Crime and Crime Control in Transition Countries

Abstract

This chapter offers a comparative overview of the main problems CEE countries have faced during the period of transition. By drawing attention to the fact that many European countries found themselves ‘in transition’ several times in the twentieth century (after WWI and II, after the collapse of totalitarian regimes in Spain, Portugal, Greece) the author suggests that the transition process the CEE countries had to undergo was probably the most far-reaching and difficult of all. The characteristics of crime, views on crime and crime policy in socialist systems are then analysed and the challenges facing CEE countries during the transition process illustrated. The political, economic and social changes affecting crime, crime policy and crime control were enormous and came at great cost for the populations of these countries. In the field of crime policy it was necessary to change all the important elements: legislation, the judicial and law enforcement systems—and this at the same time that the economic system was also transforming completely while some countries in the region were obliged to fight, in some cases through atrocious war, for basic sovereignty and independence. The chapter traces the complex process of developing new structures in the area of crime policy: the coming to life of new legislation, the unexpected increase in crime in the first years after the ‘Big Change’ and the changes experienced in all areas of the institutions dealing with crime—the police, prosecutorial service, courts and magistrates as well as the prison systems. The author also gives an analysis of the theoretical views presented by Western experts as well as by those from CEE countries and argues that in seeking to understand such a vast and involved historical shift one must regard it from a multi-causal viewpoint, since it is impossible to explain entirely from any single perspective. The chapter goes on to discuss the importance of human rights issues (within the criminal justice field) and asserts that these issues have become of utmost importance in the CEE countries at a time when they appeared to be losing ground in Western democracies, especially in the aftermath of 9/11. It concludes by stating that 20 years after first undergoing the major changes brought about by transition, crime in CEE countries has stabilised. The differences between these countries are considered, and compared to similar differences among West-European countries. Finally, the chapter touches upon the question of how crime and penal policy may develop in the future and argues for a humane and fair crime policy system.