Public Opinion Versus Public Judgment About Crime. Correcting the 'Comedy of Errors'

This paper builds a case for more defensible assessments of informed public opinion on crime control and penal policy. Mass-mediated portrayals of what the public want and ubiquitous self-selected opinion polls serve as common surrogates for informed public opinion. These highly suspect assessments...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Green, David A. (Author)
Contributors: Brookman, Fiona ; Bennett, Trevor
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
Published: 2006
In: The British journal of criminology
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
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Availability in Tübingen:Present in Tübingen.
IFK: In: Z 7
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Keywords:
Bevölkerung
Kriminalität
Kriminalitätskontrolle
Strafenpolitik
Urteilsbildung
Wissen
Öffentliche Meinung
Description
Summary:This paper builds a case for more defensible assessments of informed public opinion on crime control and penal policy. Mass-mediated portrayals of what the public want and ubiquitous self-selected opinion polls serve as common surrogates for informed public opinion. These highly suspect assessments have gained a level of credence in policy debates that is difficult to justify. Innovations like the Deliberative Poll show promise in facilitating what has been called public judgment' - a more reliable and refined state of informed public opinion. Less ambitious remedial proposals, including the public education programmes advocated by some experts and recently embraced by the Home Office, are insufficiently bold to make a significant and lasting impact on public knowledge and attitudes
ISSN:0007-0955
DOI:10.1093/bjc/azi050