NCJ Number
184603
Journal
National Institute of Justice Journal Issue: 233 Dated: September 1997 Pages: 9-14
Date Published
September 1997
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article summarizes findings of recent surveys of public attitudes toward crime, the criminal justice system, and the role and effectiveness of the police; it notes where attitudes can vary sharply between black and white citizens.
Abstract
Crime routinely appears at or near the top of surveys asking citizens to name the most important issues in the country. The public’s concerns about crime seem to be somewhat independent of the actual crime rate; this finding underscores just how frightening this issue is for most people. Citizens specify a wide variety of social, economic, and moral conditions as the causes of crime. They also support a variety of approaches to reduce crime, including some to remove dangerous criminals from their neighborhoods, some to prevent juvenile delinquency, and some to express society’s outrage at those who disdain its laws. Opinion research also strongly suggests that the public considers the concept of justice to include both protecting the rights of the accused and redressing wrongs done to victims and society. Public confidence in the police is high, but white persons and black persons differ sharply in their attitudes. Public attitudes about the widely publicized incidents related to the police beating of Rodney King and the role of a police detective in the murder trial of O.J. Simpson suggest the basis for some of the public’s attitudes. The widespread lack of confidence in the police among the black community may undermine police effectiveness and indicate that police departments regarded as tolerating racist, brutal, or corrupt officers or police unions perceived as protecting them should slowly jeopardize the overall strong support for law enforcement. Tables and notes