Public Opinion and Community Penalties (From Alternatives to Prison: Options for an Insecure Society, P 83-112, 2004, Anthony Bottoms, Sue Rex, et al. eds. -- See NCJ-210129)

• NCJ Number: 210133
• Author(s): Shadd Maruna; Anna King
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 30 pages
• Sale Source: Willan Publishing
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Drawing on theoretical and empirical literature, this chapter addresses what is known about public opinion and community penalties, as well as differences in public attitudes and opinions and gaining public support for community penalties.

Abstract

Research indicates that the public is not nearly as punitive as some politicians seem to think, however their public attitudes about justice and punishment are real. The exploration of the relationship of emotions to both punitiveness and forgiveness is challenging, but offers an expanded knowledge of attitudes towards offenders. This chapter addresses three main questions: (1) what is known about public opinion and non-custodial penalties; (2) what accounts for differences in attitudes between individual members of the public; and (3) what implications does this research have for efforts to garner public support for non-custodial penalties? Due to a failure to communicate between criminal justice and the public, systematic reviews of public opinion regarding crime and justice are important. Tables, notes, and references