Do People Really Want Punishment? On the Relationship Between Acceptance of Restitution, Needs for Punishment, and Fear of Crime (From Developments in Crime and Crime Control Research, P 126-149, 1991, Klaus Sessar and Hans-Jurgen Kerner, eds -- See NCJ-127801)

• NCJ Number: 127808
• Author(s): K Boers; K Sessar
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 24 pages
• Sale Source: Springer-Verlag
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: Germany (Unified)

Annotation

This West German study examines public attitudes regarding whether cases involving social conflicts require criminal law and punishment in addition to private conflict resolution and restitution.

Abstract

The study, which was conducted in Hamburg, involved the selection of a random sample of persons from the central residents' register and additional target populations. This discussion is confined to responses from the general citizens' group and from judges and prosecutors. The questionnaire's focus was on attitudes toward the acceptance of restitution. Respondents were asked how they would react to various kinds of crime situations, how they would advise a victim about the prosecution of an offender, and what advice they would give a judge for sentencing should consideration of the victim's interests be legally permitted. Survey results indicate that the general public accepts restitution instead of punishment for most of the hypothetical minor criminal incidents, not merely in addition to the criminal process, but instead of it. As the severity of an incident increases, the public seeks a sanction based on a criminal trial and sentencing; restitution is viewed as important even within this context. Judges and prosecutors, on the other hand, demand formal processing for even minor offenses. No significant relationship was found between fear of crime and attitudes toward case dispositions. Implications are drawn for public policy on criminal sanctions. Appended questionnaire case outlines, 5 tables, and 29 references