Understanding Public Attitudes to Criminal Justice (Crime and Justice) - Softcover

Roberts, Mike

Softcover

ISBN 10: 033521536X ISBN 13: 9780335215362

Publisher: Open University Press, 2005

Synopsis

• Which factors shape public opinion of criminal justice?
• How do the views of the public influence criminal justice policy and practice?

This book provides an introduction to public attitudes towards criminal justice. It explores the public’s lack of confidence in criminal justice processes, and summarizes findings on public attitudes towards the three principal components of the criminal process: the police, the courts, and the prison system. It examines the importance that people attach to different criminal justice functions, such as preventing crime, prosecuting and punishing offenders, and protecting the public. Topics include:

• Youth justice and public opinion
• Public perception of restorative justice
• Penal populism and media treatment of crime
• The reliability of public opinion polls
• The drivers of public opinion

Understanding Public Attitudes to Criminal Justice provides an international perspective on the issues surrounding criminal justice and public opinion, drawing on research from the UK, the United States and Canada and a range of other countries including South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Key reading for students in criminology, criminal justice, and media studies, this book is also of value to researchers and those with an interest in crime and the media.

About this title

About the Author

Julian V. Roberts is Reader in Criminology at the Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford. His previous publications include The Virtual Prison: Community custody and the evolution of imprisonment (2005), Penal Populism and Public Opinion (2002) and Making Sense of Sentencing (1999). Mike Hough is Director of the Institute for Criminal Policy Research at King's College London. He has extensive experience of survey work, and was a member of the team which started the British Crime Survey in 1980. His previous publications include Youth Crime and Youth Justice (with Julian V. Roberts, 2004), Changing Attitudes to Punishment (2002) and Policing for London (2002).

Edition details

• Publisher: Open University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 033521536X
• ISBN 13: 9780335215362
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 200