International Journal on Criminology Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2013 | Page 40

Demographic Analysis of the Penal System
the June 1 ruling, the answer is “defendant,” because she was still in the period where she
could lodge an appeal or give notice of appeal.
In a now dated study, 5 based on a sample of entering inmates from 1983 who were
followed for up to 27 months (enough time for more than 95% of entering inmates to be
released), the breakdown of time spent in prison was as follows: time in prison as a
defendant = 50.1%, time spent as an inmate = 49.9%. This type of calculation, which did
not include the 5% of inmates who spent more than 27 months in prison, has not been
replicated since the publication of this study.
3. Calculation of rates
RATES: The quantitative approach in the correctional field obviously involves
manipulating several rates: rate of population increase, rate of detainee supervision (per
correctional officer), rate of individuals in prison per inhabitant, rate of detention per
inhabitant, rate of entries into prison per inhabitant, rate of entries into detention per
inhabitant, rate of mortality in prison, etc. Note that in related situations, the following
terms are also used: proportion (e.g., the proportion of individuals in pretrial detention),
index (specific frequency index of a sanction or measure applied in the community),
weight (weight of the temporary detention, weight of alternatives to detention), and
quotient (quotient of recidivism). In each case, the aim is to calculate a ratio of two
quantities, A and B; however, the relationships that exist between these two figures may
be different in kind.
First case. In this case, the goal is to measure the relative frequency of an event in a
given population, generally throughout a calendar year, whether the event is renewable or
not. The number of events (A) is thus compared to the average population that might
experience this event (B). The relative frequency of a non-renewable event could be
considered as an experimental measure of the likelihood of its occurrence. This is how
the prison mortality rate is calculated.
Second case. This case involves the division of a part by the whole. A and B are of the
same kind (persons or events) and A is a part of B. In this case, the preferable term to use
is proportion or weight. Some examples are the proportion of women or foreigners in the
prison population (these are also commonly referred to as the rate of women or the rate of
individuals of foreign origin), the proportion of individuals in prison not yet tried (A and
B are individuals in prison), the proportion of entries into prison before a final ruling (A
and B are "entries into prison" events), and the weight of detention alternatives.
Third case. The dividend and the divisor belong to different categories. This is the
case for the rate of detainee supervision (per correctional officer), where A is a number of
detainees and B a number of officers, and for the specific frequency index of a
community sanction or measure. This case is also known as a ratio.
In what category do we place the clearance rate found in statistics concerning incidents
reported by the police and the gendarmerie (relating the number of reported incidents to
cleared incidents from the same year)? Neither case 1 nor case 2 applies in this example.
Indeed, the cleared incidents from year n are not a sub-group of reported incidents from
the same year, since some of these clearances may have resulted from proceedings from a
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5 Marie Danièle Barré, Pierre V. Tournier, and Bessie Leconte. La mesure du temps carcéral,
observation suivie d’une cohorte d’entrants (Paris: CESDIP, 1988).
39