NCJ Number
198245
Date Published
July 2002
Length
78 pages
Annotation
This report details public perceptions and attitudes concerning the criminal justice system in the United Kingdom.
Abstract
Focusing on the criminal justice system (CJS) in the United Kingdom, this report discusses survey results concerning public attitudes and perceptions to current sentencing frameworks. Arguing that although public opinion about many aspects of the criminal justice system is poor a majority of individuals believe that the CJS respects the rights of people accused of crime, the authors describe a randomly selected sample of 1,022 members of the United Kingdom’s general public concerning their knowledge of crime and sentencing. Of the 1,022 individuals assessed concerning their knowledge of crime, sentencing, and the CJS, 220 participated in an experiment testing the impact of providing individuals with information concerning the CJS. A 24-page booklet discussing key facts about crime and the CJS was given to 109 people, 37 individuals attended crime seminars in London, Manchester, Cardiff, or Birmingham, and 74 individuals watched a videotape combining footage from one of the seminars and additional visual aids. Following this experiment, the 220 individuals were re-interviewed in order to assess the impact that the booklets, videotapes, and seminars had on individuals’ knowledge and attitudes concerning the CJS. The authors found that the ratings of all of the types of information were positive with participants contending that the information formats were informative, interesting, enjoyable, and helpful. Furthermore, the authors found that many respondents reported that they had changed their views concerning the CJS following the information presentations and now felt even more confident about the CJS. The authors argue that providing the public with simple factual information improves the public’s knowledge about crime and sentencing, positively impacting individuals’ confidence in the CJS. Tables, figures, references