Public Knowledge of Statutory Penalties: The Extent and Basis of Accurate Perception

Abstract

Statutory penalties may deter potential offenders from criminal activity, but any argument along that line entails assumptions about the public's knowledge of those penalties. Using survey data obtained from 2400 adults residents of Tucson, Arizona, this research examines perceptions of the applicability and the maximums of five types of penalties for nineteen types of crimes. Respondents do associate types of penalties (e.g., imprisonment) with types of crimes (e.g., murder), and their perceptions of statutory maximums (e.g., ten years imprisonment) are at least moderately correlated with the actual maximums stipulated in the Arizona Criminal Code; but multivariate analyses suggest that those perceptions reflect public preferences as to appropriate sanctions for crimes and not necessarily actual knowledge of statutory penalties.

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