Public Opinion and Criminal Justice

Context, Practice and Values
Erscheinungsjahr 2008
ISBN: 978-1-84392-400-5
Verlag: Taylor & Francis

Buch, Englisch, 272 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 476 g

Public opinion is vital to the functioning of the criminal justice system but it is not at all clear how best to establish what this is, and what views people have on different aspects of criminal justice and the criminal justice system. Politicians and the media often assume that the public wants harsher, tougher and longer sentences, and policies may be shaped accordingly. Detailed research and more specific polling often tells a different story.

This book is concerned to shed further light on the nature of public views on criminal justice, paying particular attention to public opinion towards specific types of offenders, such as sex offenders and mentally disordered offenders. In doing so it challenges many enduring assumptions regarding people's views on justice, and confronts the myths that infect our understanding of what people think about the criminal justice system.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wood, Jane

Gannon, Theresa A

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Kriminalsoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface Part 1: Public Attitudes and Criminal Justice 1. The Psychology of Attitudes and Persuasion 2. Why Public Opinion of the Criminal Justice System is Important 3. What Shapes Public Opinion of the Criminal Justice System? 4. The Myth of Public Support for Captial Punishment 5. Achieving Accurate Assessment of Attitudes Toward the Criminal Justice System: Methodological Issues Part 2: Victims and Their Offenders 6. The Typical Rape: Factors Affecting Victims' Decision to Report 7. Attitudes Towards Victims of Crime: A Double-edged Sword? 8. Public Attitudes Towards Offending, Offenders and Reintegration 9. Attitudes Towards Sexual Offenders and their Rehabilitation: A Special Case? 10. Stigma and Offenders with Mental Illness

Über Autor(innen)

Jane Wood is Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the University of Kent. She is also a Chartered Forensic Psychologist.

Theresa Gannon is Reader in Forensic Psychology at the University of Kent. She is also a Chartered Forensic Psychologist.