NCJ Number
72284
Date Published
1980
Length
59 pages
Annotation
Adult residents in 800 Michigan households were interviewed in March 1980, about their opinions on the State's criminal justice system, their fears and concerns about crime, and their personal experience with crime.
Abstract
This report is the eighth in a series which measures Michigan resident's attitudes and concerns about crime and the criminal justice system. In one-fifth of Michigan households, either the residents or the premises were victims of some sort of crime in the past year. The most common crime was larceny-theft, followed by burglary. Younger citizens were more often victimized than older ones although fear of victimization was more prevalent among people over 60. At the local level, crime-related responses continue to represent the most serious problem facing Michigan communities. In 1980, the majority of Michigan residents wished to solve crime problems through stricter penalties and law enforcement (36 percent) and the provision of more police with more power (35 percent). About half of the respondents considered organized crime to be a very serious problem in the State. Other topics detailed by the survey include questions on confidence in the criminal justice agencies, financial aid to local law enforcement, consolidation of small police departments, the death penalty, gun regulation, and legalization of currently illegal activities. Other areas covered were the handling of juveniles in the criminal justice system, sentencing, plea bargaining, selection of judges, penal institutions, and casino gambling. Bar and line graphs illustrate the findings, along with 34 tables. An appendix details the sample design and contains a table of subgroups used in the survey.