NCJ Number
139076
Journal
EuroCriminology Volume: 2 Dated: (1988) Pages: 39-56
Date Published
1988
Length
18 pages
Annotation
In focusing on international crime, the author recognizes technological continuity and cultural dimensions of penal-legal systems and argues that the internationalism of criminality challenges the creativity and innovation of criminological and penal policies in the context of international, national, interregional, and bilateral cooperation.
Abstract
A common feature of these common policies is that they are organized around penal concerns rather than carefully planned national programs. In many countries, penal policies foster destitution, marginality, and discrimination. The Sixth United Nations Congress in 1984 called for the establishment of guidelines related to judicial independence. The Seventh United Nations Congress in 1985 adopted resolutions that provide a criminological and penal policy framework for member states. This Congress recommended that crime prevention and criminal justice be treated as complex activities requiring systematic strategies and differentiated approaches. It specifically passed resolutions on reducing the prison population, alternatives to imprisonment, the social integration of offenders, the fair treatment of women by the criminal justice system, and juvenile justice administration. The author discusses the effect of economic and social development in various countries on criminological and penal policy development and emphasizes the need for international cooperation reflecting universally acceptable global crime prevention policies.