NCJ Number
128953
Journal
Crime, Law, and Social Change Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1991) Pages: 37-50
Date Published
1991
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The article examines the main pieces of research on the subject of British public opinion on crime and the criminal justice system and argues that definitions of crime are often based on an emotional conspiracy and that public opinion finds itself legitimizing either a more lenient or a stricter criminal policy according to the circumstance and political orientations of the researchers.
Abstract
In examining the research on British public opinion on crime, the author takes for granted that public opinion towards punishment implies other interconnected matters such as the perception of crime, its causality and its alleged increase, the degree of stigmatization that arises from specific offenses, the perception of victimization risk, and the judgement of police and other agencies' behavior. The conclusion is made that it is very difficult to seek legitimation and support in public opinion because the parties involved in defining crime ignore one another's perception and hold to their own ideas. Examples such as institutions, offenders, victims, the public, and criminologists conclude the article. 35 notes (Author abstract modified)