The development of crime and punishment

A central question within the subdiscipline of criminology known as the sociology of punishment is what role crime development plays in explaining the evolution of punishments. Therefore, the book contains a description primarily through diagrams illustrating how crime rates have developed since the second half of the 20th century. The crimes particularly addressed are theft, drug offences, and violent crimes, including homicide. Indicators from the justice system are supplemented with alternative measures of crime development to highlight to what extent crimes reported to the police should be seen as expressions of actual crime development or rather as expressions of reporting tendencies or police priorities. The development of imprisonment rates and the changing composition of the prison population are specifically addressed.