ABSTRACT
In order to fully grasp criminological theory and policies, it is necessary to examine crime in a comparative approach. Within the framework of creating stability and peaceful world conditions, the UN officially promotes: higher standards of living, full employment, social and economic development, solutions to international problems, and universal respect for human rights. Victimization surveys conducted in other countries reveal that some crime rates may be higher in other countries than they were originally thought to be. When interpreting cross-national data, scholars must be aware of and cautious about cultural relativism: epistemological and methodological relativism. Epistemological relativism involves the claim that one can understand another culture only through the prism of one's own culturally determined system of values, thereby implying that comparative studies are ultimately futile. Punitive penal policies result in greater levels of crime in the US, as the evidence clearly indicates. The US maintains one of the highest incarceration rates among its Western counterparts.
