Public opinion of criminals linked to social inequality gap

The public's negative perception of criminals as 'poor' and 'uneducated' lead to demands for tougher sentences as prison populations become dangerously unsustainable.

These are the findings of Dr Carolyn Côté-Lussier, assistant professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, who carried out research on the link between social inequality and public support of 'harsh criminal justice'.

The research found that attitudes to criminals are not just shaped by the crimes they commit but by their perceived low social status. Criminals are stereotyped as 'poor' and 'uneducated', which the public equates with being callous and untrustworthy, according to the study.

Côté-Lussier suggested the public's punitive attitude toward crime could increase social inequality and that failing to address disadvantage could lead to greater public demands for harsh criminal justice policy. This is turn, she added, may be it difficult for government to tackle unsustainably high prison populations.

The findings also highlighted evidence that the devastating effect of criminal justice policies are felt most strongly by the poor, homeless, ethnic minorities, and those with mental health problems.

The research suggested that the over-representation of low status individuals might be perceived as justified because of stereotypes linking low social status to a perceived 'evil' and 'callous' disposition..

Côté-Lussier opined that public opinion is often a key issue in considering reforms to criminal justice policy: 'In the US and UK, public calls for harsher punishment remain high despite growing prison populations and decreasing crime rates over the past 20 years. This public opinion remains relatively constant regardless of what is really happening on the ground.'

The UK's prison population reached its capacity of 80,000 by 2006, before growing to over 94,000 by 2013 - a 17.5 per cent rise - making it one of the largest in Europe.

In a bid to improve the situation, Côté-Lussier has proposed countering stereotypical perceptions of criminals, particularly for nonviolent offenders or those in pre-trial detention. Furthermore, the study found that stereotypes given to criminals are associated with desires to exclude but not actually punish.

Côté-Lussier argued this could justify implementing penal policy reforms providing alternatives to prison for non-violent and young offenders, such as training programmes, receiving treatment and counselling and community service.

The professor also advocated that improving educational attainment could ultimately decrease public demands for harsh criminal justice policies and have the added benefit of reducing crime and the victimisation of vulnerable people such as those with low incomes.