Examining Public Preferences for the Allocation of Resources to Rehabilitative Versus Punitive Crime Policies

Baker, Thomas; Metcalfe, Christi; Berenblum, Tamar; Aviv, Gali; Gertz, Marc

doi:10.1177/0887403414521462

Cited by 40 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…More recently, scholars have used methods that probe support for rehabilitation by using forced‐choice questions that pit treatment/prevention versus punishment/imprisonment and by assessing the public's willingness to pay for competing policy alternatives. Support for rehabilitation has consistently been found in these studies (e.g., Baker, Cleary, Pickett, and Gertz, ; Baker, Metcalfe, Berenblum, Aviv, and Gertz, ; Cohen, Rust, and Steen, ; Nagin et al., ; Piquero and Steinberg, ).…”

Section: Public Opinion and Public Policymentioning

confidence: 73%

Rehabilitation in a Red State

Thielo

Cullen

Cohen

et al. 2015

Criminology & Public Policy

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Research Summary Based on a 2013 survey of 1,001 likely voters in Texas, public support for correctional reform in a “red state” was examined. Four major conclusions were revealed. First, the respondents displayed strong support for rehabilitation. Second, at least for nonviolent and/or drug offenders, the sample members showed a clear preference for the use of alternatives to incarceration as opposed to imprisonment. Third, when asked about a specific policy reform that used treatment rather than prison for nonviolent drug offenders, more than eight in ten Texans approved of the measure, and strong majorities endorsed various rationales for it. Fourth, with some minor variation, the respondents revealed substantial consensus across demographic groups in their embrace of rehabilitation and correctional reform. Policy Implications With the growth of mass imprisonment arguably at its end, the existence of strong public support for correctional reform even in the major red state of Texas, suggests that a new “sensibility” about crime control has taken hold. There is now an emergent national consensus that the overuse of incarceration is unsustainable and that low‐risk offenders no longer should be sanctioned with a prison sentence. The American public, in Texas and beyond, is willing to support a policy agenda that includes offender treatment, prison downsizing, and alternatives to incarceration. The challenge for elected officials is to take advantage of this ideological space and to pursue this agenda. Notably, politicians in Texas and in other red states are using this opportunity to implement correctional policy reforms. The data in this study indicate that they will face no public backlash and, if anything, will gain political capital for their efforts.

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Section: Public Opinion and Public Policymentioning

confidence: 73%

Rehabilitation in a Red State

Thielo

Cullen

Cohen

et al. 2015

Criminology & Public Policy

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“…That is, in an era that some consider "post-racial," it is clear that social science can better illuminate how situational and contextual factors, in addition to race, enhance the perceived association between African-Americans and crime. Extensive sociological research has already explored how a general fear of crime often explains support for policies that disproportionately impact Black communities (e.g., Baker, Metcalfe, Berenblum, Aviv, & Gertz, 2015;Unnever & Cullen, 2010;Unnever, Cullen, & Jones, 2008), suggesting that racial disparities in criminal justice outcomes are allowed to occur because race is no longer perceived to be the explicit and direct cause of punishment (e.g., Alexander, 2010;Lopez, 2014). Others have similarly suggested that attitudes about poverty are being used to justify racially discriminatory policies (e.g., Costelloe, Chiricos, & Gertz, 2009;Hogan, Chiricos, & Gertz, 2005).…”

Section: Reconceptualizing Anti-black Attitudesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rap music, race, and perceptions of crime

Dunbar

2019

Sociology Compass

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Scholars who study rap music have long expressed concerns that criticism of the genre is inextricably linked to stereotypes of young Black men in the United States. Yet minimal research has empirically examined how rap music is linked to race in ways that legitimize and maintain anti‐Black attitudes, particularly attitudes related to crime. This article reviews how scholars have typically challenged seemingly racialized concerns about rap music before surveying the handful of studies that empirically examine attitudes related to rap music, race, and crime. In so doing, this essay highlights a growing need for broader conceptualizations of race/ethnicity and social control.

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“…While we have seen an increase in research on public attitudes towards criminal justice practice in the past two decades (e.g. Baker, Metcalfe, Berenblum, Aviv, & Gertz, 2015, Enns, 2014Hough and Roberts, 1998;Darley, Carlsmith and Robinson, 2000;Roberts, Stalans, Indermaur, & Hough, 2003), there is little empirical research on this topic within a Scandinavian context.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Punishment justifications in rape cases: a community study

Bergstrøm

Evjetun²,

Bendixen

2017

jssccp

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Norway is one of the countries with the most progressive criminal justice systems in the Western world. Traditionally, the Norwegian criminal justice system has been mainly based on treatment and deterrence perspectives. While it is believed that criminal justice practices should be in accordance with public attitudes, few studies in Scandinavia have investigated public attitudes towards criminal justice sanctions in a methodologically sound manner. The current study is the first to investigate the attitudes of the Norwegian public towards punishment of rapists. In a Norwegian community sample (N = 475) from 2005, participants found the typical sentencing severity of a convicted rapist too lenient. The participants did report that as a global sentencing orientation, they preferred incapacitation. When presented with a specific rape case, their sentencing judgments were oriented towards both incapacitation and retribution, but their global orientation were not related to their specific judgments. Aggravating circumstances (e.g. violence was used) were found to influence the participants' judgments more than when no aggravating circumstances were present (e.g. no violence was used). Few gender or educational differences were found, which indicates that these attitudes toward punishment of rapists are quite consistent across demographical groups.

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Examining Public Preferences for the Allocation of Resources to Rehabilitative Versus Punitive Crime Policies

Cited by 40 publications

References 50 publications

Rehabilitation in a Red State

Rehabilitation in a Red State

Rap music, race, and perceptions of crime

Punishment justifications in rape cases: a community study

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