ABSTRACT
Africans believe that an offender is a member of the community and should be corrected in the community and not outside it. Sentences are imposed because that is the proper thing to do in response to violations of law and social order. Criminal justice systems seek to strike a balance between retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation. Much of the earliest form of state-imposed social control was by means of ordering financial compensation. More than 10 million people are held in penal institutions throughout the world. Most of them are concentrated in a few countries with large populations and comparatively high prison rates. Canada is frequently mentioned as a country that has escaped the punitive turn, which is striking as it is the USAs northern neighbour. In addition, much is made of what is referred to as Nordic exceptionalism. One of comparative criminology's most debated social facts is the so-called punitive turn.
