Law matters
Civil cases
Although statistics have been kept on the courts' handling of civil cases since the beginning of the last century, it was not until the latter half that century that the statistics also covered the courts' handling of disputes, bankruptcies, other probate matters and enforcement proceedings, in addition to information regarding the activities of those in public trustee offices.
Disputes
Since 1886, statistics on how boards of conciliation and the general courts handle civil disputes have provided information on the number of cases dismissed, adjourned, settled out of court, settled by court order, referred to trial or postponed until the following year. Information was also available on cases adjudicated in lower courts, including the duration of court proceedings, the nature of the dispute and the judgement. The statistics were cut back considerably in 1931 for budgetary reasons, meaning that data were no longer kept on the amounts of money involved in cases adjudicated in courts of first instance and on their judgements. The data from the boards of conciliation were limited to cases that had been closed.
Beginning in 1957, data from the courts of first instance were collected from a form sent in upon the conclusion of each case. The restructuring meant that statistics could once again be kept on the amount of money involved in the cases, and information regarding the nature of the disputes was more detailed than before. Otherwise, the procedures instituted after the cutbacks in 1931 formed the basis for the statistics on disputes until 1989, when Statistics Norway's civil juridical statistics were discontinued. Since then, the figures on civil disputes have been limited to information gleaned from the courts' annual reports to the Ministry of Justice.
The number of cases handled by the boards of conciliation varied significantly from year to year until the new Civil Procedures Act came into force in 1927, but it is safe to say that more than 100 000 cases were handled in most of the preceding years. In the years following the implementation of the Civil Procedures Act, the conciliation boards dealt with approximately 40 000 disputes each year. Then there was a pronounced decline until the end of World War II, when the annual figure was as little as 7 000 cases. The end of the war brought the beginning of a steady increase that lasted until 1988, a record year (323 000) for the number of cases heard by conciliation boards. During the three subsequent years, the number of disputes handled by the conciliation boards declined by more than half.
The number of disputes in which arbitration has been successful has declined sharply in the more than 100 years since these statistics were first registered. While settlements were agreed in three of four disputes in the 1890s, the same was true of only 2 per cent of disputes in the early 1990s.
From 1886 to 1991, the number of civil disputes handled by courts of the first instance more than tripled. Like the conciliation boards, the number of lower court cases fluctuated appreciably from year to year until the new Civil Procedures Act entered into force in 1927. Then there was a steady increase of 6 000-7 000 cases a year to more than double the number (16 000) in 1991. Disputes decided by the courts of the second instance have seen about the same relative increase as cases decided in the lower courts: From about 500 cases a year in the 1880s to 2 000 cases a year in 1991. The number of civil disputes decided by the Supreme Court doubled during the same interval, from 169 cases in 1886 to 347 cases in 1991.
Bankruptcies and compositions
In 1865, the Ministry of Justice began to keep detailed statistics on the estates of deceased persons, estates in bankruptcy and other estates handled by the probate courts. In addition to figures on the estates handled by the courts, the statistics provided information on the estates' assets and debts, the estate holder's occupation/position, the results of the processing and the length of time required to process the case. In 1883, the job of keeping statistics was turned over to Statistics Norway, which continued to prepare comprehensive probate statistics up until 1929 when statistics regarding the estates of deceased people were discontinued, while the statistics on bankruptcies and compositions were limited to summaries of the number of estates, assets and liabilities. Statistics on concluded bankruptcies were discontinued in 1989.
The number of bankruptcies usually varies in line with economic cycles. Over the past 75 years, the most striking aspect of the bankruptcy trend was the pronounced rise in the number of bankruptcies commenced during the recession and stagnation period from 1920 to 1926, and the more or less explosive growth in the number of bankruptcies commenced during the recession years subsequent to 1986. After peaking in 1926, the number of declared bankruptcies declined, generally speaking, until the years of the occupation, then it rose again to a fairly stable level in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. Beginning in 1970, the increase led up to an absolute peak in 1992, when there were four times as many bankruptcies commenced as in 1926.
Forced sales
Data on forced sales, foreclosures and distraints were collected from the courts of execution and enforcement in connection with the county governor's five-year reports. Data collection continued after the five-year reports were discontinued in 1924. Data on distraints were discontinued in 1931, and since civil juridical statistics were discontinued in 1989, the data on real estate ultimately sold through forced sales were also discontinued. Statistics on the courts of execution and enforcement now cover only requested forced sales and foreclosures.
Assets administrated by public trustee offices
Statistics have been kept on public trustee offices' activities since 1865. In addition to giving information about total assets and their distribution among owner groups, beginning in 1937 the statistics provided information about the share of capital placed in mortgage bonds and, from 1955, on investments in shares and bank deposits.
Criminal cases
Statistics Norway has prepared statistics on criminal cases since 1883. Prior to that time the Ministry of Justice was responsible for such statistics. Already in 1829, the "Ministry Gazette" published statistics on the criminal cases brought before the courts. In addition to the court or sanction statistics, the 1870s marked the beginning of the publication of statistics on prisoners in the jails. These prisoner statistics also contained the first information on the rate of recidivism. Nationwide statistics on the crimes reported to the police were first established in 1956.
Police statistics
Since their inception in 1956, police statistics have been based on the reports made on each individual crime case that has been investigated and closed. The statistics provide information about the nature of the crime, the site, time, number of people involved and the police's decision or recommendation regarding how a decision should be reached. The statistics also provided information on the use of remand in custody and on whether any stolen goods were totally or partially recovered. For cases in which the police felt they had conclusive evidence against particular perpetrators (including perpetrators under the age of consent), the statistics also provided information on the age, sex and residence of the accused; in addition to the number of accomplices and whether or not anyone was under the influence of alcohol when the act was committed.
Statistics on criminal investigations and indicted criminals have largely been prepared according to the original formula devised in 1956. However, data are no longer collected on stolen goods or the influence of alcohol. In the 1980s, data collection routines were successively altered from collecting forms to extracting information from a computer-based registration system.
Since 1990 Statistics Norway has also kept track of reported crimes. The reporting statistics include both crimes and misdemeanours.
The number of crimes investigated by the police has increased dramatically since 1956. In the four last years of the 1950s, the police completed investigations of 34 000 crimes in average. The compa- rable number for the three first years of the 1990s was 231 000 crimes. In other words, the number of crimes increased by almost seven-fold from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. During the late 1980s, the number of criminal investigations skyrocketed. From a growth rate of 22 000 crimes in the 1960s, the number of crimes investigated climbed by 50 000 in the 1970s and by a whopping 127 000 in the 1980s. There were slightly fewer crimes investigated in 1990, 1991 and 1992, than during the record year of 1989.
A total of four-fifths of the increase in the number of criminal investigations from 1956-1959 to 19901992 was ascribable to crimes committed for personal gain. The number of crimes of violence against person accounted for 4 per cent and sexual crimes for just less than one per cent of the growth, while other crimes accounted for one-sixth of the growth in the number of criminal investigations. During the 35-year period in question, the number of "other crimes" showed an eight-fold increase, while violent crimes increased five-fold and sexual crimes doubled. Crimes inflicting damage to property and narcotics offences showed the strongest growth among the crimes included in the category "other crimes". When narcotics offences began to show up in the statistics in the late 1960s, roughly 200 crimes a year were investigated. In 1992, the figure was 11 300. Among the crimes against property, "joyriding" and theft, especially aggravated larceny, showed the largest increase. Among violent and sexual crimes too, the more serious crimes have showed the most significant increase.
The police do not manage to clear up the course of events and determine the question of guilt in all the crimes they finish investigating. In the late 1950s, about 40 per cent of crimes were considered solved. Since then, the clear up rate has dropped to less than 25 per cent.
The number of people charged rose from approximately 8 000 in 1956 to some 24 000 in 1992, i.e. it more or less tripled. The increase in the number of people charged referred to all age groups except those under the age of 14. The rise was steepest for criminals in the 18-20 and 21-24 age groups. In those age groups, the number of people charged with crimes increased by more than seven-fold from 1956 to 1992. On the other hand, the number of children and juveniles under the age of 14 who were found guilty of crimes had dropped to one-third the number in 1956.
No less than three-fourths of the 1956 - 1992 growth in the number of registered criminals was noted during the latter half of the period, then the crime rate among mature adults showed a particularly strong rise.
Sanction statistics
The oldest crime statistics contained detailed information about the number of crimes brought before the courts, along with information about the people indicted in these cases. The court statistics contained information about the nature of the crimes and misdemeanours, in addition to the accused's age and profession. After the very first years, the outcome of the cases was also specified.
In 1892, the statistics on indictments (those convicted and those acquitted) were reduced to summary data, at the same time as more detailed information was provided on those who were convicted. Among other things, a consistent distinction was made between those convicted who had previous criminal convictions and those who did not.
This model for statistics was retained until 1923, when the figures on crimes and misdemeanours for which penalties were imposed were discontinued. Thus the statistics were reduced to covering offenders. On the other hand, the statistics were broadened to include people for whom prosecution had been suspended, and there was more detailed information about the people who accept ticket fines. The categorization of people found guilty of perpetrating crimes in groups as crime against property, crime of violence, sexual crime and other rime also originated in 1923. Data on the type of misdemeanour were discontinued in 19271 It was not until 1978 that the heading "type of principal misdemeanour" was reinstated in the sanction statistics, a development connected to the broadening of the statistics to cover suspensions of prosecution/
the delegation of responsibility to the child welfare authorities in misdemeanours as well.
During the 160 years or so for which there are figures available, the number of accepted ticket fines and final judgments has increased 18-fold, from 852 convictions in 1835 to 15 609 convictions in 1992. The growth was far from evenly distributed throughout the years; it was actually limited to the first 35 and the last 33 years. From 1835 to 1870, the figure of penalties and judgments in criminal cases rose by 2 400. The increase from 1959 to 1992 totalled 12 400 cases. During the 90-year interval from 1870 to 1959, the number of penalties and judgments remained rather stable at about 3 400 cases.
As regards misdemeanours, there has also been a very clear tendency to see a strong rise in the number of accepted ticket fines and final judgments since the mid-1950s. The number of penalties and convictions for misdemeanours almost quadrupled, from 41 786 in 1955 to 196 559 in 1992. The number of misdemeanours fluctuated considerably during the 90 preceding years, but generally speaking, the number of convictions for misdemeanours increased from 1865 until peaking in 1916, before declining again up to 1945.
As mentioned previously, since 1923 the sanction statistics included everyone found guilty of crimes through suspension of prosecution, ticket fines or convictions. There have been numerous changes in the system of criminal sanctions during the 70 years that have passed since the statistical system was restructured. The following is a simple attempt to describe the trend in sanction practice. It is based on a division of criminal sanctions into three main groups: Suspension of prosecution, conditional sentences and unconditional sentences.
63 per cent of all those found guilty of crimes in 1923 and 1924 received unconditional sentences, i.e. they were ordered to pay fines, serve prison sentences or endure other forms of loss of liberty. During the 35 years prior to 1960, and in the 1950s in particular, the use of unconditional sentences was reduced significantly. The proportion of unconditional sentences was as little as 29 per cent in
1961. Penalties were subsequently made more strict. The proportion of unsuspended sentences climbed to 42 per cent in 1982 and up to a whopping 73 per cent in 1992.
Changes in the use of unconditional sentences are clearly related to the growth and fall of suspensions of prosecution. At the same time as the proportion of unconditional sentences declined 34 per cent from 1923/24 to 1961, the proportion of criminal cases involving a suspension of prosecution increased 26 per cent points, from 18 to 44 per cent of all sanctions. Since that time, suspension of prosecution has all but disappeared as a sanction in criminal cases.
Like the percentage of suspensions of prosecution, the percentage of criminal sanctions that resulted in conditional sentences during the years from 1923 to 1992 increased appreciably during the first part of the period, then declined sharply. However, the increase in the use of conditional sentences increased up to 1981, when a total of 44 per cent of those found guilty of crimes were given conditional sentences. Thus the growth in the use of conditional sanctions lasted for 20 years after the beginning of the decline in suspensions of prosecution, impeding the transition to using more unconditional sentences during the 20-year period in question.
Prisoner statistics
The oldest statistical information on serving custodial sentences or other incarcerations in penal institutions may be found in the institutions' own reports and, from 1875, in statistics published by the Ministry of Justice annually or at regular intervals.
In 1960 Statistics Norway began keeping statistics on convicts that were incarcerated in and released from the penal institutions. In 1966 these statistics were expanded to cover persons remanded in custody and those serving time in default of paying a fine. Initially and up to 1978, Statistics Norway's prisoner statistics were based on copies of individual admissions, changes and release reports from the Ministry of Justice's National Register of Convictions. In 1978 the statistical base, and thus the scope of the statistics, was limited to information from the summary data the Ministry collects from the penal institutions concerning movements among the prisoner population. As of 1991, the statistics are once again supplemented by tables based on individual data.
Estimates concerning trends in the prisoner population in the 19th century show that the average number of prisoners increased from some 500 in 1814 to some 2 200 in 1845, then declined to about 1 000 until the turn of the century. Since then, the prisoner population has fluctuated in approximately 20-year cycles. Throughout this century, the changes in the size of the prison population have shown a rising tendency. Thus the penal institutions' average daily population increased from 1 172 prisoners during the 20-year period from 1901-1902 to 1919-1920 and to 1 595, 1 670 and 1 780 during the next three 20-year periods, while the corresponding average for the years from 1980 to 1992 is 2 109 prisoners. These figures indicate an increase in the prisoner population of nearly 80 per cent thus far in this century; the increase was most pronounced during the interval between the wars and in the years since 1980.
Recidivism statistics
From 1874 to the end of the century the Ministry of Justice investigated recidivism among persons who served more than six months in jail. A most comprehensive study of recidivism was performed among people released from prison between 1923 and 1926. Their recidivism was studied over a period of 10 years after their release from prison. A similar investigation conducted among those released between 1933 and 1936 was limited to those released after serving time for their first conviction and to a three-year period after their release. In addition to investigations among ex-convicts, from 1903 to 1950 the Ministry of Justice regularly compiled overviews of the rate of recidivism among parolees given conditional sentences.
In 1954 the preparation of recidivism statistics was assigned to Statistics Norway, which has since conducted three investigations about recidivism among those convicted, those subject to fines and those for whom prosecution was suspended. Current statistics have also been established on the recidivism rate among those facing criminal charges.
The investigations among those convicted, those subject to fines and those for whom prosecution was suspended included people found guilty of crimes in 1951, 1957 and 1962. Their recidivism situation (new convictions, ticket fines or suspensions of prosecution for crimes) was registered in all the investigations registered within a five-year period of freedom, broken down by the type of original sanction.
The recidivism statistics for those charged with crimes are based on information in the police statistics regarding those charged with crimes. Recidivism includes new charges for crimes during the subsequent three-year period. The calculations on the rate of recidivism make no adjustment for preventive measures or for the accused previous criminal record. The results must therefore be viewed as simple indicators of the recidivism situation. However, the recidivism statistics among those charged with crimes are our only source of comparative figures on recidivism trends over a number of years and up to the present.
In the 32 years covered by recidivism statistics for those charged of crimes, it has become increasingly common for the persons charged to commit new crimes. While 23 per cent of those charged with crimes in 1957 incurred new charges for crimes during the subsequent three-year period, the comparable figure in 1989 was 44 per cent. The increase in the rate of recidivism was very pronounced in the years from 1957 to 1969. In the 1980s, the recidivism rate fluctuated between 40 and 45 per cent for all those charged with crimes.
Up to 1971 it was the youngest offenders, persons under the age of 14 who had been charged with crimes, who had the highest rate of recidivism. Since then, the percentage of repeaters has been greatest in the 14-20 age group. The recidivism rate among persons charged with crimes who belong to the 21-39 age groups closed in on the rate for 14-20-year olds in the 1980s, catching up with the latter age group in 1988 and 1989.
1 In association with the Alcohol Statistics prepared by Statistics Norway, separate statistics on drunkenness offenses were introduced in 1913, and statistics on breaches of alcohol legislation were introduced in the 1920s. In 1930 statistics began to be kept on cases involving motor vehicles. These three separate statistical categories were discontinued in 1978.