Public Opinion and Criminal Justice

'This volume, edited by two British psychologists, has as its purpose addressing some of the complexities of public opinion about crime, identifying consistencies in such opinion, and demonstrating circumstances under which public opinion has a measurable impact on policy responses to crime. The authors of the ten chapters are primarily British and US criminologists. The book is divided into two parts. The five chapters in the first part examine such matters as attitude formation and its consequences in relation to such issues as the death penalty. They address the interaction of public opinion with the criminal justice system and the demographics of public opinion. A call for better approaches to research methods, as well as strategies for better educating the public on criminal justice policy, is also part of this section. Part 2 addresses specific dimensions of public opinion in relation to victims, offenders, and the police, among other topics. Victim perceptions affect crime reporting. Altogether, a useful collection of recent research on a consequential topic that should be of interest to a fairly broad audience of students, educators, and policy makers. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.' – D. O. Friedrichs, University of Scranton in Choice