CRIME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN NORWAY DURING THE LAST TWENTY YEARS

• NCJ Number: 61097
• Author(s): A SNARE
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 71 pages
• Corporate Author: Universitetet I Oslo
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: Norway

Annotation

THIS PAPER IS AN EMPIRICAL ACCOUNT OF CRIME TRENDS AND PUNITIVE TRENDS IN NORWEGIAN SOCIETY SINCE THE LATE 1950'S. EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON ASSESSING DEVELOPMENTS REGARDING REGISTERED OFFENSES AND THE SANCTIONING SYSTEM.

Abstract

DATA ON CRIME TRENDS ARE PRESENTED FOR SEXUAL OFFENSES, DRUG OFFENSES, VIOLENT OFFENSES, AND THEFTS. CRIMINALITY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE ARE THEN ANALYZED IN TERMS OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL FACTOR, THE AGE FACTOR, THE SEX FACTOR, AND ROLE OF THE POLICE. PUNITIVE TRENDS ARE REPRESENTED BY DATA ON PRETRIAL DETENTION, SANCTIONS BY THE PROSECUTING AUTHORITY, COURT CONVICTIONS IN CRIMINAL CASES, COURT SANCTIONS, AND CONVICTIONS TO PRISON. IN ADDITION, CONVICTIONS TO PRISON ARE EXAMINED ACCORDING TO CRIME CLASSIFICATION, AGE DISTRIBUTION, LENGTH OF SENTENCE, AND CONDITIONAL OR UNCONDITIONAL SENTENCE. FINALLY, AN ASSESSMENT IS MADE OF THE CHANGING PENAL SYSTEM, CONSTITUTING A SUMMARY OF THE FOREGOING INFORMATION TOGETHER WITH A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON CRIMINAL AND PUNITIVE TRENDS. IN GENERAL, THIS REPORT CONFIRMS A REMARKABLE STABILITY OF THE CRIME CURVE OVER THE PAST CENTURY, WITH A MAXIMUM OF 275 AND A MINIMUM OF 150 REGISTERED CRIMINALS PER 100,000 INHABITANTS. A POST-WORLD WAR II DECREASE IN THE CRIME RATE IS NOTED, FOLLOWED BY A STEADY RISE SINCE 1955, PASSING ALL PREVIOUS HIGH POINTS BY 1968 AND CONTINUING UPWARD. ALSO NOTED IS A 'JUVENILIZATION' PROCESS IN CRIME, WITH THE MAJORITY OF CURRENT CRIMES BEING COMMITTED BY YOUNG PEOPLE. DRUG OFFENSES AND CHECK FORGERY ARE BECOMING DOMINANT CRIME FORMS, BUT THEFTS CONSTITUTE THE FUNDAMENTAL PART OF THE ACTS AGAINST WHICH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM REACTS. DESPITE A GRADUAL RISE IN VIOLENT CRIMES, THIS CATEGORY STILL CONTRIBUTES ONLY INSIGNIFICANTLY TO THE OVERALL INCREASE OF CRIME IN NORWAY. THE REPORT INDICATES THAT SANCTIONS AGAINST TRADITIONAL LAWBREAKERS, ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE YOUNG, HAVE BEEN MADE PROGRESSIVELY HARSHER THROUGH THE INCREASED USE OF PRISON SENTENCES. MAJOR ISSUES OF CONCERN REGARDING REFORM OF THE SYSTEM ARE THE SERIOUSNESS OF MODERN ECONOMIC CRIMINALITY (I.E., TAX EVASION, UNPAID DUES, AND ILLEGAL PRICE RAISING), AND THE NECESSITY OF DECREASING THE PRISON POPULATION THROUGH CONDITIONAL RELEASE AND OTHER MEASURES. GRAPHS, 20 FOOTNOTES, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF OVER 20 ITEMS IS SUPPLIED.