NCJ Number
189867
Date Published
2001
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This statistical report provided findings from the 2000 British Crime Survey on public confidence levels in the criminal justice system.
Abstract
The criminal justice system in England and Wales is comprised of several separate agencies and departments: the police, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), courts, and prison and probation services. Public confidence in the criminal justice system is an important prerequisite for an effective system. The agencies of the criminal justice system have a performance target to deliver an improvement by 2004 in the level of public confidence, including ethnic minority communities. New questions measuring public confidence in the system were included in the 2000 British Crime Survey (BCS) Survey findings indicated the following: (1) confidence in the criminal justice system was higher is some respects; (2) overall there was a slight fall in the proportion of people who said the various parts of the criminal justice system did a good job, since the 1998 BCS; (3) ethnic minorities had more confidence in several aspects of the criminal justice system, but not in regards to fair treatment of suspects and witnesses; (4) recent victims were more confident than average that the system met the needs of victims; and (5) people who believed, incorrectly, that crime was going up a lot, and who underestimated the severity of sentences, were the most critical of the system. The findings formed the baseline for the target of promoting confidence. In addition, two new questions would be introduced in 2001, assessing confidence in the system’s effectiveness at reducing crime and in dealing with juvenile offenders. Tables, graphs, and references