International Comparisons: A Briefing on Five European Nations

Citation

Graham H (2026) International Comparisons: A Briefing on Five European Nations. Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission. Edinburgh.

Abstract
This briefing paper summarises and contextualises sentencing, penal policy and criminal justice in five nations: the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Finland, and the Republic of Ireland. In doing the independent review in Scotland, the Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission were interested in insights from Europe, and we referred to some of these in our Commission’s interim primer paper in 2025. The five national summaries in this briefing are by no means comprehensive. Some are more detailed than others. Summaries of relevant points have been developed with the Commission’s remit in mind, while reliant on availability of English language publications about complex, differing linguistic, cultural and legal contexts. A lot is cited from referenced primary sources. Some nations have seen shifts or developments relating to their prison population and penal policy even in the last year. In a comparative study of imprisonment across 30 European nations, Tapio Lappi-Seppälä concluded that: ‘moderate penal policies have their roots in a consensual and corporatist political culture, in high levels of social trust and political legitimacy, and in a strong welfare state; and that more punitive policies that make more use of imprisonment are to be found in countries where these characteristics are less in evidence.’ In making connections between social welfare and imprisonment rates, he used the slogan, popular in Finland and across Europe, that ‘good social policy is the best criminal justice policy.’ Lappi-Seppälä suggests that it is better to invest in schools, social work, families and communities than it is to invest in prisons. Prevention and early intervention are inherent in his comments. As an eminent European comparativist and specialist in decarceration, his conclusions offer food for thought regarding at least some of the insights summarised in this briefing paper. Solutions to addressing high uses of imprisonment are not solely to be found in narrow, traditional penal policy levers and reforms, but may also be found in changing wider social conditions and offering commensurate supports and resources.