistics. These results falsify the hypothesis of total independence between crime trends and imprisonment rates. They also suggest that the deterrent effect of imprisonment has often been overestimated, and they cast a shadow on the validity of criminological theories that place property as the main cause of crime.

Mental health of prisoners: prevalence, adverse outcomes, and interventions

“…Using data routinely collected in the European Union, we have calculated three-year all-cause mortality rates in EU countries with at least two years of data (presented in Figure 1). 20,22 These show some notable differences between Western and Eastern Europe which may be explained by higher rates of death from infectious diseases in the latter. However, in Western Europe, higher rates of all-cause mortality in prison for Belgium and Portugal need further examination.…”

The impact of the 2008 economic crisis on imprisonment in Europe

“…In general, criminologists have posited a negative (countercyclical) association between economic conditions and crime (Bushway et al, 2012; Pratt and Cullen, 2005; Pratt and Lowenkamp, 2002) and a positive one between crime and incarcerations, at least for some crimes (Aebi, Linde and Delgrande, 2015; Uggen, 2012). Hence, they expect declines and increases in crimes and incarcerations during, respectively, expansionary and recessionary periods.…”

Suicide des personnes écrouées en France : évolution et facteurs de risque

“…Près de la moitié des décès survenus dans les prisons françaises sont des suicides, et le niveau de mortalité associée y est bien plus élevé qu'en population générale (Duthé et al, 2009 ;Aebi et Delgrande, 2010). La spécificité des prisons et la vulnérabilité des détenus face au suicide sont depuis longtemps mises en avant en France (Chesnais, 1976 ;Tournier et Chemithe, 1979 ;Kensey, 1991 ;Bourgoin, 1993a) et dans d'autres pays (Kariminia et al, 2007Fazel et al, 2010).…”