International Journal on Criminology Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2013 | Page 47

International Journal on Criminology
penalized by being committed to prison. Without attempting to explain the stages, we
measure them and their sequence based on a perspective of the affected population,
ending with the provisional number of persons in prison. With a theoretical model, we
empirically verify a hypothesis concerning the role of a certain number of variables
(unemployment, the level of urbanization, etc.) in the crime and consequently in the
prison population.
This poses a two-fold problem: the model does not adapt well to perspective because
it requires perspectives on explanatory variables to be used; it brings variables into play
that are difficult to act on over the short or medium term. 19
***
This contribution to the journal, Criminology, is potentially the first stage of a larger
project I envisioned when I published my prison demography dictionary in French in
2000. I hope to leverage the skills needed in order to present the most important terms
and concepts of that work in several languages (English, German and Spanish). Dealing
with language will clearly play an important role in this kind of approach, and not just in
terms of translation. It will also be necessary to consider how to transfer concepts. The
most obvious example is the word “probation,” which, in English, encompasses very
different penalties, depending on the country. 20 In England or Wales, as well as in
Sweden and Denmark, “probation” suggests an “autonomous penalty after being found
guilty, without a sentence entailing the deprivation of liberty.” “Probation” in France
refers to a suspended prison sentence (with a defined quantum). The suspension might be
total or partial. At the Council of Europe, the word “probation” is used in a general sense
to indicate the enforcement of a penalty or measure applied in any community. 21 Thus, if
we are not careful, there is considerable risk of confusion in international comparisons.
Paris, March 19, 2013.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
19 Home Office. International Seminar on Prison Population Projections, Report of Proceedings.
Vol. 1–2. Shrigley Hall, July 9–11, 1991.
Pierre V. Tournier, “Godot is Arrived. When French Parliament at the End Vote the Promised
Prison Law,” in Punitivity: International Developments, eds. H. Helmuth Kury, and E. Shea
(Hagen, Germany: Universitätsverlag Dr. N. Brockmeyer, Vol. II, 2011), 551-584.
Tournier, La Prison.
20 Tournier, La Prison.
21 According to the Council of Europe's terminology, community sanctions and measures (CSM)
are penalties and measures besides detention, and are combined with "supervision" measures, that
is, measures for support, assistance, and supervision.
46!