Public Opinion And Sentencing

What role should public opinion play in the way the state deals with criminal offenders? This volume brings together leading philosophers, legal theorists, and criminologists to consider the various aspects of the relationship between public opinion and state punishment.

Although criminal justice systems vary greatly around the world, one theme has emerged in all western jurisdictions in recent years: a rise in both the rhetoric and practice of severe punishment at a time when public opinion has played a pivotal role in sentencing policy and reforms. Despite the differences among jurisdictions, startling commonalities exist among the five countries-the U.K., USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand--surveyed here. Drawing on the results of representative opinion surveys and other research tools the authors map public attitudes towards crime and punishment across countries and explore the congruence between public views and actual policies. Co-authored by four distinguished sentencing policy experts, Penal Populism and Public Opinion is a clarion call for limiting the influence of penal populism and instituting more informed, research- based sentencing policies across the western world.

Throughout the western world public opinion has played an important role in shaping criminal justice policy. At the same time opinion polls repeatedly demonstrate that the public knows little about crime and justice, and holds negative views of the criminal justice system. This book, consisting of chapters from leading authorities in the field, is concerned to address this problem, and draws upon research in a number of different countries to address the issues arising from this state of affairs. Its main aims are: to explore the changing and evolving nature of public attitudes to sentencing to examine the factors that influence public opinion and to bring together recent international research which has demonstrated ways in which public attitudes can be changed to propose specific strategies to respond to the crisis in public confidence in criminal justice.

Which factors shape public opinion of criminal justice? How do the views of the public influence criminal justice policy and practice? This book provides an introduction to public attitudes towards criminal justice. It explores the public’s lack of confidence in criminal justice processes, and summarizes findings on public attitudes towards the three principal components of the criminal process: the police, the courts, and the prison system. It examines the importance that people attach to different criminal justice functions, such as preventing crime, prosecuting and punishing offenders, and protecting the public. Topics include: Youth justice and public opinion Public perception of restorative justice Penal populism and media treatment of crime The reliability of public opinion polls The drivers of public opinion Understanding Public Attitudes to Criminal Justice provides an international perspective on the issues surrounding criminal justice and public opinion, drawing on research from the UK, the United States and Canada and a range of other countries including South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Key reading for students in criminology, criminal justice, and media studies, this book is also of value to researchers and those with an interest in crime and the media.

Public opinion is vital to the functioning of the criminal justice system but it is not at all clear how best to establish what this is, and what views people have on different aspects of criminal justice and the criminal justice system. Politicians and the media often assume that the public wants harsher, tougher and longer sentences, and policies may be shaped accordingly. Detailed research and more specific polling often tells a different story. This book is concerned to shed further light on the nature of public views on criminal justice, paying particular attention to public opinion towards specific types of offenders, such as sex offenders and mentally disordered offenders. In doing so it challenges many enduring assumptions regarding people's views on justice, and confronts the myths that infect our understanding of what people think about the criminal justice system.

Taking on one of the most popular issues of the day—crime and the way we make sense of it—Julian Roberts and Loretta Stalans reveal the mismatch between the public perception of crime and the reality of crime statistics. Discussing such issues as public knowledge of crime, sources of crime information, information processing by the public, public attitudes about crime, and the effectiveness of punishment, this book considers the role that public opinion plays in the politics of criminal justice issues. Based on extensive data from the United States, with comparisons with Canada and the United Kingdom, Roberts and Stalans reveal the truth behind how the public perceives crime and how this perception compares to actual criminal activity.

This book should be made a part of any college level library that features holdings in social sciences. . . . Americans View Crime and Justice presents a national public opinion survey and its results on the issues. These edited results of a survey conducted in 1995 examine such issues as gun control, capital punishment, and juvenile crime, offering public opinion along with the analyses of a panel of criminologists. --The Midwest Book Review Readable and carefully edited, Americans View Crime and Justice reports and analyzes results from the recent National Crime and Justice Survey (NCJS), the richest and most wide-ranging investigation of public opinion on crime and justice issues in more than a decade. Conducted in June 1995, the survey features responses from 1,000 adults in the United States on now-volatile issues such as fear of crime, gun control, capital punishment, juvenile crime, and additional related topics of national concern. A distinguished panel of criminologists analyzes the collected data in this volume to present a comprehensive report on the development and current status of public opinion on these timely issues. Divided into three sections—context and framework; findings; and opinion, policy, and science—this authoritative volume also analyzes the implications of the survey data. Providing interesting insights and timely quantification of Americans′ view of crime and justice, this volume offers a unique view of public opinion particularly important to the work of researchers, law enforcement personnel, policy makers, public officials, and students of criminology and criminal justice, law, and political science.