This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Oberwittler, D. Articles by Höfer, S. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Crime and Justice in Germany

An Analysis of Recent Trends and Research

University of Cambridge, UK, dietrich.oberwittler{at}crim.cam.ac.uk

Sven Höfer

Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Law, Freiburg, Germany, sh463{at}cam.ac.uk, s.hoefer{at}mpicc.de

The article reports trends in crime and criminal justice and reviews publications in key areas of criminology in Germany. Criminal statistics show divergent trends in recent years, with rising drug and violent offences and stable or falling property offences. Statistics on sanction practices show a long-term trend towards informal and community sanctions despite some increase in prison sentences in recent years. German reunification and a subsequent increase in immigration have put some strain on the criminal justice system. On the whole, however, neither penal practice nor popular attitudes as measured by periodic surveys support the notion of a ‘punitive turn’ in Germany. Stability and a certain inertia prevail in German crime policies. Criminology has not grown into an independent academic discipline but is an interdisciplinary research field to which law, psychology, sociology and other disciplines contribute. There is still a noticeable rift in German criminology between ‘mainstream’ and ‘critical’ approaches, contributing to a rather incoherent research landscape. Recent research has particularly focused on youth crime and violence, especially xenophobic violence, on ethnic minorities, and on organized crime. The review concludes with proposals for strengthening criminological research in Germany.

Key Words: Crime • Criminal Justice • Criminology • Delinquency • Germany • Prison • Punitiveness • Reunification • Time Series • Violence

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?