Modalidad de estudio

Age brackets used in Table 3.2.2.2

All countries count minors as persons who are under 18 years old. The only exception is Austria, which included 18-year-olds until 2000 and Poland where 17-year-olds are counted

The lower age limit varies widely among countries as far as criminal responsibility is concerned. Persons below the age of criminal respon- sibility will not be convicted and therefore not counted in conviction statistics (whatever ‘civil’ or administrative treatment or sanction they will actually receive). This was not necessarily the case for police statistics where persons below the age of criminal responsibility were sometimes included (for details see Table 1.3.2.2).

For the offences considered here, the following age limits were indicated. Table 3.3.1.3 Minimum age for consideration in conviction statistics 2003

Albania 14 Armenia 14 Austria 14 Belgium 16 Bulgaria 14 Croatia 14 Cyprus 7 Czech Republic 15 Denmark 15 Estonia 13 Finland 15 France 7 Germany 14 Greece 7 Hungary 14 Ireland 14 Italy 15 Latvia 14 Lithuania 14 Moldova 14 Netherlands 12 Norway 15 Poland 15 Portugal 16 Romania 14 Slovakia 15 Slovenia 14 Spain 16 Sweden 15 Switzerland 7 Ukraine 14

UK: England & Wales 10

UK: Northern Ireland 10

Notes on Table 3.3.1.3

The transition from the status of minor to adult raises diffi cult legal and statistical questions as to how a person is to be treated who, having committed an offence as a minor, is dealt with in court only once he/she has reached the age of adulthood. Some countries apply rules for minors, and count him/her as such, whereas others treat and count him/her as an adult. For details, see the following footnotes. Belgium: Refers to the moment the court decision is taken, not when the offence was committed. Estonia: From 1 September 2002 the minimum age rose from 12 to 14 years.

France: Formally, there is no minimum age. In practice and according to jurispudence however it is 7 years.

Poland: Only the most serious cases involving minors are included in the table.

Slovakia: Individuals who committed crimes as minors are considered as minors even if convicted and sentenced after they reach the age of 18.

Spain: New legislation for minors in 2000 resulted in the small number proceeded against in court. Sweden: Age bracket refers to the time when the court decision was taken.

UK: Scotland: Except for serious offences children aged 8 - 15 are generally referred to the reporter of the children’s panel or given a police warning rather than being proceeded against in a court.

3.4 Sources

Albania Ministry of Justice, Department of Statistics Armenia Statistical Yearbook of Armenia - 2004

Austria Statistics Austria. Annual Conviction Statistics 2000-2003

Belgium

Ministère de la Justice - Service de la politique criminelle - Point d’appui statistique, Données statistiques en matière de condamnations, suspensions, internements. Tableaux pluri-annuels 1993/4 – 2003 (non publiés)

Bulgaria

Regular statistical documentation of the National Institute of Statistics concerning convicted persons with an effective sentence on the basis of data taken from the publication ‘Offences and Convicted Persons’, edited by the National Institute of Statistics, Demographic and Social Statistics Direction, Statistics of Social Activities Department

Croatia

State Bureau of Statistics – Department of Judicial and Administrative Statistics

Internal documentation (unpublished – only selected data are published)

Cyprus ‘Criminal Statistics’ for each year. Statistical Service Czech Republic

Ministry of Justice, Statistical and Informatics Department Criminal Court´s Statistics, unpublished. Year 2003

Foreigners in the Czech Republic, Czech Statistical Office, 2004 Denmark Statistics Denmark

Estonia Statistical Office of Estonia

Finland Yearbook of Justice Statistics, relevant year / Statistics Finland France Ministère de la Justice, SDSED, annual judicial statistics Georgia Department of executions of Ministry of Justice

Germany Statistisches Bundesamt (Ed.): Strafverfolgungsstatistik 2000 - 2003 Wiesbaden 2001 – 2004

Greece National Statistical Service of Greece Hungary Ministry of Justice

Iceland …

Ireland …

Italy Istat – National Institute of Statistics Lithuania National Courts Administration Luxembourg ...

Malta ...

Moldova Ministry of Justice

Netherlands Ministry of Justice (WODC) and Central Bureau of Statistics Poland Ministry of Justice, Department of Statistics

Portugal Legal Policy and Planning Office, Ministry of Justice

Romania Ministry of Justice, Directorate of Organisation, Human Resources and Judiciary Statistics

Russia Ministry of Interior Affairs Slovakia Ministry of Justice

Slovenia Statistical office of the Republic of Slovenia. Based on data taken from ‘Results of Surveys’: Crime. Annual publication

Spain INE - Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Estadísticas Judiciales de España

Sweden Official Swedish Criminal Statistics published by the National Crime Prevention Council

Switzerland Office fédéral de la statistique (unpublished)

UK: England & Wales Home Office, Research. Development and Statistics Directorate Criminal Statistics. Annual publication

UK: Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Office Statistics and Research Branch UK: Scotland The Scottish Executive Justice Statistics Unit

4.1.1 Introduction

1. This chapter presents data on custodial sanctions. It also briefly reviews the information available on recidivism.

2. The content of this chapter has been shortened considerably compared with earlier Sourcebook editions. It no longer includes data on the number and the capacity of penal institutions; data on expenditure; nor data describing the stock and flow of the execution of non-custodial sentences.

3. The ‘stock’ and ‘flow’ perspective

Generally speaking, data on custodial sanctions can be described from two perspectives, which generate different, but equally important results. The first perspective concerns ‘How many persons are there on a given day? (‘stock’). The second perspective concerns ‘How many people have been submitted during the course of the year?’ (‘flow’). 4. The following data were requested:

• How many people are there in the prisons (‘stock’, including

pre-trial detention and divided into sub-categories: women, minors, and aliens)?

• How many people are admitted to the prisons (‘flow’, including pre-trial detention and divided into sub-categories: women, minors, and aliens)?

• What kind of offences have the convicted prisoners committed (‘stock’, excluding pre-trial detention, but divided into

subcategories: all offences, traffic offences, intentional homicide, completed intentional homicide, assault, rape, robbery, total theft, theft of a motor vehicle, burglary, domestic burglary, total drug offences, drug trafficking)?