Cost of correctional services on up; prison inmates cost around EUR 40,000 annually

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  According to Tapio Lappi-Seppälä, director of the National Research Institute of Legal Policy, Finnish criminal policy has toughened this side of 2000 in pursuance of a model adopted from abroad, with little attention paid to the cost of this change.
      Lappi-Seppälä presents his arguments in the article "The Cost of the Penal System", which he wrote for professor Raimo Lahti's anniversary volume published last week. According to calculations in the article, the toughening of the penal practices resulted in an additional bill of EUR 34 million in the year 2004 alone, compared to the 1998 figures.
      "It is noteworthy that the effects of the hardening of the policy are not limited to the comparison of just these two years", Lappi-Seppälä points out.
      "The cost of punishments has not been discussed seriously enough in the political arena."
     
In 2005, there were an additional 1,400 inmates in Finnish prisons compared with five years earlier. Two-thirds of this growth comes from the toughened legal usage. The remaining third is explained by the increased number of cases handled by the courts.
      Especially the number of convictions for violent crimes has increased noticeably. This figure has nearly doubled.
      Lappi-Seppälä argues that Finland has adopted a trend originating from Anglo-American judicial culture.
      "The entry of populist features, criminal policy becoming a political issue, and the toughening of punishments for violent and sex-related crimes are all international trends."
     
The cost of a year in prison is around EUR 37,000 - 44,000. The increase in the number of inmates is reflected in the growing budget for the correctional treatment services.
      Lappi-Seppälä criticises decision-makers for having overlooked the possibility of using cheaper, non-custodial alternatives to serving time in prison.
      "It is notable how easily the price of correctional practices is ignored in political discussion, whereas the cost of bringing about changes to the penal system all of a sudden becomes a huge issue", Lappi-Seppälä writes.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Convicts may soon end up queueing for placement in prison (13.10.2005)

Links:
  The National Research Institute of Legal Policy

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