Defining and Registering Criminal Offences and Measures - Oapen

M. Sanctions
In the former editions of the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice
Statistics, the collection of data was limited to traditional sanctions which were
commonly in use across Europe, such as custodial sanctions, either suspended or
immediate, as well as to (custodial) measures whose length often remains undefined,
but depends on the offender’s dangerousness to the community. Despite
certain shortcomings, it was also possible to collect valuable information on the
length of custodial sanctions, including the average length of sentences for some
countries.
The 3rd edition of the ESB then did not feature a section on sanctions and
measures because it was felt that this part should be thoroughly revised in order to
reflect more strongly the complex reality of sanctions in European comparison.
1. First steps and development of draft definitions and
questions
The group decided to extend the information on pre-trial detention by asking (in
Table 3.3) for the number of convicted persons who have spent, before trial, at
least some time in pre-trial detention. This information is valuable since mere
figures on sentences do not reflect this far more complex reality – many convicted