NCJ Number
210932
Journal
European Journal of Criminology Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2005 Pages: 259-285
Date Published
July 2005
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This German study compared police statistics on crime trends over the 10 years preceding 2003 with perceptions of crime trends held by a representative sample of the German public (n=2,000); public perceptions of crime were then examined in relation to media viewing patterns and attitudes toward sentencing.
Abstract
Respondents, who were interviewed at the beginning of January 2004, were first shown the 1993 police crime statistics, followed by the solicitation of their opinion about how many crimes had been committed in 2003 overall, as well as their view of trends in specific crimes. In addition, respondents were asked whether they felt personally threatened by crime and what measures they took to protect themselves. The survey also asked where people received their information about crime and how crime should be punished. The study found that although police crime statistics showed a decline in the total number of offenses over the 10 years up to 2003, the German public believes that crime has increased, and the proportion of people in favor of harsher sentencing has increased. Further, a link was found between the belief that crime is increasing and a preference for harsher sentencing. A correlation was found between a belief that crime is increasing and patterns of television viewing. The study found that persons who regularly view television shows about the fictional or factual occurrence of crime tend to believe that crime is increasing and poses a serious threat to public safety. A discussion of national and international developments in crime policy suggests that the trend toward harsher and less cost-effective sentencing is more responsive to inaccurate public assessments of crime trends than to crime data collected by police. 7 tables, 2 figures, and 37 references