Public Opinion Final Wednesday th March 28 Public Views about Sanctioning Public knowledge about sentencing They don t know much about it Also don t know about relevant policies It s not worth it for most people to learn about it Preferences of sentencing Complex view Support all options i e Punishment deterrence rehab Believe it should do it all Vary according to certain factors Seriousness of crime Most people think judges are too lenient Sentences need to be harsher Why do they think this They honestly don t know anything about it Only imagine the criminal as serious and violent Abstract global versus specific questions Asked people if they support the 3 strikes law 88 supported this 17 gave life sentence for it all If you give more people more options and details people will be less punitive Abstract questions will make people more punitive Punitiveness support for crime policies that increase punishment Most of the public supports the death penalty Peak years 80 in 1994 TEST QUESTION Lowest 42 in 1966 Public prefers the death penalty over life in prison But less than support Because you asked prefer The public in general doesn t support death penalty for crimes other than murder For robbers less than 20 For burglars only 8 Some exceptions Sex crimes Reasons for support Eye for an eye Saves tax dollars Deters crime Reasons for opposing death penalty It s wrong to kill people Innocent people are put to death Americans think innocent people are executed 59 think an innocent person was executed in the last 5 years They think 11 of those actually executed now are innocent Most people don t think the death penalty deters crime Only 1 3 thinks it does Most people believe the death penalty is applied fairly A little over half General Punitive Attitudes Most common question Are courts too harsh or too lenient Rate your support for policies from 1 10 Average people s responses There is widespread support for imprisonment Overwhelming support Used for most crimes National Punishment Survey 1987 Ask respondents to give sentences to certain crimes 71 gave prison as the sentence Public opinion on Sentencing Federal Crimes Survey 1994 Out of 70 crimes only 6 got a medium sentence of less than a year The public is ambivalent about whether or not prison reduces crime think they re schools for crime You learn to be a better criminal 8 10 think white collar crimes should be treated just as severely as street crimes 5 years for a doctor that defrauds Medicare 2 years for tax fraud 10 years for someone knowingly selling defective helicopter parts Most of the public supports the two strike law Public Opinion on Community Penalties The public does not think community penalties are severe enough Associated with lenience Most popular community penalties Requires offenders to pay compensation Community service Least popular any that just prohibits committing crimes Like probation Support for community penalties declines as severity increases Alternative intermediate sanctions as a substitute for incarceration for first time non violent offenses Monday April 2 nd Public Support for Rehabilitation The rehabilitative ideal The most important goal of sentencing should be to treat and rehabilitate the offender based on their individual needs Now in recent decades public support has declined When you have to choose one main focus for the goal of incarceration Forced choice Yet a good portion of the minority still agrees this is most important 30 40 Even though there s a decline people still support rehabilitation 70 90 think it s important They support rehabilitation across the board but it varies for certain crimes Juveniles and non violent offenders Biggest support Key Conclusions The public is very punitive Most support capital punishment harsher courts 3 strike laws and imprisonment Mushy punitiveness While most people support punitive policies they are very flexible Become less punitive with more information Willing to accept both more and less punitive sentences They have a range of what they are willing to accept The public needs good reason not to be punitive Chance in policy should benefit victims or the community Instead of jail get community service Violent offenders are the great divide in punitiveness and non punitiveness Most will accept community punishments for non violent offenders They want to lock up violent offenders People support rehabilitation False dichotomy Punitiveness and support for rehab should be complete opposites Shouldn t be able to support both Progressives Yet this is the way most people are in reality Explaining Public Punitiveness Attribution theory people in the public have beliefs of the causes of crime These beliefs can be divided into two categories Dispositional attributes Situational attributes Dispositional attributes reasons for criminality are within the individual Internal Low self esteem selfish lazy bad character Situational attributes reasons for crime are in the environment External social conditions Those with dispositional attribution style see offenders as rational and free thinking Those with situational attribution style see crime as an environmental problem More supportive of social problems The escalating crime distrust model Two coexisting beliefs Concern about crime rates Loss of trust and faith in the court system According to this model victims are now the primary concern Crime victims are cultural icons Anyone can be the next victim You can t trust the courts Test this by looking for a correlation between punitiveness and fear of crime and victimization and trust in the courts Victimization is either not related or negatively related to punitiveness Crime victims are less supportive of punitive policies Fear of victimization and of crime has mixed results Both more and less punitive Concern about crime and crime rates are related positively to punitiveness Trust in courts also shows mixed evidence Strong support for attribution theory Mixed support for the crime distrust model The moral decline model Durkheim s thesis we need crime because the social response to it defines what is acceptable and the moral boundaries of society Responding to crime as a group defines solidarity and social cohesion i e 9 11 Punishment serves this key purpose Building on Durkheim when people feel social morality is declining they will be more supportive of punitive policies This support has nothing to do with deterrence or incapacitation they support punitiveness
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