Changing Attitudes to Punishment

Throughout the western world public opinion has played an important role in shaping criminal justice policy. At the same time opinion polls repeatedly demonstrate that the public knows little about crime and justice, and holds negative views of the criminal justice system. This book, consisting of chapters from leading authorities in the field, is concerned to address this problem, and draws upon research in a number of different countries to address the issues arising from this state of affairs. Its main aims are:

• to explore the changing and evolving nature of public attitudes to sentencing
• to examine the factors that influence public opinion and to bring together recent international research which has demonstrated ways in which public attitudes can be changed
• to propose specific strategies to respond to the crisis in public confidence in criminal justice.

1. Public Attitudes to Punishment: The Context by Julian V. Roberts and Mike Hough 2. Measuring Attitudes to Sentencing by Loretta J. Stalans 3. Public Opinion and the Nature of Community Penalties by Julian V. Roberts 4. Cross-National Attitudes Towards Punishment by Pat Mayhew and John Kesteren 5. The Evolution of Public Attitudes to Punishment in Western and Eastern Europe by Helmut Kury, Obergfell-Fuchs and Ursula Smartt 6. Public and Judicial Attitudes to Punishment in Switzerland by Andre Kuhn 7. Public Support for Correctional Rehabilitation: Change or Consistency? by Francis T. Cullen, Jennifer A. Pealer, Bonnie S. Fisher, Brandon K. Applegate and Shannon A. Santana 8. Attitudes to Punishment in the US - Punitive and Liberal Opinions by John Doble 9. How Malleable are Attitudes to Crime and Punishment? Findings from a British Deliberative Poll by Mike Hough and Alison Park 10. Improving Public Knowledge about Crime and Criminal Justice by Catriona Mirrlees-Black 11. Strategies for Changing Public Attitudes to Punishment by David Indermaur and Mike Hough 12. Privileging Public Attitudes Towards Sentencing by Rod Morgan