Understanding public attitudes toward sentencing.
Public attitudes toward sentencing are complex. However, it is important to understand what the public's ideas are about the types of sentences that should be given to offenders. The aim of the present study was to empirically examine public attitudes toward sentencing in Canada. In particular, the public's sentencing preferences for offenders were investigated using the specific crime scenario method of questioning. The overall purpose was to determine which particular factors are related to, or predict, public sentencing preferences. The data for the present study were from the 1999 General Social Survey (GSS) administered by Statistics Canada. For the first time in 1999, the GSS sought to examine public attitudes toward sentencing. The public's sentencing preferences for offenders were investigated through the use of scenario-type questions. Respondents were presented with a hypothetical situation for which they were asked to choose "prison" or "non-prison". A total of 25, 876 people were interviewed for this survey. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 39-05, page: 1330.
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