Contextual Difference in Crimes

Subramanian and Shames (2013) in their work entitled Sentencing and Prison Practices

in Germany and the Netherlands researched in great detail the different policies used by both the

Dutch and the German prison systems and have shown that indeed, the results created by such

policies are remarkable. The authors compared the rate of incarceration to the United States,

which has the highest incarceration rate of all the countries in the world. However, they stated

that despite the study being helpful and may be used as a reference for legislators to invest

further studies in, the numbers cannot speak for themselves due to the different definition of

crime and the terms related to it all over the world. That being said, they also argued that this

should not be an impediment to using these kinds of studies a model to be adopted.

Fraser (2003) studied about the sentencing practices of the United States and in Germany

and proposed a “Punitive Hypothesis”, which maintains that Germany makes much greater use

of non-custodial penalties for non-violent crimes. In an attempt to make his study

comprehensive, he delved into the previous comparative studies made related to this topic, and in

doing so, he noted that studies like these have great practical value for the very reason that it

issues surrounding corrections should be given attention because it is relevant in today’s society.

This is particularly because throughout the years, the German prison system has been dealing

with high-volume but low and medium-severity crimes—yet they manage to avoid the problems

of overcrowding on their part due to the use of non-custodial penalties. In the end, they have

found that indeed the hypothesis was correct—which gives skeptic American policy makers to

actually consider acting on reform policies as regards corrections and non-custodial sentences.

The study becomes more relevant because Fraser (2003) took into consideration the differing

cultures between the United States and Germany. In this light, he discussed how the Americans
take a more “punitive view” than the Germans. He cited examples of studies that have been

made with regard to this phenomenon—people from Texas favors death penalty more than those

from Baden—Württemberg, and at the same time the former is also inclined to believe that

prisons are for punishment, and not so much rehabilitation. In the end, however, taking into

consideration the differences between German and American culture should not hold back the

legislators from reforming policies and should not stop the courts from utilizing non-custodial

sanctions.

Additionally, a study by Mauer (2003) provided sufficient data that shows that the United

States, although having similar definitions of crimes as the England and Canada, incarcerates for

a longer period especially as regards property crime. According to the author, a shift in policy

would most likely trigger changes in the incarceration rate as well. During the 1970s, Finland’s

prison system was concerned about their high prison population. This, however, is relative to the

standard of the other Scandinavian countries. A series of policy changes, then, was undertaken

with the purpose of increasing the utilization of suspended sentences and release through parole

by earlier eligibility. This led to a decline in the rate in incarceration by a whopping 40% from

1976 to 1992. This result also applies to Germany, whose legislature founded that short-term

prison sentences create problems with the social ties of the offender, and in this sense its more

harmful than beneficial. This is supported by some data that was provided by Farrington,

Langan, & Tonry (2004). This laudable research effort showed that the number of times a certain

crime was committed might have been higher in European countries, but the United States

incarcerates them for the longest time. For example, burglary was highest in Sweden and in

Switzerland, however, the highest time served for burglary goes to the United States, which, the

authors indicated, also had the most severe punishment out of the others countries they compared
it to, alongside Sweden. The same goes for other crimes that pertain to property offenses.
References

Farrington, D. P., Langan, P. A., & Tonry, M. H. (Eds.). (2004). Cross-national studies in crime
and justice. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice
Statistics.

Frase, R. S. (2001). Sentencing in Germany and the United States: Comparing Äpfel with Apples.
Max-Planck-Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law.

Mauer, M. (2003). Comparative international rates of incarceration: An examination of causes

and trends presented to the US Commission on Civil Rights. The Sentencing Project, 1-
16.