Perceptions of Prison and Punitive Attitudes

Abstract

The penal escalation hypothesis holds that people’s (mis)perception of prisons as being inadequately harsh will influence their punitive attitudes toward other punishments and components of the criminal justice system. In this study, I present the first test of the penal escalation hypothesis with survey data from residents of the United States of America. I find that people’s perceptions of life and conditions in prison are significantly related to their opinions about other punitive and progressive aspects of criminal justice policy and practice. I argue that these findings should lead scholars to reevaluate the importance of instrumental versus symbolic factors when attempting to explain variation in people’s opinions about punishment and justice.

Prisión y Estigma. Un Estudio desde la Perspectiva Socioeducativa y de Género

“…Precisamente, ese es el caso de los entornos penitenciarios y las personas que allí cohabitan, donde el régimen de vida de los internos es desconocido por los ciudadanos; la prisión es percibida como una institución con demasiadas flexibilidades, que no cumple su función reinsertiva o que requiere de mayor rigor en las condiciones del cumplimiento de condena. Aspectos en los que los medios de comunicación influyen, al igual que la ideología política o la percepción sobre los aspectos punitivos (Conejo y Mora, 2008;Walmsley, 2018;Wozniak, 2016).…”

Tempering the Taste for Vengeance: Information About Prisoners and Policy Choices in Chile

“…Perhaps surprisingly, such attitudes are not necessarily correlated with actual levels of crime. 4 The public’s perceptions about prison and the prison population are also relevant (Wozniak, 2016). Many citizens believe that prison conditions are overly lenient and accommodating to inmates (Roberts & Hough, 2005).…”