Moderate criminal policy seen as a component of welfare state

“In a well-functioning society of high trust and equality, which the Nordic societal model in international comparisons represents, both the need and will to apply criminal justice is lesser than many other systems,” said Professor Tapio Lappi-Seppälä from the Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy at the University of Helsinki.

The professor said in Finnish criminal policy, research holds an exceptionally important role and it should be maintained in future, according to a press release issued by the University of Helsinki.

The professor said the need for critical research and analysis is highlighted in circumstances where uncertainty and insecurity associated with societal change are being exploited as part of the general policymaking.

“At times of crisis, punishment and the criminal code have provided a politically appealing means of defence against security threats. In practice, the effects of such action are fairly minor,” he mentioned.

Lappi-Seppälä also pointed out that “The factors affecting the overall number of criminal offences are largely out of reach of penalties. More effective measures are to be found in social policy and the regulation of criminal situations.”

He said in the policy model prevalent in the Nordic countries, governments are guided by ‘policy founded on knowledge’. In other words, research-based knowledge has reached politicians well.”

“In Finland, this relationship has also been bolstered by institutional structures. The Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy at the University of Helsinki is an example of this, as one of the institute’s statutory duties is to monitor trends related to crime and the functioning of the control system,” Lappi-Seppälä added.

The professor is of the opinion that the institute’s efforts to establish national monitoring systems and international research networks provide well-functioning tools for monitoring changes in Finland and the surrounding regions as well as conducting related background analyses.

“And it offers us tools for assessing and developing the criminal policy system,” he added.

He also posits that in Finland, crime and punishment sometimes go hand in hand, but not all the time.

“The impact of criminal activity on the penal system has been greater than the other way round. Over time, it has been the custom to promote harsher penalties due to peaks in crime, such as in post-war periods,” the professor observed, adding that significant changes in crime and punishment are linked with the economic, social, political and cultural elements of the society. He said increasing inequality brings with it a higher crime rate, subsequently resulting in tougher criminal policy. Other significant factors that have an effect on crime trends include the number of crime opportunities and the age distribution of the population.

“On the other hand, differences in the application of penal systems and changes observed in them appear to have had no effect on crime trends in a range of countries.”

In Western developed countries, the primary trends in crime are fairly similar. At the same time, there are differences, some of them marked, in the application of penalties. For example, the prisoner population of the United States rose fivefold within a few decades, while in the same period, in Finland the number of prisoners decreased to one-third of the original figure.

“There are also examples of opposite changes in prisoner numbers in Europe. In spite of such variance, the similarity of crime trends in different countries is, frankly, nothing short of baffling.”

According to the professor, Nordic criminal policy is highly respected among experts and researchers, and an object of growing international interest. The policy is founded on the institutions, values and goals of the Nordic welfare states.

Finland’s criminal policy was liberalised when the country joined, as a latecomer, the club of Nordic welfare states in the 1960s and 1970s. To provide a point of reference, the United States and the United Kingdom tightened their criminal justice controls while initiating the deconstruction of their welfare state structures.

According to the criminal policy expert, “In a well-functioning society of high trust and equality, which the Nordic societal model in international comparisons represents, both the need and will to apply criminal justice is lesser than many other systems.”

He said, “The Nordic social policy, which levels out inequalities among the population, has also contributed to reducing the impact of populist extremist movements that exploit the tensions and fears that occur between different sections of the population.”

“In recent years, this pressure has also grown in the Nordic countries. Still, changes in criminal policy have so far remained relatively moderate,” observed Lappi-Seppälä.