THEORIES OF CRIME, ATTITUDES TO PUNISHMENT AND JUROR BIAS AMONGST POLICE, OFFENDERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC

A questionnaire was constructed to investigate theories of criminality, pre-trial juror bias and attitudes towards punishment amongst three groups: police officers, a sample of die general public and a group of offenders. It was anticipated that police would be prosecutor biased, advocate harsher sentences for criminal acts and be inclined to view crime as a deviation from a socially acceptable norm-a 'consensus' view. In contrast, offenders were expected to show a defence bias, be more lenient in their sentencing and hold a 'conflict' ideology, i.e. view criminals as victims of circumstance. The general public group were expected to show less extreme responses on any of the purported dimensions. All hypotheses were supported, and the relative importance of both of these potentially influencing factors is discussed.