NCJ Number
219329
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice Volume: 49 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 75-107
Date Published
January 2007
Length
33 pages
Annotation
Findings are presented from two representative public-opinion surveys that solicited Canadians' attitudes toward three sentencing issues: the severity of sentencing, the purposes of sentencing, and mandatory sentences of imprisonment.
Abstract
Findings from surveys over the past 30 years, including one conducted in 2005 show that Canadians believe that sentencing in Canada was too lenient. In the 2005 survey, 74 percent of respondents believed that sentencing is too lenient. Regarding the purposes of sentencing, the strongest public support was for the restorative sentencing objectives of promoting a sense of responsibility in the offender and securing reparation for the crime victim. There was less support for the more traditional purposes of deterrence and incapacitation. This finding differed from findings from the last survey (1987) that solicited public attitudes toward sentencing purposes. Slightly more than half the sample in the 2005 survey supported mandatory sentencing; however, there was strong support for mandatory sentencing legislation that allows a limited degree of judicial discretion. Apparently the public is aware of the dangers of an inflexible mandatory sentence of imprisonment, which explains support for the courts being able to impose a lesser sentence under exceptional circumstances. The 1987 survey was conducted over the telephone and consisted of 1,501 respondents 18 years old and older drawn from the general public. The second survey (2005) was an Internet poll that included a sample of 2,343 Canadian Internet users age 18 and over. 4 tables, 1 figure, 22 notes, 43 references, and appended crime scenarios used in mandatory sentence survey questions