Public opinion about sentencing

Confidence in the courts is critical to the legitimacy and effective functioning of the criminal justice system. All government institutions require some level of support from the community, but confidence in the courts is arguably one of the most important for society. The public is central to the legitimacy and function of the criminal justice system: without confidence, people may be less willing to report crimes or to participate in the system as jurors or witnesses. Surveys measuring levels of public confidence in the criminal justice system have found that public trust and confidence are at critically low levels around the world (Roberts and Hough 2005). In particular, research comparing confidence across agencies within the criminal justice system has consistently found that people have high confidence in the police but low confidence in the courts and prisons (Hough and Roberts 2004). When asked why they have little confidence in the courts, people typically cite lenient sentencing. Some researchers have described this as a crisis of confidence in the courts. While it is difficult to determine if any given level of public confidence is objectively acceptable, there is consensus among researchers and policy-makers in many countries that this lack of public confidence is a cause for some concern. The potential implications of this crisis have led to varied attempts to promote public confidence in the system as a whole, but particularly in the courts.