NCJ Number
227247
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 15 Issue: 1-2 Dated: 2009 Pages: 25-46
Date Published
2009
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study analyzed data on the attitudes of the population towards punishment from over 30 different countries.
Abstract
Findings show that individual characteristics explain very little variance in country differences in punitiveness. On the country level, the level of common crime and the Gini coefficient which measures for income differences in the country have significant explanatory power; this explains the often tougher attitudes towards sentencing in the English speaking/common law countries. Finally, the relation between the public's attitude towards sentencing and a measure of actual sentencing severity showed a weak and inverse relationship at the country level; for example, in many countries the public preferred noncustodial sentences for recidivist burglars. Smaller scale results indicate that males tend to be somewhat more punitive than women, and that educational attainment is an important independent predictor of punitiveness. The multi-level analysis of the relationship between victimization and punitiveness showed negative findings, suggesting that recent victims, however angry about what has been done to them, do not necessarily translate their personal experiences of crime into a preference for imprisonment. Data were collected from over 30 different countries using the International Crime Victim Surveys of 2004/2005. Tables, figures, and references