Höjda straff och hårdare tag mot brott: en studie av den nyklassiska skolans inflytande på straffsystemet och kriminalpolitiken i Sverige
(2019) JURM02 20191Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- This essay aims to describe the neoclassical school, as well as the develop-ment of the criminal system and criminal policy in Sweden as from 1965 until 2019, and to also analyse if the neoclassical school has had any influ-ence on the development. The study is based on the following main issue: is the punitive development of the criminal system and criminal policy of the recent decades a result of the neoclassical school's influence.
In 1965, the new penal code entered into force, in which the so-called treat-ment ideology was clearly expressed. However, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the treatment ideology was subjected to criticism. From the criticism, the neoclassical school arose. The school opposed that the criminal’s... (More) - This essay aims to describe the neoclassical school, as well as the develop-ment of the criminal system and criminal policy in Sweden as from 1965 until 2019, and to also analyse if the neoclassical school has had any influ-ence on the development. The study is based on the following main issue: is the punitive development of the criminal system and criminal policy of the recent decades a result of the neoclassical school's influence.
In 1965, the new penal code entered into force, in which the so-called treat-ment ideology was clearly expressed. However, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the treatment ideology was subjected to criticism. From the criticism, the neoclassical school arose. The school opposed that the criminal’s per-sonal circumstances were the basis for the choice of sanction. Instead of crime prevention, the neoclassical school emphasised the principle of equiv-alence, legality and proportionality as decisive for the formation of the crim-inal system and the choice of sanction. These ideas were later presented in a report from Brottsförebygganderådet in 1977. The report came to be the starting point for the change of the essential criminal theory for the criminal system that ended with a reform in 1989. Thereby, care or treatment was abolished as the central principle in terms of the choice of sanctions in fa-vour of the principle of proportionality and penal value. This meant that the punishment would be determined in proportion to the severity of the crime, instead of the criminal's needs of care or treatment. This criminal-theoretical basis is still valid for today's criminal system, and thus generally accepted and uncontroversial.
Since the 1980s, the development of the criminal policy has become in-creasingly politicized, aggressive, expressive, symbolic, and punitive, espe-cially towards violent crime. During the 2000s and 2010s, a number of re-forms have been implemented to increase the severity of penalties towards murder and assault. The increased penalty levels were motivated by the fact that the penalties were not proportionate to its penal value or consistent with the general legal conception.
Based on the study's result, the following conclusions are mainly presented in the essay: (1) the neoclassical school has generally had great significance for the development of the criminal system and the criminal policy, and (2) that the punitive development of recent decades, however, is not a result of the neoclassical school’s direct influence, but rather its indirect influence. Instead, the direct cause of the punitive development within the criminal system and criminal policy appears to be the increased politicization of the criminal law and the criminal policy. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Denna uppsats syftar till att dels redogöra för den nyklassiska skolan, samt utvecklingen av straffsystemet och kriminalpolitiken i Sverige fr.o.m. år 1965 t.o.m. år 2019, dels utreda vilket inflytande nyklassicismen har haft på utvecklingen av desamma. Undersökningen utgår från följande huvudfråge-ställning: är de senaste decenniernas straffrättsliga och kriminalpolitiska utveckling, med ny- och uppkriminalisering som följd, ett resultat av den nyklassiska skolans påverkan på straffsystemet och kriminalpolitiken.
År 1965 trädde brottsbalken ikraft, i vilken den s.k. behandlingsideologin tydligt kom till uttryck. Under slutet av 1960- och början av 1970-talet ut-sattes emellertid behandlingsideologin för kritik. Ur kritiken uppstod den... (More) - Denna uppsats syftar till att dels redogöra för den nyklassiska skolan, samt utvecklingen av straffsystemet och kriminalpolitiken i Sverige fr.o.m. år 1965 t.o.m. år 2019, dels utreda vilket inflytande nyklassicismen har haft på utvecklingen av desamma. Undersökningen utgår från följande huvudfråge-ställning: är de senaste decenniernas straffrättsliga och kriminalpolitiska utveckling, med ny- och uppkriminalisering som följd, ett resultat av den nyklassiska skolans påverkan på straffsystemet och kriminalpolitiken.
År 1965 trädde brottsbalken ikraft, i vilken den s.k. behandlingsideologin tydligt kom till uttryck. Under slutet av 1960- och början av 1970-talet ut-sattes emellertid behandlingsideologin för kritik. Ur kritiken uppstod den nyklassiska skolan. Vilken bl.a. motsatte sig att den enskilde förbrytarens personliga förhållanden skulle ligga till grund för påföljdsvalet. I stället för preventionshänsyn betonade nyklassicismen bl.a. ekvivalens-, legalitets- och proportionalitetsprincipen som avgörande för straffsystemets utformning, samt i samband med påföljdsbestämningen. Dessa tankegångar framfördes bl.a. i en rapport från Brottsförebyggande rådet år 1977. Rapporten kom att utgöra startpunkten för den straffteoretiska förändring som avslutades med den s.k. påföljdsreformen år 1989. Därigenom avskaffades vård eller be-handling som central princip vid påföljdsvalet till förmån för proportional-itets- och straffvärdeprincipen. Det innebar att straffet skulle bestämmas i proportion till brottets svårhet eller förkastlighet, i stället för brottslingens vård- eller behandlingsbehov. Denna straffteoretiska grund är fortsatt gäl-lande för dagens straffsystem, samt därmed allmänt accepterad och okontro-versiell.
Den kriminalpolitiska utvecklingen har vidare sedan 1980-talet blivit allt-mer politiserad, offensiv, expressiv, symbolisk, samt straffinriktad, med ett särskilt fokus på bl.a. våldsbrottsligheten. Under 2000- och 2010-talet har ett flertal reformer genomförts för att skärpa straffen för t.ex. mord, dråp och misshandel. Straffhöjningarna har motiverats med att straffen inte tidi-gare stod i proportion till dess straffvärde eller överensstämde med det all-männa rättsmedvetandets uppfattning.
Mot bakgrund av resultatet av uppsatsens undersökning presenteras i huvud-sak följande slutsatser i framställningen: (1) den nyklassiska skolan har ge-nerellt sett haft stor betydelse för straffsystemet och kriminalpolitikens ut-veckling, samt (2) att de senaste årtiondenas straffinriktade utveckling emel-lertid inte är ett resultat av den nyklassiska straffteorins direkta inflytande, utan snarare dess indirekta påverkan. Den direkta orsaken till den straffrätts-liga och kriminalpolitiska betoningen på hårdare straff och tag mot brott, förefaller i stället vara den ökade politiseringen av straffrätten och kriminal-politiken. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8977351
- author
- Olsson, Ludvig LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Increased penalties and harder actions against crime: a study of the neoclassical school's influence on the criminal system and criminal policy in Sweden
- course
- JURM02 20191
- year
- 2019
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- straffrätt, criminal law, rättshistoria, legal history, rättsvetenskap, law, straffteori, penal theory, den nyklassiska skolan, the neoclassical school.
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 8977351
- date added to LUP
- 2019-06-12 15:20:34
- date last changed
- 2019-06-12 15:20:34
@misc{8977351,
abstract = {{This essay aims to describe the neoclassical school, as well as the develop-ment of the criminal system and criminal policy in Sweden as from 1965 until 2019, and to also analyse if the neoclassical school has had any influ-ence on the development. The study is based on the following main issue: is the punitive development of the criminal system and criminal policy of the recent decades a result of the neoclassical school's influence.
In 1965, the new penal code entered into force, in which the so-called treat-ment ideology was clearly expressed. However, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the treatment ideology was subjected to criticism. From the criticism, the neoclassical school arose. The school opposed that the criminal’s per-sonal circumstances were the basis for the choice of sanction. Instead of crime prevention, the neoclassical school emphasised the principle of equiv-alence, legality and proportionality as decisive for the formation of the crim-inal system and the choice of sanction. These ideas were later presented in a report from Brottsförebygganderådet in 1977. The report came to be the starting point for the change of the essential criminal theory for the criminal system that ended with a reform in 1989. Thereby, care or treatment was abolished as the central principle in terms of the choice of sanctions in fa-vour of the principle of proportionality and penal value. This meant that the punishment would be determined in proportion to the severity of the crime, instead of the criminal's needs of care or treatment. This criminal-theoretical basis is still valid for today's criminal system, and thus generally accepted and uncontroversial.
Since the 1980s, the development of the criminal policy has become in-creasingly politicized, aggressive, expressive, symbolic, and punitive, espe-cially towards violent crime. During the 2000s and 2010s, a number of re-forms have been implemented to increase the severity of penalties towards murder and assault. The increased penalty levels were motivated by the fact that the penalties were not proportionate to its penal value or consistent with the general legal conception.
Based on the study's result, the following conclusions are mainly presented in the essay: (1) the neoclassical school has generally had great significance for the development of the criminal system and the criminal policy, and (2) that the punitive development of recent decades, however, is not a result of the neoclassical school’s direct influence, but rather its indirect influence. Instead, the direct cause of the punitive development within the criminal system and criminal policy appears to be the increased politicization of the criminal law and the criminal policy.}},
author = {{Olsson, Ludvig}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Höjda straff och hårdare tag mot brott: en studie av den nyklassiska skolans inflytande på straffsystemet och kriminalpolitiken i Sverige}},
year = {{2019}},
}