In the light of a more punitive stance in Corrections and public
discontent with the criminal justice system, a number of studies have
been conducted since 1970 testing public punitiveness, probably in an
attempt to determine whether sentences laid down by courts are in
line with public perceptions on just deserts.
This study combines two scales: The first a Likert scale measuring
punitiveness as such and the second a "Just Deserts" scale testing
public reactions in terms of imprisonment for crime descriptions.
By using Pearson's correlation, no positive correlation could be
established between these two scales. Profiles of the top and bottom
15% scorers on both scales showed that the scales were, if anything,
negatively related.
This information is informative in the sense that opinion polls
showing public discontentment with sentencing cannot be seen as a
true reflection of their reactions to more descriptive cases. / Penology / M.A. (Penology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/15697 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Oliver, Charles Edwin |
| Contributors | Cilliers, C. H. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 1 online resource (xiv, 217 leaves) : illustrations |
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