NCJ Number
137055
Date Published
1990
Length
38 pages
Annotation
The Swedish criminal statistics for 1989 indicate that about 375,000 persons were charged with crimes in the year, about a 5-percent increase from the previous year. Although an increase in use of imprisonment as a sentence increased, still fines were the most common sanction (85 percent of cases).
Abstract
In 1989, 19,000 prosecutions were waived, 79,000 summary fines were issued by prosecutors, and 69,000 sentences were meted out in the courts of first instance. Of these 167,000 findings of guilt, 14 percent of offenders were female, 22 percent juveniles, and 16 percent foreign nationals. Traffic offenses accounted for 48 percent of offenses; offenses against the person, 6 percent; and drug offenses, 4 percent. Ten percent of findings led to imprisonment, with the median punishment being 5.5 months. About 300 persons were transferred to mental hospitals, and 13 received a life sentence for murder in a court of first instance. (Author abstract modified)