ABSTRACT
This entry examines the methodological challenges inherent in using criminal statistics for comparative penological studies and offers strategies for minimising them. Comparative approaches in penology are often based on prison statistics and, to a lesser extent, on probation statistics, and both can be combined with police and conviction statistics. Such comparative analyses are valuable because they provide context to the large amount of data that is currently being collected at the international level and can help explain trends in the use of custodial and non-custodial sanctions and measures. In that context and from a quantitative perspective, estimating whether an indicator in a given country is high or low requires situating it within an international context and comparing rates with other countries. Despite considerable progress in collecting comparable data on imprisonment and its alternatives at the European level, numerous challenges remain. These challenges are categorised by legal classifications, statistical subtleties, variations in criminal policies and other substantive factors, all of which have major implications for cross-country comparisons.
