Polling and Measuring Public Opinion on Juvenile Justice Issues

Increasing Juvenile Crime In actuality, arrests declined by 11% and felony violent arrests declined by 21%

Gallup poll consistently finds:

“juvenile crime is not really as serious as people are saying…”

Lenient juvenile justice system

Surveys throughout the years find the public supports a separate juvenile justice system: 1982: 75% 1988: 71% 1992: 80%

There is widespread support for processing some juveniles in the adult system… Similarly, a 1995 National Opinion Poll found 86% of public supported this for violent juvenile criminals; 69% agreed for conviction of selling illegal drugs.

Wording is important “In your view, should juveniles who commit violent crimes be treated the same as adults, or should they be given more lenient treatment in juvenile court?” With this emphasis, 68% of respondents favor treating juveniles the same as adults

Conversely, preference for leniency is also all about the wording… When asked how one would sentence a juvenile for a serious property crime, only 10% favored custody. 90% favored probation or community service.

Other factors that affect public opinion: Cognitive or developmental disabilities History of physical or sexual abuse Age: 14 or younger, less likely to support tough sentence. 16 or older, more likely to treat as an adult Previous criminal record: 2 prior convictions (regardless of type) more likely to treat as an adult.

Holding parents “accountable” “Parents should be charged with a crime if their children injure themselves or others with a gun kept in their household.” In 1995, fully HALF of all respondents agreed with this statement.

Conclusion: Public is misinformed Juvenile crime rates are NOT rising Public supports rehabilitation and a separate juvenile justice system Public is interested in learning details about the case…mitigating factors are important Public has little concrete knowledge of statistical trends in juvenile justice.

The Crime Problem How bad is it? How do we know for sure? Why are we concerned?

Crime is not as bad as we think Crime is not a new phenomenon –Socrates –Biblical –Modern How we deal with crime has changed –Role of communities –Alleviating social factors –Rehabilitation v. punishment Crime is not as bad as we may think –Steady decline since mid-1990s

Crime rates have been declining SOURCE: Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2003

…including violent crime SOURCE: Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2003

How do we know for sure? Data gathering techniques –Police reports (collected by FBI) –Victimization surveys (Census Bureau) –Self-report studies (justice agencies) –Longitudinal research –Meta-analysis However, these don’t tell the whole story

Public perception v. reality of crime Influenced by: Mass media Tabloidization Control of messages