The goal of criminal policy is to minimize the cost and suffering caused by crime, and to allocate this cost in a just manner. Sanctions are regarded as means to reduce crime and include the treatment, deterrence, or incapacitation of criminals. The theory of general prevention should be achieved by deterring or morally educating potential criminals. Absolute punishment is seen as an end in itself and involves revenge and just retribution. Treatment research dates back only a few decades. Current penal policy, at least in the Western world, is in sharp contradiction both to scientific research on corrections and to political declarations. Despite official declarations to reduce deprivation of liberty, incarceration rates have been increasing in most countries, especially in Europe. The use of sanctions such as probation, suspended or conditional sentences, fines, and community service varies considerably between countries. Most studies comparing different sanctions indicate lower recidivism rates with the use of non-custodial sanctions than with imprisonment. Public opinion in Anglo-Saxon countries is more prison-centric than other industrialized countries. But there is evidence that politicians and judges exaggerate the punitiveness of the public. The mass media is responsible for spreading excessive fear of crime through its unrealistic manner of reporting crime. Economic considerations and knowledge of the limited effect of punishment indicate the need for decriminalization and de-penalization in criminal policy, but the governments of many countries are now constructing new prisons to replace the old, overcrowded prisons. For a reductionist imprisonment policy to be successful, it has to be consistent and long lasting. 10 tables, 54 references