On Some Criminal Policy Evaluation Measures (Example of Poland’s Last Twenty Years)

Abstract

The aim of Jan Skupiński’s text is to demonstrate the advantages of using complex measures in the evaluation of penal policy, using the example of the Polish state in the last 20 years. The text lists and characterises the main numerical measures used to date in statistical research. The author calls attention to the importance of properly selecting a sample (base) for research, as well as the period of comparison in order to determine the direction of changes. The text also touches upon an important problem of prioritising data from institutions over those presented by researchers and scientific institutes. The article highlights the frequent lack of precision of figures expressed in coefficients and converted into population ratios. As an example, the author uses the underestimation of prison populations in different countries, which is reflected in the imprisonment rate. Skupiński points out the different age structure in the individual societies under comparison. He also highlights the major stages in the Polish penal policy which affect the compilation of figures. According to the author, these remarks should be used to develop new numerical measures of penal policy in a way that would facilitate its assessment and render it more reliable.