Image of Criminal Justice in Society - Functions and Processes of the Penal System

• NCJ Number: 80286
• Author(s): D Verneuil
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 240 pages
• Corporate Author: Services D'Etudes Penales et Criminologiques
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: French
• Country: France
• Note: Deviance et controle social (Deviance and Social Control Series), number 23

Annotation

The report analyzes the results of a series of quantitiative and qualitiative studies on the French public's image of the various elements of the criminal justice system.

Abstract

The analysis is based on interviews with 30 French citizens (16 men and 14 women) aged between 17 and 65 years old with varying educational, professional, familial, socioeconomic, religious, political and regional backgrounds. Findings indicate that respondents' perceptions of the criminal justice system are dependent on affective, normative factors manipulated by the usual sources of information, i.e., the media. Some individuals may integrate their knowledge about elements of the system after having had direct contact with the system, but the integration tends to remain incomplete. Time is an important factor in integration: recently acquired insights into the system are usually not integrated into the individual's overall view until a period of time has elapsed. In general, individuals' images of the system are dominated by attitudes associated with sociopolitical and ideological factors. The general lack of understanding of the system's function is the result of ideological domination which excludes the public. The system is often viewed as a model which pretend to settle interpersonal conflicts and which is to be tolerated as a necessary evil. The penal system is regarded to be a symptom of the limitations imposed by other social institutions. Notes and tables are supplied.