NCJ Number
105867
Journal
Deviant Behavior Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: (1985) Pages: 83-98
Date Published
1985
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Open-ended, intensive interviews were conducted with 50 heads of households to examine the perceived seriousness of 10 crimes and the factors that contributed to perceived seriousness.
Abstract
Subjects resided in a medium-sized southern city. Subjects' elaborations of the 10 brief crime descriptions indicated that their images of the crimes were more complex and detailed than the actual descriptions. These images included information on offender and victim characteristics and circumstances and often were worst-case depictions. While as in other studies, the objective physical and economic harm of the crime influenced seriousness determinations, other factors were involved, including the moral character of the act and the actor, including intent, motive, and purpose. Thus, while the public may agree on the seriousness of crimes that are clearly intentional, committed for evil motives, and in pursuit of immoral goals; they may disagree on the seriousness of the same crimes when committed under different conditions. 22 references.