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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon
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Results for public attitudes
33 results foundAuthor: Proos, Ivi Title: Attitudes of Georgia's Population Towards Crime and Penal Policy Summary: This review is based on the materials of a sociological study and survey carried out in Georgia in July 2009. The review addresses the perception of crime, attitudes towards the penal policy in Georgia, and an analysis of the level of awareness of the people regarding information about the situation in prisons and detention facilities. Details: Tallinn: Estonian Institute for Open Society Research; Tbilisi, Georgia: Penal Reform International, Regional Office in the South Caucasus, 2009. 150p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2009 Country: Georgia URL: Shelf Number: 118421 Keywords: Fear of Crime (Georgia)Penal PolicyPrisons (Georgia)Public AttitudesPublic Opinion (Georgia) |
Author: Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Title: What Perceptions Do the UK Public Have Concerning the Impact of Counter-terrorism Legislation Implemented Since 2000? Summary: This report presents the findings of a research study that looked into public perceptions of the impact of counter-terrorism legislation implemented in the UK since 2000. The study found that there was insufficient evidence on specific aspects of the legislation to draw conclusions that could lead to actionable outcomes for policy-makers. Details: London: Home Office, 2010. 68p. Source: Internet Resource; Occasional Paper 88 Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 117630 Keywords: Counter-terrorism (U.K.)Public AttitudesTerrorism |
Author: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Title: Final Report: Public Opinion Poll on Evaluation of Police-Public Partnership in the Marzes of the Republic of Armenia Summary: The document covers the findings of the Public Opinion Poll for Evaluation of Police-Public Partnership in the Marzes of the Republic of Armenia. The main objectives of the opinion poll were as follows: evaluate the public opinion about the police; evaluate possible formats of police-public partnership; evaluate public attitude towards the police; identify public perception of the efficiency of the police work; identify the areas of policing that are positively perceived by the public; identify the areas of policing that are negatively perceived by the public; identify the role of the mass media in shaping the police-public partnership; and define the possible changes that should urgently take place in the police service. Details: Yerevan, Armenia: OSCE,2010. 138p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: Armenia URL: Shelf Number: 118827 Keywords: Codmmunity PolicingPolice-Community RelationsPolicingPublic AttitudesPublic Opinion |
Author: Bartlett, Tess Title: The Power of Penal Populism: Public Influences on Penal and Sentencing Policy from 1999 to 2008 Summary: This thesis explains the rise and power of penal populism in contemporary New Zealand society. It argues that the rise of penal populism can be attributed to social, economic and political changes that have taken place in New Zealand since the postwar years. These changes undermined the prevailing penal-welfare logic that had dominated policymaking in this area since 1945. It examines the way in which ‘the public’ became more involved in the administration of penal policy from 1999 to 2008. The credibility given to a law and order referendum in 1999, which drew attention to crime victims and ‘tough on crime’ discourse, exemplified their new role. In its aftermath, greater influence was given to the public and groups speaking on its behalf. The referendum also influenced political discourse in New Zealand, with politicians increasingly using ‘tough on crime’ policies in election campaigns as it was believed that this was what ‘the public’ wanted when it came to criminal justice issues. As part of these developments, the thesis examines the rise of the Sensible Sentencing Trust, a unique law and order pressure group that advocates for victims’ rights and the harsh treatment of offenders. The Trust became an increasingly authoritative voice in both the public and political arena, as public sentiments came to overrule expert knowledge in the administration of penal policy. Ultimately, it argues that the power of penal populism is so strong in New Zealand that attempts to resist it are likely to come to little, unless these forces that brought it to prominence can be addressed and negated. To date, this has not happened. Details: Wellington, NZ: School of Social and Cultural Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. 136p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 5, 2011 at: http://www.rethinking.org.nz/assets/Newsletter_PDF/Issue_84/T%20Bartlett%20Thesis%202009.pdf Year: 2009 Country: New Zealand URL: http://www.rethinking.org.nz/assets/Newsletter_PDF/Issue_84/T%20Bartlett%20Thesis%202009.pdf Shelf Number: 121249 Keywords: Criminal Justice PolicyImprisonmentPrisonsPublic AttitudesPunishmentSentencing (New Zealand) |
Author: Van Slyke, Shanna Title: Social Identification and Public Opinion on White-Collar Crime Summary: White-collar crime accounts for billions of dollars in annual losses but traditionally has been viewed as less serious and less deserving of harsh punishment compared with street crime. This pattern can be observed in public opinion surveys, law-enforcement resource allocations, and criminal justice system sanctioning. Scholars usually distinguish between different types of white-collar crime — bitterly noting the irony that broadened definitions of white-collar crime have perpetuated status-based disparities the very concept was designed to bring to light. Some of these scholars, particularly those study public perceptions, have begun to question the conventional wisdom of widespread public apathy toward the crimes of U.S. economic and political elites. They have pointed at Watergate in the 1970s, the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and the wave of national corporate financial failures emerging in 2001–2002, and they have proposed that public outrage stemming from these widely publicized political and economic scandals should serve as a catalyst for sentencing reform that would more accurately tailor punishments to the harms caused. Lengthy prison sentences given to corporate executives and chairman—such as Bernie Madoff’s June 2009 150-year prison sentence—seem to support the argument that a national attitudinal shift has translated into more severe punishments for white-collar offenders. But one could characterize recent severe white-collar sentences—most notably in this regard, Shalom Weiss’s 840-year prison term — as aberrations that are both expressively powerful and functionally indistinguishable from a life sentence with no chance of parole. As such, far from bridging the gap between harm and punishment, these extreme reactions would also fail to represent the majority of white-collar offenders’ experiences with the criminal justice system. Despite financial losses stemming from white-collar crime, most white-collar offenders are not prosecuted as criminal offenders and do not comprise the bulk of U.S. jail and prison populations. The present study addresses this paradox between harm caused, perceived seriousness and desired punitiveness, and the theoretical void in the white-collar crime literature by incorporating the concepts of ingroup favoritism and outgroup hostility from the social psychological literature on social identity theory. The study’s purposes, then, are to determine whether there are observable differences in punitiveness toward white-collar and street offenders and then to test the applicability of the proposed integrated theory to explaining punitiveness by employing a representative telephone survey of 400 Floridian adults in 2008. The survey tested 10 hypotheses in several ways: An offense- and an offender-based definition of white-collar crime is used as well as nonviolent economic street crime, incarceration and disenfranchisement support serve as dependent variables; and two forms of offender identification (social and racial) and two forms of threats (offense seriousness and victim identification) are assessed. Incarceration support is modeled for six offenses: elite white-collar crime (corporate fraud and government bribery), consumer fraud white-collar crimes (false advertising and car sales fraud), and nonviolent economic street crimes (motor vehicle theft and burglary). The six offenses were then collapsed into three crime categories designed to represent three basic social status groups and to address the white-collar crime definitional debate: elite white-collar crime (high-status white-collar crime), consumer fraud white-collar crime (middle-status white-collar crime), and nonviolent economic street crime (low-status non-white-collar crime). No violent street crimes were included to enhance the comparability between the street crimes and white-collar crimes; likewise, the selected street crimes were economically motivated so they would also have the same basic motive (unlike non-violent street crimes like vandalism or drug use). Bivariate correlations revealed differences in public opinion, but the definition of white-collar crime (i.e., offense or offender based) and the measure of punitiveness (i.e., support for incarceration and for disenfranchisement) impacted the results. Multivariate logistic regression results indicate that offense seriousness had the consistent effect on increasing punitiveness for street crimes, but rarely influenced punishment recommendations for white-collar crimes—particularly those of the powerful corporate and government elites. However, little support emerged supporting the hypotheses derived from social identity theory. Rarely have past studies identified variables that are related to punitiveness toward white-collar offenders, be they theoretical or control variables. The present study, on the other hand, drew from the available research literature, identified the theoretical concept of social identification, and empirically tested this concept’s association with incarceration and disenfranchisement recommendations for white-collar and street property offenders. Social identification was not always related to punitiveness; moreover, the hypothesized positive effect of social identification interacting with perceived seriousness failed to materialize. Yet social identification itself increased punitiveness in several models and this is an advancement of our knowledge about public opinion on white-collar crime—albeit an advancement in need of refinement. Theoretically, this study introduced the idea of social identity to the study of white-collar crime, a phenomenon that has long been anecdotally characterized as crime by seemingly normal and respectable individuals, but which has recently exhibited signs of increased governmental intervention and sanctioning. The unexpected findings were explained by drawing upon labeling theory and by discussing the differential roles of information in influencing punitive attitudes. A different causal model is then suggested wherein strength of incriminating evidence is predicted to moderate the effect of social identification on punitiveness toward white-collar offenders. In this revised model to be tested in future research, social identification is not predicted to interact with seriousness to influence punitiveness; rather, it is hypothesized to influence punitiveness indirectly through its influence on perceptions of guilt. The conclusion focuses upon the contradiction between the U.S. government’s relative neglect of white-collar crime and contemporary empirical evidence on public punitiveness toward white-collar and street offenders. Bernie Madoff’s recent 150-year is revisited, and it is concluded that recent examples of harsh white-collar crime sanctioning do not reflect a significant shift in attitudes. Instead, returning to social identity theory, it is proposed that certain offenders have gotten singled out in order to for the government send a symbolic message of intolerance toward corporate crime while at the same time, the criminogenic opportunity and motivation structures of U.S. finance capitalism are left untouched and ineffectively regulated, thus perpetuating the problem of white-collar crime. Details: Tallahassee: Florida State University, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2009. 144p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 17, 2011 at: http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-10272009-160114/ Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-10272009-160114/ Shelf Number: 122424 Keywords: Consumer FraudPublic AttitudesPublic OpinionPunishmentWhite-Collar Crime |
Author: Winesburg, Melissa Title: Perceptions Of Neighborhood Problems: Agreement Between Police and Citizens and Impact on Citizen Attitudes Toward Police Summary: Research comparing police and citizen perceptions of neighborhood problems and the impact their agreement or disagreement has on attitudes toward the police is limited. While researchers have examined citizen attitudes toward the police since the 1960s, there have been few studies focusing on police and citizen priorities. This research examined these issues together to determine whether or not differences in perceptions impact citizen attitudes toward the police. This research explored data collected from two sources, including a survey of citizens in Cincinnati neighborhoods and a survey of Cincinnati police beat and community officers assigned to separate neighborhoods. It examined police and citizen alignment of 13 neighborhood problems focusing on crime and disorder, and the impact these have on attitudes toward the police. Logistic regression models were used to examine the influence police-citizen agreement on neighborhood problems had on citizen perceptions of attitudes toward the police in general, citizen attitudes toward the job police were doing to prevent crime in their neighborhood, and citizen attitudes toward the job police were doing working with citizens in their neighborhood to solve crime. Findings revealed that when citizens viewed disorder as less of a problem than officers, citizen satisfaction toward the police increased across all dependent variables in the study. Findings also revealed that the mere presence of a difference in perceptions impacted attitudes toward the police, regardless of the magnitude of the difference in perceptions. When police and citizens differed in their perceptions of neighborhood crime problems, citizens were more likely to have positive attitudes toward the job police were doing to prevent crime when they perceived crime as less of a problem than officers. Details: Cincinnati, OH: University of Cincinnati, Division of Criminal Justice, 2010. 186p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed January 13, 2012 at: http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=ucin1299178960 Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=ucin1299178960 Shelf Number: 123609 Keywords: Community PolicingCrime and DisorderNeighborhoods and CrimePolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community RelationsPublic Attitudes |
Author: Jakobsson, Niklas Title: What Explains Attitudes Toward Prostitution Summary: Using a larger and more representative sample than previous studies, we assess people’s attitudes toward prostitution in Norway and Sweden. Compared to previous statistical analyses in this field, the present study is the first to use sophisticated statistical methods that can shed further light on attitudes toward different aspects of prostitution while controlling for other confounding factors. The main findings are that men and sexual liberals are more positive toward prostitution, and that conservatives and those who support gender equality are more negative. Holding anti-immigration views is correlated with more positive attitudes toward buying, but not toward selling, sex. Norwegians are more positive than Swedes toward prostitution. It is also found that supporting gender equality has more explanatory power in Sweden than in Norway, and it is argued that this may be due to the more gendered nature of the Swedish debate. Details: Gothenberg, Sweden: University of Gothenburg, School of Business, Economics, and Law, 2009. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper in Economics, No. 349: http://andreaskotsadam.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/prost.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Sweden URL: http://andreaskotsadam.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/prost.pdf Shelf Number: 125267 Keywords: Prostitution (Norway and Sweden)Public AttitudesPublic Opinion |
Author: Sharpe Research Ltd. Title: Public Attitudes to the Deployment of Surveillance Techniques in Public Places: Qualitative Research Report Summary: The main aim of the research was to investigate informed public attitudes towards current and planned public surveillance activities, and establish the limits of public acceptability and confidence, to provide understanding of where the boundary might lie between personal privacy and society’s ability to intrude into an individual’s affairs. This involved investigation of the following: • levels of spontaneous knowledge and awareness about: - the extent and prevalence of CCTV and other surveillance technologies - the purposes for which video surveillance is deployed - which authorities and other organisations use video surveillance - how the recordings are used or processed - how long recordings are kept - who can see them, and in what circumstances - the effectiveness of video surveillance in preventing and/or detecting crime • sources of knowledge and awareness, including personal experience; • reactions to prompted information on - licensing/authorisation - covert vs. overt installations - new surveillance technologies - new ‘purposes’, such as road pricing - ‘sensitive’ personal data, in the data protection context • factors underlying public confidence in video surveillance; • the perceived applicability of the 8 data protection principles to the deployment and use of surveillance technology; • perceived risks of unlawful or criminal violations of privacy arising from video surveillance, looking both at likelihood and potential severity of consequences to the individual; • what rules ought to control the deployment and use of video surveillance in public places, and who should set and enforce those rules; • information needs – what members of the public want to know about video surveillance and its regulation. Details: London: Information Commissioner's Office, 2004. 89p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 12, 2012 at: http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/corporate/research_and_reports/public_attitudes_research.pdf Year: 2004 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/corporate/research_and_reports/public_attitudes_research.pdf Shelf Number: 126303 Keywords: Crime PreventionPublic AttitudesPublic OpinionPublic SpaceSurveillance Cameras (U.K.)Video Surveillance |
Author: Heap, Victoria Title: Understanding Public Perceptions of Anti-Social Behaviour: Problems and Policy Responses Summary: Anti-social behaviour (ASB) has emerged as a major community safety concern over the past decade. Reducing the number of incidents of ASB and lessening the impact these have upon the publics’ quality of life have become key components of criminal justice policy. The British Crime Survey has provided evidence of the types of ASB being experienced and quantified the proportion of people perceiving high levels of ASB in their local area. This research suggests strong links between high levels of deprivation and perceiving high levels of ASB. Attempts have also been made to determine what factors drive these perceptions, in order to produce evidence-based ASB reduction policies. This thesis builds upon existing research into public perceptions of ASB by exploring public perceptions in-depth, using a mixed methods strategy. A three phase, explanatory sequential design was employed. Phase one quantified public perceptions in selected hardpressed ACORN areas. These findings were utilised to inform the topics for further qualitative elaboration in phase two. The third phase qualitatively explored how practitioners address public perceptions of ASB. Inferences were generated from all three phases of data collection, providing a holistic, coherent and contextualised discussion of potential policy implications of the findings. The findings presented within this thesis uncover new attitudinal based factors that are statistically and independently associated with public perceptions of ASB. In addition, primary and secondary drivers of public perceptions were qualitatively identified in the hardpressed areas studied. New insight has also been provided into the methods practitioners use to address public perceptions, particularly into the difficulties associated with measuring perceptions and the reciprocal relationship that exists between practitioners and the public. The inferences generated suggest that public perceptions of ASB are complex, with the factors influencing perceptions often interconnected. This thesis calls for greater strategic clarification regarding the role perceptions play in ASB policy, in order for accurate, locally applicable perception measurement to be achieved and a reduction in perceived high levels of ASB to be obtained. Details: Huddersfield, UK: University of Huddersfield, 2010. 318p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed October 9, 2012 at: http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/9209/ Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/9209/ Shelf Number: 126656 Keywords: Antisocial Behavior (U.K.)Disorderly ConductNuisance Behaviors and DisordersPublic Attitudes |
Author: Dawes, William Title: Attitudes to Guilty Plea Sentence Reductions Summary: This report presents findings from research Ipsos MORI carried out for the Sentencing Council to examine attitudes towards guilty plea sentence reductions. It consisted of a face-to-face quantitative survey with the general public, discussion groups with the general public, interviews with those who had been a victim of crime or who had witnessed a crime and interviews with offenders. Key findings include: The public often perceive sentencing as too lenient. They feel that too often it can work in favour of offenders, rather than providing justice for victims. For the public, sentence lengths given to offenders are an important indicator of justice being served. The public in this research had limited knowledge of the workings of the Criminal Justice System (CJS), especially sentencing, and they reported their views as being highly influenced by the media and word of mouth. Whilst the quantitative survey revealed a degree of familiarity with the principles of guilty plea sentence reductions, qualitative discussions indicated awareness was based on the broad concept of sentences receiving reductions, with participants less certain of the role guilty pleas played in determining sentence outcome. Therefore, the public were generally unaware of the nuances of the guilty plea reductions principle and initially tended to be generally unsupportive of reductions in sentencing for those entering a guilty plea. Those who had a better understanding of the system and how it works were more likely to report confidence in the system and in sentencing policies. As such those who had been a victim or who had witnessed a crime were more likely to be supportive of sentence reductions than a broader general public audience. While the general public’s view of justice being served centred largely on the sentence handed down, victims and witnesses tended to have a more holistic view. They gave consideration to offender circumstances and whether the punishment allowed for rehabilitation and support as well as closure for victims and witnesses. For many, re-offending was a key concern and so there was support for punishments that acted as a deterrent and changed offender behaviour. Indeed, both the general public and victims and witnesses thought that persistent offenders, through their actions, have forfeited their right to a reduction. The public assume that the key motivation for the guilty plea sentence reduction is to reduce resources (time and money), but they prefer the idea of it as something which helps prevent victims having to give evidence and experiencing emotional trauma whilst doing this. There is a strong sense that the drive for cost savings should not impact on a system effectively delivering justice. There is more support for sentence reductions if the guilty plea is entered at an early point. The benefits – both economic and emotional – are more tangible at this point, and both the public and victims and witnesses are less likely to feel that the offender can ‘play the system’. On the other hand offenders say they are less likely to enter an early plea, but prefer to weigh up the evidence against them first. There is generally little support for a reduction for a guilty plea made at the court door or once the trial has started amongst the public and many victims and witnesses, although the small number of victims of more serious offences included in this study often felt that reductions at this stage could be acceptable. There was an indication that the prospect and reality of attending court proved more traumatic for this group, and they therefore may be more open to late reductions. For the general public, there was weak support for higher levels of reductions beyond the current guideline range of up to 33% and a fifth (20%) felt that there should be no reduction at all. Supporting this, when survey respondents were asked whether the reduction should be increased from a third if an offender pleads guilty at the earliest opportunity, 58% disagreed and only 22% agreed. A small number of victims of more serious offences were, however, more supportive if it spared them having to testify in court. The public (and some victims and witnesses) do not like the idea of a universal approach to reductions – in fact, the public in the survey were less likely to say that an offender pleading guilty to an offence should be given a more lenient sentence in most/all cases (21%) and more likely to say it never should result in a more lenient sentence (29%). They instead think that this should depend on certain factors/circumstances relating to the offender or offence type. For instance, views were often much more punitive towards violent crimes as opposed to those against businesses, and likewise towards repeat offenders versus first time offenders. The language and discourse of the reductions did not sit well with people. They were very resistant to the idea of an offender being ‘rewarded’ for admitting they were guilty of an offence; rather they spontaneously suggested that defendants should be further penalised for not admitting guilt if they are subsequently found guilty. Offenders in this study were often unsure what their sentence was likely to be when weighing up how to plead, and felt that decisions on sentence lengths were inconsistent. This made it difficult for them to calculate exactly what the impact of a set reduction to their sentence would be. Offenders also questioned the extent to which reductions for early guilty pleas were actually being applied, with a number feeling that it was very difficult to understand exactly how their final sentence had been determined. However, when probed on the level of reductions, offenders in this study were broadly content with the current discount of a third for an early guilty plea, and felt that without the reduction there was little incentive to admit guilt. The main factor determining whether or not offenders plead guilty was the likelihood of being found guilty at trial. The key ‘tipping point’ here was when offenders realised that the chances of them being found guilty were greater than being found not guilty. Weight of evidence and advice from solicitors/barristers were pivotal in offenders’ assessments of whether they were likely to be found guilty and therefore crucial in determining when a guilty plea was entered. There was little evidence from the research that increasing the reduction further would encourage more offenders to plead guilty at an earlier stage, given the reduction only becomes a driver of entering a guilty plea at such a point that an offender considers a conviction to be the likely outcome. Details: London: Sentencing Council, 2011. 89p. Source: Internet Resource: Sentencing Council Research Series 02/11; Accessed October 19, 2012 at: http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/docs/Attitudes_to_Guilty_Plea_Sentence_Reductions_(web).pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/docs/Attitudes_to_Guilty_Plea_Sentence_Reductions_(web).pdf Shelf Number: 126755 Keywords: Guilty Pleas (U.K.)Public AttitudesPublic OpinionPunishmentSentencing |
Author: Nicholls, Carol McNaughton Title: Attitudes to Sentencing Sexual Offences Summary: This report outlines findings of research conducted by Natcen Social Research on victim/survivor1 and public attitudes to sentencing sexual offences. This research was conducted on behalf of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, to inform their current review of guidelines on sentencing sexual offences, and in accordance with their statutory duties to “produce analysis and research on sentencing”, “promote a clear, fair and consistent approach to sentencing”, and “work to improve public confidence in sentencing.”2 An evidence review was completed as phase one of the research, and suggested that there was a need for up-to-date and methodologically robust research on public and victim/survivor views and sexual offences sentencing. The review identified that new research was needed to explore a range of offences and that not only concentrated on offences such as rape. Qualitative research was the favoured methodology as it allowed research participants the opportunity to provide explanations for the reasons given for suggested sentences, discuss their level of awareness of sentencing, and in the case of research with victim/survivors, enabled interviews to be conducted that were responsive and tailored to personal experience. There are, however, limits to the scope of any research project and this study is no exception – the focus here was on exploring public and victim/survivors’ attitudes and experiences of the sentencing of different sexual offences, and there was not scope to explore a range of additional issues, such as views on the existing sentencing guidelines for sexual offences or the effectiveness of different sanctions. Aims and objectives In this context the aims and objectives of the research were to: map awareness of the various sanctions for sexual offences that are available; understand what are considered to be appropriate sanctions and sentences for a range of sexual offences, the reasons for this and the relative gravity of sexual offences against each other and in comparison to other offences; identify the range of aggravating and mitigating factors that influenced the nature of participants’ responses to the appropriate type and length of sentence, including which factors are more or less important when considering the sentence; and discuss the purpose of sentencing sexual offences. And in addition, with victim/survivors of sexual offences and their family: describe the experiences of people affected by sexual offences and the seriousness and harm of the offence; and where relevant, understand their experience of the sentencing process and the personal impact of the sentence. Details: London: Sentencing Council, 2012. 118p. Source: Internet Resource: Sentencing Council Research Series 01/12: Accessed November 2, 2012 at: http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/docs/Attitudes_to_Sentencing_Sexual_Offences_(web).pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/docs/Attitudes_to_Sentencing_Sexual_Offences_(web).pdf Shelf Number: 126817 Keywords: Public AttitudesPublic OpinionPunishmentSentencingSex Offenders (U.K.)Sex Offenses |
Author: Summerfield, Amy Title: Public Experiences of and Attitudes towards the Family Justice System Summary: The Ministry of Justice is responsible for achieving the Government's vision of a supportive and effective family justice system. This analytical summary presents findings from the 2012/13 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) examining public attitudes and experiences of the family justice system, including mediation. The CSEW is a nationally representative household survey. In the 2012/13 survey, around 35,000 adults were interviewed. Details: London: Ministry of Justice, 2014. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Analytical Summary: Accessed June 17, 2014 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319365/public-experience-family-justice-system.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319365/public-experience-family-justice-system.pdf Shelf Number: 132483 Keywords: Family CourtFamily MediationPublic AttitudesPublic Opinion |
Author: Boda, Zsolt Title: Literature Review on Fear of Crime and Public Attitudes Towards Crime, Justice and Punishment Summary: Research under WP4 "State-of-the-Art Public Perceptions" focused on drawing the general picture on attitudes towards crime, justice and punishment, as well as mapping the phenomena by their geographical and social location in Europe, and resulted in a paper featuring a literature review on fear of crime and public attitudes towards crime, justice and punishment. Specifically, the paper provides a systematic, up-to-date literature review of the key European research on fear of crime, punitive attitudes and trust in justice. The task is subdivided into sections on "trust in justice", "fear of crime", and "punitive attitudes". The aim is to identify the most common explanations that can be found in academic literature about the patterns and possible causes of fear of crime, punitive attitudes and trust in justice. Details: Fiducia (New European Crimes and Trust-Based Policy), 2012. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 7, 2014 at: http://www.fiduciaproject.eu/media/press_releases/8/D4.1.Literature%20review%20on%20fear%20of%20crime%20and%20public%20attitudes%20towards%20crime,%20justice%20and%20punishment.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.fiduciaproject.eu/media/press_releases/8/D4.1.Literature%20review%20on%20fear%20of%20crime%20and%20public%20attitudes%20towards%20crime,%20justice%20and%20punishment.pdf Shelf Number: 132629 Keywords: Fear of CrimePublic AttitudesPublic OpinionPunishment |
Author: McMurtry, Roy Title: Review of the Roots of Youth Violence (Volume 3): Community Perspectives Report Summary: There are many kinds of communities. Often, we think of a community as something that has a specific location - our own neighbourhood, town or city, or our rural township or region. But we are all familiar with other kinds of communities: those made up of individuals who share common cultures or common interests, or attend the same school or work at the same jobs. In that sense, you are probably a member of several different communities. This volume focuses on what we heard from our community contacts, most especially from the youth. We've provided the full text of the Neighbourhood Insight Sessions Final Report (Insight Final Report), the Grassroots Youth Collaborative's Rooted in Action: A Youth-Led Report on our Demands and Plans to Address the Root Causes of Violence in our Communities (GYC Report) and a report from the Urban Aboriginal Youth consultations, and we've included some of the thoughts contributed by others through our online survey and one-on-one meetings. Details: Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2008. 173p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 4, 2014 at: http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/topics/youthandthelaw/roots/volume3/index.aspx Year: 2008 Country: Canada URL: http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/topics/youthandthelaw/roots/volume3/index.aspx Shelf Number: 132881 Keywords: Juvenile DelinquencyJuvenile OffendersPublic AttitudesYouth Violence (Canada) |
Author: All Party Parliamentary Group for Children Title: "It's All About Trust": Building good relationships between children and police Summary: During this inquiry, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Children took evidence from children and young people, organisations working with children and young people, and representatives from police forces across the country. The inquiry heard that children and young people's attitudes towards the police are often characterised by feelings of mistrust and sometimes fear. The majority of those giving evidence were clear that more work is needed if there are to be strong and positive relationships between children, young people and the police. There are examples of good practice, reflecting the work of police leaders and officers who are dedicated to improving the way they work with children. However, these examples of good practice are not replicated across the country. Key findings Section one of this report summarises the views and experiences of children and young people involved with the police, based on evidence given to the inquiry by children and young people themselves and those who work with them. Section two examines current police practice with children and young people, and the policy and legislative framework that governs the work of police forces. Overall, the inquiry found that: There is a lack of trust in the police among many children and young people. Some children and young people fear the police. Encounters between the two groups are often characterised by poor and unconstructive communication and a lack of mutual respect. Experts told the APPGC that it takes time and hard work to change these ingrained attitudes and behaviours. It is critical that in every encounter with the police, under 18s are be treated as children first, with all officers having regard for their welfare, safety and well-being, as required under sections 10 and 11 of the Children Act 2004 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Certain groups of children and young people, many of whom are likely to have higher levels of contact with the police, share similar feelings and attitudes. Children in care, who are over-represented in the youth justice system, can have negative early experiences of the police and do not always get the support and protection they need. The additional vulnerabilities of children with special educational needs, a language or communication difficulty, or mental health needs can be overlooked or exacerbated in encounters with the police. The way in which the police treat children who have been trafficked or experienced sexual abuse was described as a 'postcode lottery' - these children are often confused by police processes and report being treated with a lack of respect. First contact with the police is important in shaping children and young people's attitudes, yet for a significant number of children and young people this experience is a negative one. There are examples of positive school and community initiatives that help children and young people encounter the police in a positive context. However, for many, the first contact will be as a victim or suspected offender. Therefore the way in which the police carry out processes - such as the way they use stop and search or the way they treat children who are arrested and detained - is vital for building trust and respect. Many children and young people will first have contact with the police when they are stopped and searched. While young people understand why the police need to use stop and search, they feel they are stopped too often and for insufficient reason, that they are not treated with respect, and that the police do not explain the process or reason for the stop. For those who are arrested and detained, the experience can be traumatic and upsetting, with very vulnerable children often exposed to a space designed for adults, usually without separate or designated facilities for children. Some children and young people are involved in police initiatives through their schools and communities, such as Safer School Partnerships or Voluntary Police Cadets, which help break down barriers and negative perceptions. These examples of positive engagement are, however, not found in all schools or communities and are being threatened by reductions in police budgets. There are examples of police forces which work hard to listen to and engage with children and young people in a variety of contexts, and to treat them, first and foremost, as children in all aspects of the police process. However, these positive approaches are not reflected across the country. Greater effort is needed nationally to assist local police forces in identifying and implementing good practice examples from other parts of the country. Training and professional development for police officers should enable them to understand how they can improve their practice to meet the needs of children and young people. The policy and legislative framework governing the work of the police does not pay sufficient attention to the needs of children and young people or address the specific considerations of working with this age group. In particular: o the rights and specific needs of children must be reflected in guidance relating to the stop and search process, and searches should only take place, particularly on younger children, when absolutely necessary; o 17 year-olds should have the same rights and entitlements as younger children in legislation and guidance relating to police processes; o police forces should have designated or separate custody facilities for children and young people, and provide access to youth liaison and diversion to identify and address needs; o a focused effort is needed to ensure that all children and young people who are refused bail after being charged are transferred to local authority accommodation, as is required by law; and o nationally endorsed guidance and protocols should be put in place for the purpose of reducing the criminalisation of children in care. Details: London: All Party Parliamentary Group for Children, 2014. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 30, 2014 at: http://www.ncb.org.uk/media/1164355/appgc_children_and_police_report_-_final.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.ncb.org.uk/media/1164355/appgc_children_and_police_report_-_final.pdf Shelf Number: 133842 Keywords: Police BehaviorPolice Legitimacy (U.K.)Police-Citizen InteractionsPublic AttitudesPublic Opinion |
Author: Pew Charitable Trusts Title: Public Opinion on Juvenile Justice in America Summary: Voters support sending serious juvenile offenders to corrections facilities, but they favor a range of less-costly alternatives for lower-level offenders, according to a nationwide poll conducted in 2014 by a bipartisan team of pollsters, the Mellman Group and Public Opinion Strategies. Voters see juvenile corrections facilities as government programs that should be subject to a basic cost-benefit test, and they strongly support a more robust probation system and more intervention by families, schools, and social service agencies. When it comes to the juvenile justice system, voters want offending youth to get the services and supervision they need to change their behavior and stop committing crimes-even if that means less incarceration. Key Findings - Voters support diverting lower-level juvenile offenders from corrections facilities and investing the savings into probation and other alternatives. - Support for juvenile justice reform is strong across political parties, regions, and age, gender, and racial-ethnic groups. Details: Washington, DC: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2014. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 21, 2015 at: http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/Assets/2014/12/PSPP_juvenile_poll_web.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/Assets/2014/12/PSPP_juvenile_poll_web.pdf Shelf Number: 134427 Keywords: Juvenile Justice ReformJuvenile Justice System (U.S.)Public AttitudesPublic Opinion |
Author: Simpson, Paul Title: Views on Alternatives to Imprisonment: A Citizens Jury Approach Summary: Alarming over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian prisons, combined with high recidivism rates and poor health and social outcomes among those released from prison, has led many to claim that incarceration is a social policy failure. An important obstacle to a reform agenda in the criminal justice area is public opinion. The public are often perceived to hold punitive attitudes towards offenders, a situation often exploited by politicians to perpetuate punitive penal policies at the expense of developing decarceration initiatives. However, alternatives to public opinion surveys/polls are needed. Citizens Juries offer an alternative method to assess the public's views, views that are critically informed and thus better aid policy development. The Lowitja Institute has published the report that explores, through Citizens Juries, the views of a better informed public towards how we, as a community, should address offenders in terms of incarceration and incarceration alternatives. The research focused on a range of incarceration alternatives including Justice Reinvestment. Details: Melbourne: Lowitja Institute, 2014. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 19, 2015 at: https://www.lowitja.org.au/sites/default/files/docs/Lowitja%20Alternatives-text-WEB.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: https://www.lowitja.org.au/sites/default/files/docs/Lowitja%20Alternatives-text-WEB.pdf Shelf Number: 134650 Keywords: AboriginalsAlternatives to IncarcerationIndigenous PeoplesPublic AttitudesPublic Opinion (Australia) |
Author: Sharapov, Kiril Title: Understanding Public Knowledge and Attitudes towards Trafficking in Human Beings. Part 1 Summary: Despite Europe being a major thoroughfare for human trafficking and exploited labour that enables many European consumers to live 'the good life', research presented in this paper shows that many citizens do not understand human trafficking, nor do they see it as a problem in their everyday lives. Over the last decade, human trafficking has become a policy priority for governments in all European countries, for non-governmental organizations that provide services to victims of trafficking, and for researchers attempting to assess its magnitude. However, little is still known about how many people are trafficked into and exploited within Europe, and how many people are exploited across national economies without being trafficked in the first place. Little is also known about public understanding of human trafficking and public attitudes towards this phenomenon. This study addresses a gap in knowledge in this field and highlights differences in the levels of awareness of human trafficking among the general public in Great Britain, Ukraine, and Hungary. It relies on representative surveys of public understanding and attitudes towards human trafficking in these countries, which represent one of the many trafficking routes from Eastern into Central and Western Europe. The surveys were completed between December 2013 and January 2014. Details: Budapest: Center for Policy Studies, Central European University, 2014. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 20, 2015 at: https://cps.ceu.edu/sites/default/files/publications/cps-working-paper-upkat-public-knowledge-and-attitudes-towards-thb-2014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Europe URL: https://cps.ceu.edu/sites/default/files/publications/cps-working-paper-upkat-public-knowledge-and-attitudes-towards-thb-2014.pdf Shelf Number: 137036 Keywords: Forced LaborHuman TraffickingPublic AttitudesPublic Opinion |
Author: Sharapov, Kiril Title: Understanding Public Knowledge and Attitudes towards Trafficking in Human Beings. Part 2 Summary: Part 2 of this research report should be read and considered within the context of the discussion, methodological overview and survey data analysis introduced in part 1 (Sharapov 2014a). In picking up where Part 1 left off, Part 2 explores how survey respondents answered a series of agree/disagree statements in relation to various issues associated with trafficking in human beings. The project's survey questionnaire is included as Annex 1 in Part 1. Details: Budapest: Center for Policy Studies, Central European University, 2015. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 20, 2015 at: https://cps.ceu.edu/sites/default/files/publications/cps-working-paper-upkat-public-knowledge-and-attitudes-towards-thb-2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Europe URL: https://cps.ceu.edu/sites/default/files/publications/cps-working-paper-upkat-public-knowledge-and-attitudes-towards-thb-2015.pdf Shelf Number: 137038 Keywords: Forced LaborHuman Trafficking Public Attitudes Public Opinion |
Author: Simon, Adam F. Title: Framing and Facts: Necessary Synergies in Communicating about Public Safety and Criminal Justice Summary: It can be argued that nothing is as emblematic of the travails of race in American life as the criminal justice system. Criminal justice advocates have long used facts about the system's racial biases to call for the need for sweeping reforms - advocating for changes to make the system more equitable, efficient and effective in improving public safety for all Americans. The following statistics, for example, have become commonplace in the advocacy discourse and in media coverage more generally: - The United States is the world's No. 1 jailer; - Black men have a 32 percent chance of spending time in prison at some point in their lives, Latino men have a 17 percent chance, and white men have a 6 percent chance of being imprisoned over their lifetime; - Blacks are 17 percent of the juvenile population but 46 percent of juvenile arrests and 41 percent of waivers to adult court. On top of these facts, evidence of the extent and costs of mass incarceration is staggering. In times of fiscal constraints, current levels of prison expenditures are clearly unsustainable. Recent public opinion research suggests that, to some extent, Americans have come to recognize problems with the criminal justice system, particularly in terms of its racial bias. For example, a recent Pew study reports that 70 percent of African Americans and almost 40 percent of whites believe that black Americans receive unequal treatment by the police. The same study also indicates that almost 70 percent of African Americans and 30 percent of whites believe that the courts do not treat black and white Americans equally. In the court of public opinion, the ground seems fertile for the reform of the criminal justice system. So, if the American public believes the system discriminates against men of color, the data underscore the significance of these racial disparities, and the price of incarceration is so clearly unsustainable, why is advocating for reform so difficult? One answer is that the advocacy community is not framing the issue in a way that allows Americans to connect understandings of the system's problems with a set of viable solutions.5 Without such a connection, we argue, momentum for reform is lost when people cannot connect their values for the society to specific system reforms and policy changes. Energy dissipates; opposition manipulates opinion and gains ground while citizens are unable to make the case for the reforms they struggle to articulate. Details: Washington, DC: Frameworks Institute, 2013. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 8, 2016 at: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/pscj_values_and_facts.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/pscj_values_and_facts.pdf Shelf Number: 137441 Keywords: Criminal Justice ReformPublic AttitudesPublic OpinionPublic SafetyRace and CrimeRacial DiscriminationRacial Disparities |
Author: Kendall-Taylor, Nathaniel Title: Maze and Gears: Using Explanatory Metaphors to Increase Public Understanding of the Criminal Justice System and its Reform Summary: This report presents the results of metaphor research using qualitative and quantitative methods with approximately 1,300 members of the general public. This research yielded two Explanatory Metaphors - The Justice Maze and Justice Gears - that help advance public understanding of structural problems in the criminal justice system and the need for reform to address these problems. Details: Washington, DC: FrameWorks Institute, 2013. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 8, 2016 at: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/pscj_metaphors.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/pscj_metaphors.pdf Shelf Number: 137442 Keywords: Criminal Justice ReformPublic AttitudesPublic OpinionPublic Safety |
Author: Mizell, Jill Title: An Overview of Public Opinion and Discourse on Criminal Justice Issues Summary: This series of reports from The Opportunity Agenda describes the American public discourse on crime, the criminal justice system, and criminal justice reform. It examines years of public opinion research, mainstream media coverage, and social media content. And it incorporates the input of leaders working in the field of criminal justice reform. Taken together, this body of work is intended to help reform leaders, organizations, and allies to build public support for effective solutions. It also provides useful insights for journalists, news outlets, and commentators who cover-or could cover-this important subject. Involvement in the criminal justice system can be an opportunity-ending event in people's lives. The "tough on crime" policies of the past generation-the "war on drugs," mandatory minimum sentences, "three-strikes laws" and the like-have negatively affected millions of people. In addition to the individuals who are arrested, prosecuted, and incarcerated for long periods under harsh sentencing laws, families and whole communities face racial profiling, mass incarceration, and barriers to re-entry after release from prison. These impediments to opportunity are not spread evenly across the U.S. population. Racial and class bias infects the criminal justice system at every point, from arrest, through prosecution, sentencing, incarceration, and release. Today, the nation's experiment with mass incarceration is being scrutinized and critiqued as never before, and criminal justice reform is on the public policy agenda. Our scan of legislative activity across the country indicates that reforms are taking place in red and blue states alike. As one reform leader put it: The fiscal crisis that so many states find themselves in has created a space for dialogue about reducing the use of incarceration to solve social issues...This is a very conservative city in a conservative state, and I'm seeing opportunity after opportunity to work across the political spectrum to get criminal justice reform done. States are rethinking "zero tolerance" school discipline policies, which often are responsible for racially discriminatory suspensions and "the school to prison pipeline." Municipalities are adopting "ban the box" policies to remove barriers to the hiring and licensing of people with criminal records. States are adopting "Justice Reinvestment" strategies to reduce corrections costs and reinvest the savings in programs that improve public safety, such as education, public health and job training. At the federal level, the Justice Department has launched its "Smart on Crime" review to bring more fairness to the federal criminal justice system. And the trend towards treating drug use as a public health, rather than a criminal matter is accelerating throughout the country. Whether based on fiscal concerns about the vast public resources devoted to arresting, prosecuting, and locking up so many people or on concerns about fairness and racial equity, more and more members of the public and their political representatives are questioning whether the harsh penalties adopted at both the state and federal levels over the past 40 years are accomplishing what they were intended to accomplish: protecting the public. A growing number of Americans is realizing that the vast majority of people in prison will be released back into the community with few, if any, opportunities to change their lives for the better and that this does not bode well for the nation as a whole. In spite of these advances, however, the United States has a long way to go before its criminal justice system lives up to constitutional and human rights norms, and creating the political will to bring about real reform is a heavy lift. Elected leaders still fear being labeled "soft on crime," and the organized opposition, led by district attorney associations and the private corrections industry, is working hard to block sentencing and other reforms, arguing that public safety is at risk. Most Americans hear about crime through their local television stations, where "if it bleeds, it leads" is still the rule. Increased fear of crime can derail any progress made by the criminal justice reform movement unless the public is "inoculated" with a deeper understanding of the causes of and solutions to crime. Details: New York: The Opportunity Agenda, 2014. 124p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 24, 2016 at: http://opportunityagenda.org/files/field_file/2014.08.23-CriminalJusticeReport-FINAL_0.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://opportunityagenda.org/files/field_file/2014.08.23-CriminalJusticeReport-FINAL_0.pdf Shelf Number: 137956 Keywords: Costs of criminal JusticeCriminal Justice PolicyCriminal Justice ReformJustice ReinvestmentMedia Public AttitudesPublic Opinion |
Author: Birds, Jonathan M. Title: Perceptions of Disorder: Results from Two Las Vegas Tourist Locations Summary: Over the past 30 years, much has been written about the negative consequences that minor disorders and quality of life offenses can have on public places. The literature documents cases where disorder contributed to the deterioration of locations such as the New York City subways, the downtown Civic Center in San Francisco, and MacArthur Park in Los Angeles (Kelling & Coles 1996; Sousa & Kelling 2010). The literature also describes the process by which disorder leads to the decline of public places. According to the 'broken windows' hypothesis (Wilson & Kelling 1982), disorder can generate fear among citizens, causing them to avoid locations where disorder is a problem. These locations, which lack informal social control mechanisms, are potentially vulnerable to more serious forms of crime. Although research provides evidence of a link between disorder and fear, how one perceives disorder is largely "in the eye of the beholder." The literature suggests that an observer's perceptions of disorder depend on the context in which it occurs (Kelling & Coles 1996). Factors such as the amount of disorder, the vulnerability of the observer, and the observer's prior knowledge of the disorderly person or place, for instance, play a role in whether one fears disorder or considers it to be problematic. Given the potential for quality of life offenses to generate fear and cause other community problems, it is important to understand perceptions of disorder in public places. The purpose of this Research in Brief is to examine citizen opinions of personal safety, disorderly activity, and police presence at two locations in Clark County: The Fremont Street Experience and the Las Vegas Strip. These are two public locations that are known for tourism and are therefore important to the region's economy. This study also considers the demographic factors that may be relevant to individual perceptions of disorder, such as age, gender, race, and residency status (i.e., Las Vegas Valley local vs. tourist). Details: Las Vegas, NV: University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Center for Crime and Justice Policy, 2015. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Research in Brief: Accessed March 16, 2016 at: https://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/page_files/27/CCJP-PerceptionsOfDisorder.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/page_files/27/CCJP-PerceptionsOfDisorder.pdf Shelf Number: 138265 Keywords: Disorderly ConductFear of CrimePersonal SafetyPublic AttitudesPublic PlacesTourism and Crime |
Author: Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research Title: Law Enforcement and Violence: The Divide Between Black and White Americans Summary: The difficult relationship between the police and blacks in the United States is evident from the results of a recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey. The poll highlights a number of racial divisions in Americans' attitudes toward law enforcement and the criminal justice system. However, the survey finds agreement across racial groups on many of the causes of police violence. It also reveals a broad consensus among the public that a number of policy changes could reduce tensions between minorities and police and limit violence against civilians. The nationwide poll was collected July 17 to 19 using the AmeriSpeak Omnibus, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,223 adults, including 311 blacks who were sampled at a higher rate than their proportion of the population for reasons of analysis. Three Things You Should Know From The AP-NORC Center's Poll on Law Enforcement and Violence Black Americans are nearly four times as likely as whites to describe violence against civilians by police officers as an extremely or very serious problem. More than 80 percent of blacks say police are too quick to use deadly force and they are more likely to use it against a black person. Two-thirds of whites label police use of deadly force as necessary and nearly 6 in 10 say race is not a factor in decisions to use force. There is support among both blacks and whites for many changes in policies and procedures that could be effective in reducing tensions between law enforcement and minorities and limiting police violence against civilians. For example, 71 percent say body cameras on police would be an effective deterrent to police aggression and 52 percent think community policing programs would help reduce the friction in minority communities. Details: Chicago: The Associated Press and NORC, 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue Brief: Accessed August 29, 2016 at: http://www.apnorc.org/PDFs/Police%20Violence/Issue%20Brief_PoliceFinal.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.apnorc.org/PDFs/Police%20Violence/Issue%20Brief_PoliceFinal.pdf Shelf Number: 140064 Keywords: Police Use of ForcePolice-Minority RelationsPublic AttitudesPublic Opinion |
Author: Boda, Zsolt Title: Report on an empirical assessment of fear of crime and Punitive Sentiment across Europe Summary: The research project FIDUCIA (New European Crimes and Trust-based Policy) is funded primarily by the European Commission from the 7th Framework Programme for Research. FIDUCIA will shed light on a number of distinctively 'new European' criminal behaviors that have emerged in the last decade as a consequence of technology developments and in the increased mobility of populations across Europe. The central idea behind the project is that public trust in justice is important for social regulation, and proposes a 'trust-based' policy model in relation to emerging forms of criminality. Work package 4 reviews what is currently known about fear of crime, trust in justice and punitive attitudes of citizens across Europe. The theoretical assumption is that current public opinion about crime across Europe will shift in the wake of new forms of crime and new inter-ethnic tensions. Nurtured in part by tabloid media and radicalizing political discourse, "popular punitive" sentiments are characterized among other things by an emphasis on unexpected and growing crime, the blaming of certain social groups, distrust in the police and justice, and the endorsement of harsh, punitive measures. D4.3 reports on an empirical assessment of punitive sentiment across Europe using the European Social Survey Data. This analysis offers new and important insights into the phenomenon of ‘punitivity’ across Europe. We have examined two pairs of measures of punitivity: subjective measures of public opinion, and actual-penal-practice punitivity. We have labelled our two measures of subjective punitivity 'expressive' and 'considered'. Expressive punitivity reflects a desire for tougher penalties and considered punitivity reflects preferences for heavy sentences in a sentencing exercise. We have presented two measures of country-level punitivity in actual-penal-practice: numbers of prisoners per 100,000 population, and number of prisoners per 1,000 recorded crimes. Details: Fiducia (New European Crimes and Trust-Based Policy), 2012. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed November 17, 2016 at: http://www.fiduciaproject.eu/media/press_releases/9/D4.3%20Report%20on%20an%20empirical%20assessment%20of%20fear%20of%20crime%20and%20punitive%20sentiment%20across%20Europe.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Europe URL: http://www.fiduciaproject.eu/media/press_releases/9/D4.3%20Report%20on%20an%20empirical%20assessment%20of%20fear%20of%20crime%20and%20punitive%20sentiment%20across%20Europe.pdf Shelf Number: 144859 Keywords: Fear of CrimePublic AttitudesPublic OpinionPunishment |
Author: Staetsky, L. Daniel Title: Antisemitism in contemporary Great Britain: A Study of Attitudes Towards Jews and Israel Summary: This study takes an in-depth look at attitudes towards Jews and Israel among the population of Great Britain, both across society as a whole, and in key subgroups within the population, notably the far-left, the far-right, Christians and Muslims. It introduces the concept of the 'elastic view' of antisemitism, arguing that as antisemitism is an attitude, it exists at different scales and levels of intensity. Thus no single figure can capture the level of antisemitism in society, and all figures need to be carefully explained and understood. It finds that only a small proportion of British adults can be categorised as 'hard-core' antisemites - approximately 2% - yet antisemitic ideas can be found at varying degrees of intensity across 30% of British society. Whilst this categorically does not mean that 30% of the British population is antisemitic, it does demonstrate the outer boundary of the extent to which antisemitic ideas live and breathe in British society. As such, it goes some way towards explaining why British Jews appear to be so concerned about antisemitism, as the likelihood of them encountering an antisemitic idea is much higher than that suggested by simple measures of antisemitic individuals. In this way, the research draws an important distinction between 'counting antisemites' and 'measuring antisemitism' - the counts for each are very different from one another, and have important implications for how one tackles antisemitism going forward. The research finds that levels of anti-Israelism are considerably higher than levels of anti-Jewish feeling, and that the two attitudes exist both independently of one another and separately. However, the research also demonstrates that the greater the intensity of anti-Israel attitude, the more likely it is to be accompanied by antisemitic attitudes as well. Looking at subgroups within the population, the report finds that levels of antisemitism and anti-Israelism among Christians are no different from those found across society as a whole, but among Muslims they are considerably higher on both counts. On the political spectrum, levels of antisemitism are found to be highest among the far-right, and levels of anti-Israelism are heightened across all parts of the left-wing, but particularly on the far-left. In all cases, the higher the level of anti-Israelism, the more likely it is to be accompanied by antisemitism. Yet, importantly, most of the antisemitism found in British society exists outside of these three groups - the far-left, far-right and Muslims; even at its most heightened levels of intensity, only about 15% of it can be accounted for by them. Details: London: Institute for Jewish Policy Research, 2017. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2017 at: http://archive.jpr.org.uk/object-uk450 Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://archive.jpr.org.uk/object-uk450 Shelf Number: 147546 Keywords: AntisemitismBias-Motivated CrimeHate CrimesPublic Attitudes |
Author: Collingwood, Loren Title: Partisan Learning or Racial learning: Opinion Change on Sanctuary City Policy Preferences in California and Texas Summary: Significant research indicates that attitude change is often a product of partisan learning (Green, Palmquist, Schickler 2004; Lenz 2011). As the party system continues to rearrange around issues of race and immigration, it may be that (on race-related issues) voters are learning more based on race/ethnicity and not on party. We evaluate the partisan learning model versus a racial-learning model with regards to public opinion on sanctuary cities among survey respondents in California and Texas - two states that have experienced extensive recent debate on the issue. After the rise of Trump and his connection with opposition to sanctuary cities, we show that partisanship is much more predictive of attitudes on sanctuary cities in 2017 versus 2015, whereas findings for racial/ethnic learning are not so forthcoming. Implications are discussed. Details: Riverside, CA: Collingwood Research, 2017. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 1, 2017 at: http://www.collingwoodresearch.com/uploads/8/3/6/0/8360930/partisan-learning-racial.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://www.collingwoodresearch.com/uploads/8/3/6/0/8360930/partisan-learning-racial.pdf Shelf Number: 148668 Keywords: Illegal Immigrants Immigrants Immigration Enforcement Immigration Policy Public AttitudesSanctuary Cities Undocumented Immigrants |
Author: Spink, John Title: A Survey of Attitudes toward Product Counterfeiting, Related Law Enforcement Priority Setting, and Internet Medicines Purchasing Behaviors Summary: Overview of the Issue: Product Counterfeiting is growing in scope, scale, and threat. This threat includes counterfeit prescription medicines (e.g. rogue product from Canadian pharmacies is a major focus for Federal agencies based in Michigan, as well as State enforcement and prosecution efforts), medical devices (e.g. counterfeit Michigan branded ambulance gurneys), food ingredients (e.g. including Michigan concentrated Cherry juice), finished food products including fish (e.g. Michigan Whitefish), automobile parts, shampoo, perfume, consumer electronics, and even certifications themselves (e.g. Michigan's NSF International food equipment certifications). This research focuses on consumer products that may or may not be packaged, and does not cover digital copyright piracy, currency, identity or document fraud, or artwork fraud. In Michigan: Product counterfeiting impact in Michigan is similar to other States in many ways consistent with the demographics, the balance of population in dense cities or rural communities, and geography such as international land border with Canada. The national nuances are easy to aggregate but difficult to pinpoint. This study provides insight specifically on the population of Michigan. Relevant Research, Best Practices: State and Federal agencies have prioritized the fight against intellectual property rights infringement, and specifically, product counterfeiting of products that pose a public health threat such as counterfeit medicines sold over the internet. For example, the Protecting Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008 created the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), who reports through the US Office of Management and Budget to the Executive Branch of the US Government (IPEC, 2010a; 2010b). Other related activities include the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 and the Rogue Sites Legislation Bill in 2011. In the Rogue Sites bill, the Federal Government is considering legislation which would enable agencies to seize website domain names (URLs) that are clearly offering counterfeit product (e.g. "BuyFakeViagra.com") or that are intended to dupe unsuspecting consumers who would think they are at a legitimate brand website (e.g. "ViagraRewards.com"). Even foods are covered under the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FDA, 2011; 2012). This legislation will have impacts on resource allocation for State agencies. Details: East Lansing, MI: Michigan Applied Public Policy Research Program , Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, 2013. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 1, 2018 at: http://ippsr.msu.edu/sites/default/files/MAPPR/Prod_Counterfeiting.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://ippsr.msu.edu/sites/default/files/MAPPR/Prod_Counterfeiting.pdf Shelf Number: 149306 Keywords: Consumer Fraud Consumer Protection Counterfeit Goods Counterfeit Products Fake Goods Public Attitudes |
Author: Henning, Kris Title: Community Attitudes Regarding Public Safety in Portland's Parkrose Neighborhood Summary: The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) is partnering with Portland State University (PSU) and neighborhood groups to develop new strategies for improving public safety and police-community relations. The current initiative seeks to provide residents with greater voice in where police work in their neighborhood, what problems they address, and how they intervene. We also hope to provide residents, businesses, and community organizations with data they can use to leverage additional resources for improving public safety in their neighborhood. This report focuses on the Parkrose neighborhood. Parkrose is located in the Northeast section of Portland (i.e. North of Burnside Ave. and East of the Willamette River). PSU's Population Research Center estimates that there were 6,363 residents living in the neighborhood in 2010, a 5.5% increase from 2000. For additional information on the neighborhood, contact the Parkrose Neighborhood Association. In July 2016 all households in the Parkrose neighborhood were mailed a letter inviting the adult occupants to participate in an online survey. Additional invitations were delivered in-person by PPB officers and the link to the online survey was in several newsletters and community-oriented websites. The questionnaire asked residents to identify their primary public safety concerns, whether they supported or opposed various actions the city might take in responding to these problems, and for ideas on improving police-community relationships. Three hundred and forty-nine surveys were submitted and analyzed for this report. Key Findings - Social disorder (e.g., noise, squatters, trespassing, panhandlers, and prostitution) property crime, and drugs/alcohol were the top public safety concerns identified by Parkrose residents completing the online survey. - Respondents to the survey demonstrated a high degree of agreement regarding the areas within their neighborhood that have public safety concerns. This includes the corridors running east to west surrounding NE Sandy Blvd and NE Prescott St. - People from Parkrose who completed the survey feel considerably less safe walking alone in their neighborhood than the average city resident. Moreover, the majority of survey respondents reported that public safety in Parkrose had declined over the past 12 months. - The majority of respondents expressed confidence with the Portland Police and felt the Portland Police treat people in the neighborhood with respect. People felt this could continue to be strengthened through non-investigatory foot patrols, community meetings, and expanded police participation in community events. Details: Portland, OR: Portland State University, 2017. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2018 at: https://www.pdx.edu/criminology-criminal-justice/sites/www.pdx.edu.criminology-criminal-justice/files/PDF-Files/Research/PPB_PSU%20Public%20Safety%20Survey_Parkrose%202016_Final%20Report.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.pdx.edu/criminology-criminal-justice/sites/www.pdx.edu.criminology-criminal-justice/files/PDF-Files/Research/PPB_PSU%20Public%20Safety%20Survey_Parkrose%202016_Final%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 149503 Keywords: Neighborhoods and CrimePolice LegitimacyPolice-Community RelationsPublic AttitudesPublic Safety |
Author: Stewart, Greg Title: Community Attitudes Regarding Public Safety in Bend, Oregon Summary: Bend, Oregon is the largest city in Deschutes County and the seventh largest city in Oregon. Portland State University's Population Research Center estimates that Bend had a population of 83,500 residents in 2016. Both the city and county as a whole have seen considerable growth over the past 10 years. The city's residential population rose 8.8% from 2010 while the county increased by 12.0%. The Bend Police Department (BPD) provides the city with 24/7/365 police services. In May of 2017 the BPD employed 94 sworn officers and 28 civilian staff distributed across three major divisions: Patrol, Investigations, and Support. BPD's Five-Year-Strategic Plan (2015 to 2020) calls for the agency to address two specific goals with regard to the community: 1) building trust and confidence in the BPD, and 2) increasing engagement with Bend's businesses, organizations, and residents. These goals are core principles of community policing, an organizational philosophy that seeks to proactively address conditions that give rise to crime, disorder, and fear by building problem-solving partnerships with community members. In early 2017, Chief Jim Porter and the BPD partnered with Portland State University's Criminology & Criminal Justice Department to conduct a survey of Bend residents. The purpose of the survey was to provide feedback on the agency's recent performance in achieving the community oriented goals of the strategic plan and to provide direction for the coming years. Key Findings - Most respondents to this survey reported feeling safe in their neighborhood, in the nearest park and in Downtown Bend during the daytime. Perceptions of safety were considerably lower at night for Downtown Bend and for the nearest park. - BPD received high performance ratings for being available when needed, dealing with problems that concern the community, and for reducing crime. Lower ratings were given for reducing traffic crashes. - Respondents reported a high level of confidence and trust in the BPD and the vast majority said they are willingness to work with the BPD to address public safety problems. - Nearly all of the respondents contacted by the BPD (i.e. given a traffic ticket or warning, interviewed regarding a crime, etc.) reported that they had been treated with respect, that the officer(s) involved listened to them, showed concern, and explained his/her actions. - Traffic offenses, harassment, and trespassing were the most frequently cited public safety issues for the past 12 months. Looking forward, however, residents cited violent crime, property crime, and traffic offenses as the top priorities for the coming year. - The majority of respondents support additional police patrols for evening hours and CCTV cameras to address problems downtown Bend. Details: Portland, OR: Portland State University, 2017. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 19, 2018 at: https://www.pdx.edu/criminology-criminal-justice/sites/www.pdx.edu.criminology-criminal-justice/files/PDF-Files/Research/PSU%20Public%20Safety%20Survey_Bend_2017_FINAL.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.pdx.edu/criminology-criminal-justice/sites/www.pdx.edu.criminology-criminal-justice/files/PDF-Files/Research/PSU%20Public%20Safety%20Survey_Bend_2017_FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 149505 Keywords: Police LegitimacyPolice-Community RelationsPublic AttitudesPublic Safety |
Author: Sheikh, Sanah Title: Literature review of attitudes towards violent extremism amongst Muslim communities in the UK Summary: The Office of Public Management (OPM) has been commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) to conduct a literature review that provides a better understanding of the perceptions of, and attitudes towards, violent extremism. The specific objectives of the review are to provide an overview of evidence on: - what Muslim communities' attitudes are towards violent extremism; - what Muslim communities understand by 'violent extremism' and how this understanding is shaped; - the reasons given for supporting or condemning violent extremism; - any patterns of change in attitudes over the last decade, and reasons for this change; and - how attitudes relate to behaviour towards violent extremism. The literature search, review and synthesis were informed by good practice guidelines issued by government agencies1 and universities. 2,3 These have been developed with the specific aim of synthesising diverse material to inform the evidence-based policy and practice movement within the UK. The search was conducted in partnership with search specialist, Alan Gomersall, Deputy Director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Policy and Practice (CEBPP). The review as conducted over a number of stages and literature was identified from a number of sources including database searches, expert and prevent lead consultation, website searches and OPM and CLG collected literature. After a rigorous sifting process, 36 items were included for review. The review found that there is a lack of clarity around the terminology used to describe violent extremism and 'support' for it. Additionally, there are also some limitations to the methods utilized in the material reviewed, and hence the data generated. Methodological weaknesses and a lack of detail around certain aspects of the methods used meant that it was difficult to assess the representativeness and significance of findings. This is the case, for example, for a number of polls and surveys, 4 which have been quoted extensively in this report. In the case of these studies, there is a lack of explanation about the methodology used, including the construction of the sample. Additionally, the purpose of these studies is to conduct a snap shot of public attitudes, rather than a more rigorous research study of the attitudes and beliefs in the Muslim community. Caution should therefore be used when interpreting findings. Details: London: Great Britain, Office for Public Management, Department for Communities and Local Government, 2010. 93p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 20, 2018 at: https://lemosandcrane.co.uk/resources/Violent%20extremism%202.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://lemosandcrane.co.uk/resources/Violent%20extremism%202.pdf Shelf Number: 118589 Keywords: Extremist GroupsMuslimsPublic AttitudesRadical GroupsTerrorismViolent Extremism |
Author: Pew Research Center Title: Shifting Public Views on Legal Immigration into the U.S.: Many Unaware that Most Immigrants in the U.S. are Here Illegally Summary: While there has been considerable attention on illegal immigration into the U.S. recently, opinions about legal immigration have undergone a long-term change. Support for increasing the level of legal immigration has risen, while the share saying legal immigration should decrease has fallen. The survey by Pew Research Center, conducted June 5-12 among 2,002 adults, finds that 38% say legal immigration into the United States should be kept at its present level, while 32% say it should be increased and 24% say it should be decreased. Since 2001, the share of Americans who favor increased legal immigration into the U.S. has risen 22 percentage points (from 10% to 32%), while the share who support a decrease has declined 29 points (from 53% to 24%). The shift is mostly driven by changing views among Democrats. The share of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who say legal immigration into the U.S. should be increased has doubled since 2006, from 20% to 40%. Growing share of Democrats support increased legal immigration into the U.S.Republicans' views also have changed, though more modestly. The share of Republicans and Republican leaners who say legal immigration should be decreased has fallen 10 percentage points since 2006, from 43% to 33%. Still, about twice as many Republicans (33%) as Democrats (16%) support cutting legal immigration into the U.S. The new survey, which was largely conducted before the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border involving immigrant children being separated from their parents, finds deep and persistent partisan divisions in a number of attitudes toward immigrants, as well as widespread misperceptions among the public overall about the share of the immigrant population in the U.S. that is in this country illegally. Details: Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2018. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 16, 2019 at: http://www.people-press.org/2018/06/28/shifting-public-views-on-legal-immigration-into-the-u-s/ Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: http://www.people-press.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/06/06-28-2018-Immigration-release.pdf Shelf Number: 154221 Keywords: Illegal ImmigrationImmigrant ChildrenImmigration PolicyLegal ImmigrationPublic AttitudesPublic Opinion |
Author: Public Safety Canada Title: Measuring Public Attitudes Towards the Police - Technical Report Summary: Few doubt the importance of what the public thinks about the police. From a normative perspective, the public deserve a police force they believe they can trust to fulfil its various functions in an effective, fair and just way. The public deserve a police force that is moral, just and appropriate - that has the legitimate right to exercise power and enforce the law. From a practical perspective, police rely on active public support and cooperation. Most crimes come to the attention of the police when members of the public report them. If the public do not trust the police, they are unlikely to cooperate with the police by reporting crimes or aiding police investigations. Likewise, if people do not believe that the police have the right to exercise power, they are unlikely to accept decisions and comply with officer orders. Currently, there is no common approach across Canada to measure public attitudes towards the police. The objective of this study was to develop empirically-informed indicators that can be used by Canadian police services for this purpose. This report is part of a larger project led by Public Safety Canada and Halifax Regional Police, in consultation with the policing community, to establish evidence-based indicators as a common data standard in Canada. Details: Ottawa, Canada: Public Safety Canada, 2019. 2p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 14, 2019 at: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2019-s001/2019-s001-en.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Canada URL: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2019-s001/index-en.aspx Shelf Number: 156976 Keywords: Community Collaboration Community Relations Police Citizen Relationships Police Community Relationships Police Partnerships Police Services Public Attitudes |