Public Perceptions about the Criminal Justice System

St Amand (2001) examined public attitudes about the criminal justice system regarding sentencing decisions. The study indicated significant dissatisfaction from the public regarding the perception of leniency offered to criminal offenders. The study's purpose was to explore the relationship between public attitudes towards the criminal justice system and the awareness of decisions leading to offenders' sentencing (St Amand, 2001). The study used qualitative and quantitative approaches to research by examining past studies, questionnaires, and analyzing survey data. The study's key research question was, what was the impact of public knowledge on sentencing decisions and the criminal justice system on public attitudes and perceptions? The data collection methods for this study were surveys initially used in the pilot study. The data collected for the pilot study involved a sample size of eighty participants, all undergraduates in university. The pilot study results revealed that the participants considered more considerable fines and were less lenient on the jail terms. The main study involved a sample size of eighty-four participants, also undergraduates from the university. The results of the main study revealed similar outcomes where participants reported overall dissatisfaction. According to St Amand (2001), surveys proved problematic because the data collected showed discrepancies compared to mock sentencing exercises. The study's researchers acknowledged that a more random approach to community samples rather than target groups would have been suitable. Therefore, using data undergraduate university students presented a limitation on the public's generalization, showing a key concern for future research. The study identified that the lack of familiarity with the criminal justice systems' practices influenced public dissatisfaction with the system. The study provided recommendations agreeing with (Roberts, 1994), who argued that public legal education had a high likelihood of increasing public confidence in the criminal justice system. The potential implication for the findings of the study indicated that lack of or inadequate knowledge of judiciary practices and procedures minimizes public satisfaction on the criminal justice system.

References

Roberts, J. V. (1994). Public knowledge of crime and justice: An inventory of Canadian findings. Department of Justice Canada, Research, Statistics and Evaluation Directorate, Corporate Management, Policy and Programs Sector. St Amand, M. D., & Zamble, E. (2001). Impact of information about sentencing decisions on public attitudes toward the criminal justice system. Law and human behavior, 25(5), 515-528.