Public attitudes to punishment: the context

Abstract

The criminal justice systems of all western nations face a common problem: responding to public attitudes to punishment. Legislators, policy-makers, judges and other criminal justice professionals often cite public opinion when making and implementing policy (see Roberts et al., 2002). Although politicians may use opinion surveys to show that the public supports specific policies, little effort is invested in exploring the nature of public attitudes to punishment, and even less to improving the state of public knowledge in the area. Attempts to manage public opinion are often seen, but little effort is directed to informing or consulting the public in a rational way. The point of departure for this international collaboration is the recognition that in order to best respond to the views of the public, we need to understand the evolution of public opinion, the limitations of public knowledge, the limitations on various methods of sounding the views of the public, and the impediments to rational penal reform.

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