NCJ Number
77338
Editor(s)
J Knowles
Date Published
Unknown
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This report presents the results of the Ohio Citizen Attitude Survey, a unique study which measures public opinion about crime and criminal justice. The survey was conducted via telephone interviews with 803 randomly selected persons between August 18 and October 15, 1979.
Abstract
Data are presented concerning attitudes about crime, law enforcement, courts, and prisons; public opinion issues; attitudes about juvenile justice; public confidence levels; and personal characteristics of respondents. The data indicates that Ohioans are not particularly fearful of crime in their own neighborhoods, even at night; this finding also holds for women and senior citizens. The survey shows that Ohio residents view their neighborhood crime problem more optimistically than crime problems in general. For the most part, attitudes toward law enforcement officers seem positive, especially in comparison with other components of the criminal justice system. The vast majority of Ohioans view the court component of the criminal justice system as too lenient and feel that sentences were tougher 10 years ago. Blacks and those in the 18-30 year age range were less likely than the remaining respondents to see court sentencing as too lenient, but even among these two groups 'too lenient' was the most popular response. Concerning prisons, 74 percent of the respondents cited protection of society or discouragement of crime as the most important reason for having prisons. Only 26 percent noted that prisons aimed at offender rehabilitation. On the question of capital punishment, 82 percent of the respondents said capital punishment is an appropriate penalty for some crimes, but only 65 percent believed it was not inhumane. The results of survey questions on juvenile justice show that most respondents felt that this component of the justice system was too lenient. A total of 71 percent felt that juveniles who commit serious violent offenses should be tried as adults. However, 7 out of 10 respondents felt that that juveniles should not be put in jail for running away, and a 3-to-1 majority said they would have no objection to a juvenile justice treatment center being located in their neighborhood. A discussion of the survey background and methodology are included, along with 21 figures and 33 tables.