Most studies of crime and social inequality consider social environment and social contexts. The welfare regime shares certain social values as well as specific programs and policies. From this, crime is a social problem and a problem to be solved thr...
Most studies of crime and social inequality consider social environment and social contexts. The welfare regime shares certain social values as well as specific programs and policies. From this, crime is a social problem and a problem to be solved through a social intervention. In this respect, the high level of equality, the socio-economic safety net, and the provision of universal welfare lead to more restorative and reintegrative punishments and crime control policies. As a result, depending on the social context and welfare regime, the crime control policy and social integration policy have a different appearance.
The United States has the highest crime rate among 30 major developed countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In the United States, where there is a lack of a social system to help criminals re-enter to society, ex-convicts are experiencing unstable employment, low wages in the labor market and family disintegration. Sweden, on the other hand, has a tradition of low crime rate, incarceration and recidivism rate, and there is little stigma.
Sweden, with its historical institutions and culture, shows Swedish penal exceptionalism, represented by low crime rates and imprisonment rates.
In order to explain the difference between the two countries, this paper focused on the concept of welfare regime, and focused on the institutional reciprocity of welfare regime in the criminal justice system, correctional system, and social integration strategy. This paper examined the differences in crime control policies and institutions according to welfare regimes by comparing the United States and Sweden, the representative countries of liberal welfare regimes and social democratic welfare regimes. And also, this paper reviewed what the implications are. Through this, it was argued that the most effective counter-measures against the problems of crime are prevention rather than severe punishments. And in the event of a crime, it is necessary to provide a social system that helps criminals reintegrate into society. It emphasized that harsh punishment is not the only solution, and the best way to prevent crime is to establish a universal social safety net and institutionalize a resilient social integration strategy.