Homicide in Eight Countries From 1980 to 2000: The Flow From Crimes Committed to Time Served in Prison

Abstract

This article summarizes national data on completed homicides for eight countries in three time periods: around 1980, 1990, and 2000. The eight countries are England/Wales, the United States, Sweden, Australia, Scotland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Canada. In each year, the article presents the number of police-recorded crimes, the number of persons convicted, the number of offenders sent to custody, average sentence length, average time served, and all linking probabilities. It also shows changes in all these measures between 1980, 1990, and 2000 in different countries. It would be desirable to carry out longitudinal research, tracking offenders through the criminal justice system.