Public Opinion regarding Crime, Criminal Justice, and Related Topics

Abstract

Results of surveys of public opinion regarding topics of im portance to criminal justice are widely available from a variety of sources. In addition to national pollsters who regularly in clude such questions in their periodic polls, governmental com missions often conduct in-depth surveys on specialized topics. Although these public opinion data offer a wealth of critical information which can be of value to criminal justice planners, practitioners, and academicians alike, these data have been largely ignored. The primary purpose of this paper is to explore the nature, scope, and sources of public opinion data which are currently available.