The Revival of Comparative Criminology in a Globalised World: Local Variances and Indigenous Over‐representation

Hilde Tubex

doi:10.5204/ijcjsd.v2i3.110

Abstract

In this article, I first examine the viability of comparative criminological research in a globalised world. Further, I test the validity of some global explanatory models against the local situation in countries that appear to resist the dominant trend, such as the Netherlands and Canada. I then zoom in even further to the intra-national differences in some federal nations, such as Canada and Australia, where this situation is often linked to the overrepresentation of Indigenous people and the consequences of colonialism. Finally, I discuss the future of comparative criminological research.

Highlights

I argued in a previous article (Tubex 2013), that comparative criminology is a rather young discipline, as crime and justice were not hot topics in the optimistic, generous and positive decades following the Second World War
Imprisonment has been replaced by other strategies of crime control, which are no less repressive than a prison sentence. From this example it is clear how complex the explanation of prison populations can be, as perceived changes in crime can be the result of changed police performance, prosecution practices and sentencing, which in their turn can be an expression of increased punitiveness
Neo‐liberalism in the US is more entangled with conservatism, while in Australia it is rooted in a more socio‐democratic tradition, and welfare models can remain intact in the latter

Summary

Introduction

I argued in a previous article (Tubex 2013), that comparative criminology is a rather young discipline, as crime and justice were not hot topics in the optimistic, generous and positive decades following the Second World War. Using correct data and similar definitions as other countries do, the Dutch fluctuations would have been a lot less distinctive: they were initially deflated by the exclusion of mentally ill convicts held in private clinics, and later inflated by the inclusion of illegal immigrants held in administrative detention centres and juveniles placed in institutions as a civil protection measure After adjusting for these two, the imprisonment rate in 2007 would decrease by 30 per cent – from 113 to 72 – far below the European mean of 119. He claims – relying on data from the International Crime Victims Survey – that the growing / declining imprisonment rates are much more closely related to changes in (serious) crime instead of changes in punitiveness This claim is partly confirmed in the study of Vollaard and Moolenaar (2009), who attribute the increase in the prison population to an increase in drug and violence related cases brought before the judges. Imprisonment has been replaced by other strategies of crime control, which are no less repressive than a prison sentence

Conclusion

Findings