Site Network: Prison Policy Initiative | Prisoners of the Census

Section IV: Global Comparisons

Crime and incarceration around the world:

Finland: Crime control & decarceration

  • Approximate number of years Finland did not have the highest incarceration rate in Scandinavia, 1886-1993595: 1
  • Incarceration rate in Finland per 100,000 population, 1918596: 250
  • Approximate Finish incarceration rate per 100,000 population, 1920-1950597: 200
  • Number of years between 1975 and 1998 where the Finnish prison population rate per 100,000 population rose598: 0
  • Number of prisoners in Finland599: 2,700
  • Current Finnish incarceration rate per 100,000 population600: 52
  • Of the four Scandinavian countries, current rank, of Finland's incarceration rate601: 4
  • Number of guns owned by the Hameenilla penitentiary602: 10
  • Percent of penitentiary's guns locked in the warden's safe603: 100%
  • Number of military-style uniforms in the Finnish prisons604: 0
  • In polls measuring what national institutions are admired the most, rank given to the Finnish police605: 1
  • Percent of other European countries with a larger police force per capita than Finland606: 100%
  • Percent of Finns who were a victim of a crime in 1999607: 19%
  • Average % of residents of industrialized countries that were a victim of a crime in 1999608: 21%

This page is an excerpt from The Prison Index: Taking the Pulse of the Crime Control Industry (2003) by Peter Wagner, published by the Western Prison Project and the Prison Policy Initiative. Footnotes for all facts are available in the print version.