Penal Values: A Tool for Historical Criminology

• In Event: EHC-WG Panel 1: Theory and Knowledge in Historical Criminology

Abstract

Norwegian criminologist Nils Christie presented his theory of penal values in 1966. He originally presented the concept to explain the high incarceration rate in Finland compared to the other Nordic countries. He argued that the penal value of imprisonment was low in Finland and higher in other countries, resulting in the overuse of incarceration in Finland. In my previous studies, I have employed Christie’s theory of penal values to analyse other aspects of the criminal justice system and further developed the idea of penal values as a tool for measuring the severity of punishments and the seriousness of offenses. Based on my experiences, I believe the concept could have much wider usage in historical criminological analysis, especially in the field of control but also in explaining historical crime trends. In this paper, I will present my version of penal values as a theoretical concept for discussing change in the criminal justice system and as a practical tool for its analysis. I will both propose the framework for employing the concept of penal values and provide concrete examples of its research use-cases.

Author

• Miikka Vuorela, University of Eastern Finland