Citation

Mendlein AK. Int. Criminol. 2021; 1(2): 107-122.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s43576-021-00013-2

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Nations utilize imprisonment to different extents, but scholars have yet to fully explain why. One hypothesis, proposed here and previously unexamined, is that the size of the front-end justice system workforce (police, prosecution, judiciary) is related to incarceration rates. Previous literature has examined why these workforces are of a certain size, but largely ignores the implications of their size in regards to incarceration. Supported by a conflict perspective and a systems approach, this research examines the relationship between justice system workforce size and incarceration rates cross-nationally, controlling for other relevant factors supported by the literature. The study relies on a compilation of data on 47 countries from several international databases, with United Nations Surveys on Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (UN-CTS) as the primary sources for main variables of interest.

FINDINGS suggest that there is a positive relationship between prosecution workforce size and incarceration rates in the sample of countries examined, and a weaker, likely indirect, negative relationship between judiciary size and incarceration rate. No relationship between police personnel size and incarceration rate is found. The paper also discusses study limitations and implications for future comparative research on incarceration.

Language: en