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Lahti, Raimo (2001). Is a Rational and Humane Criminal Policy Possible. The Experience of a Small Scandinavian Country, Finland. Paper presented at the 15th International Conference of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law: Politics, Crime, and Criminal Justice. Canberra Australian. 26-30 August. Downloaded 5 May 2003.

In this paper, which is primarily theoretical in character, Raimo Lahti engages public debate and decision-making pertaining to crime prevention and to control and sanctioning of criminal behavior. He uses the example of Finland to look at questions concerning the effects of ideology on Nordic criminal policy since the 1960s, the relationship of those developments with criminological research and theories of criminal policy, and the extent to which practical criminal policy has been based on research and rational justifications. He extends his discussion by speculating about the prospect for realistic interaction between theory and practice in the future.

Link: www.isrcl.org/Papers/Lahti.pdf

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