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Finland Principles of Criminal Justice
Finnish thinking on criminal policy as it evolved in
the
1980s regarded the punishment of offenders essentially as
society's reproach to the criminal. In the abstract, the
type and
the length of punishment prescribed by law were considered
indicative of the norms of society regarding the
seriousness of
the offense and the potential threat posed to society by
the
offender. In practical terms, punishments were
standardized, and
they were imposed consistently for all categories of
crimes, in
the interest of ensuring equality in the application of
the law.
For this reason, the penal code restricted the
discretionary
power of the courts in imposing sentences.
Imprisonment was not regarded as benefiting the
offender, nor
was the length of time in an institution to be set on the
basis
of need for treatment; it was accepted that punishment was
detrimental and should be used sparingly. Thus, the
tendency has
been to rely on light punishment, especially on fines, and
to
emphasize short sentences of a few weeks or months.
In addition to ensuring that sentences were equal and
proportional, the penal code advised that sentences
imposed
should not cause the "unregulated accumulation of
sanctions,"
that is, when assessing punishment, courts should avoid
several
sanctions' being imposed--such as dismissal from office,
or
revocation of a driver's permit--as the result of a single
offense. The courts were also expected to ensure that
punishment
was not extended indirectly to the offender's family.
The tendency since the early 1970s has been to
decriminalize
a number of actions formerly indictable under the penal
code. The
modifications in the code reflected changing priorities in
assessing the seriousness of criminal conduct, changing
norms of
social behavior, and an attempt to distinguish between
premeditated crime and spontaneous actions. Among the acts
decriminalized were creating a public disturbance because
of
drunkenness as well as certain offenses against property,
such as
petty theft. Homosexual acts between consenting adults
also
ceased to be regarded as a criminal offense. Stiff
penalties for
offenses against persons, for threatened violence against
persons, and for drunken driving remained unaffected,
however.
Finland has been less willing than other Scandinavian
countries to replace punishment with other measures, such
as
treatment-oriented institutions for repeat offenders.
Under
legislation enacted in 1931, offenders "dangerous to
private or
public safety" could be confined in a separate institution
for
recidivists after their sentences had expired. In 1971 the
law
was amended so that property offenses could no longer be
considered grounds for indeterminate incarceration, and
conditions under which violent offenders could be so
confined
were more narrowly defined. As a result, the number of
offenders
held in internment of any kind fell dramatically, from
nearly 400
in the 1960s to fewer than 10 in 1984.
Data as of December 1988
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