NCJ Number
215748
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 46 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2006 Pages: 822-836
Date Published
September 2006
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This paper examines social scientists century old assumption that rehabilitation (treatment) is the opposite of repression (punishment) or whether this long held assumption is flawed.
Abstract
This analysis underscores that researchers were correct in that support of repression (punishment) or of rehabilitation (treatment) do not necessarily oppose one another as crime reduction strategies. It was found that rehabilitation is equally popular among the conservative parities as among those of progressive ones. Because of its’ popularity in progressive circles, decriminalization was found to be the opposite of repression. While more conservative circles favor the belief that repression remains the opposite. When measured separately, no significant correlation was found to exist between support for rehabilitation and support for repression. For at least a century, social scientists have assumed rehabilitation is the progressive converse, or opposite, of repression. A representative survey of the Dutch population (n=1,892) points out that this perceived view is actually flawed, supporting what researchers have argued over the past quarter century. The notion that support of repression and of rehabilitation are diametrically opposed measures to reduce crime should have been abandoned long ago. This paper discusses the continued debate over this long held assumption. Tables, references