NCJ Number
117385
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: (1989) Pages: 87-101
Date Published
1989
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Data gathered from New York legislators in response to a modified version of a questionnaire administered in an earlier study of Illinois law makers formed the basis for an analysis of the influence of ideology, political orientation, and other variables on the legislators' positions on crime control policy issues.
Abstract
The questionnaire, modified from a study by Cullen et al, was mailed to each legislator's office in May 1985. Questions covered demographics and attitudinal attributes on lawmakers' views on twelve contemporary policy issues or proposals in criminal justice. The issues included death penalty for murder of a police or correctional officer, abolition of the parole board, further restrictions on hand guns, and policy proposals relating to changes in the correctional system and the jurisdiction of the courts. Four sets of independent variables were examined, and the results confirmed the effects of ideology on criminal justice policy positions. An indepth analysis of two ideologically loaded issues, gun control and capital punishment, revealed that these two issues galvanized the sample along sharp ideological lines. However, the study concluded that the ideological stand of the lawmakers did not predict the outcome of the policy debate, as the New York legislature failed to override a gubernatorial veto of capital punishment. Tables and 11 references. (Author abstract modified)