NCJ Number
106854
Journal
Canadian Police College Journal Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: (1987) Pages: 1-12
Date Published
1987
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Questionnaires requesting personal severity rankings for 140 offenses were sent to 595 randomly selected police chiefs and detachment commanders across Canada, and the results were compared with those of a similar 1983 survey of American police chiefs (Pontell et al.).
Abstract
Using a nine-point Likert scale, respondents indicated their perceptions of crime seriousness for each offense. In accordance with previous similar studies, the survey did not define seriousness nor request respondents to indicate what it meant to them. In ranking 60 offenses common to both the American and Canadian surveys, there were no major differences in severity perceptions among respondents. Both groups ranked as most serious offenses involving violence, physical aggression, and death. For the 60 offenses, the Canadian respondents provided an overall seriousness rating of 6.21, compared to the 6.37 average produced by the American police chiefs. This agreement on offense severity supports the concept of an underlying normative structure of behavioral values that transcends regional, rural-urban, and national boundaries. 3 tables and 10 references.