. I remember talking to Martin Narey during Blair's heyday about the government's approach to teenagers. Narey, head of the expanded prison service at the time, told me an intriguing statistic: Finland had at that point three children in prison. The UK had 2,900.If Narey had said "Portugal only locks up 3 children" it wouldn't automatically be assumed to be an argument for a more liberal sentencing policy but with Finland it is. Finland is the most violent country in Western* Europe, there is no reason to look at their crime policies and assume that we should be copying them. Finland is great at many things- it probably has the best education system in Europe- but their record on crime is not one to be emulated.
* I know it isn't actually very far west but I mean Europe that wasn't behind the Iron Curtain.
3 comments:
"Finland is the most violent country in Western Europe"
Really? Not saying you're wrong Ross, but I've been struck by what a calm, aggro-free place it is (despite/because of having the fourth highest rate of gun ownership in the world)
Yaffle- I'm looking at their homicide rate:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homicide_rate
There's is 2.5 per 100000 people, the UK in comparison has 1.28
No other Western European nation is above 2.
Hmmm... I'm wondering if it's a bit like the States - high crime/murder rates in particular areas/demographics, but otherwise not that much.
Maybe the new neighbours are having an impact? Your link gives Estonia's murder rate as 6.3, Russia's, 13. I see the two country's mafias have "an effective monopoly in prostitution in Finland".
Also "27.0% of rapes have been committed by foreigners in Finland, who comprise 2.2% of population".
Not sure why I'm springing to Finland's defence - but "violent" isn't a word I'd have used to describe it.
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