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Public Opinion and Sentencing

One of the Council's primary functions is to gauge public opinion on sentencing matters.

The Council reviewed research literature on public opinion and sentencing, and in July 2006 released a research paper on this area, entitled Myths and Misconceptions: Public Opinion versus Public Judgment about Sentencing.

Based on this research, the Council has adopted a number of ways to measure public opinion on various sentencing issues. The methods, which include roundtable discussions, meetings, and qualitative focus groups, will continue to form a major part of the Council’s consultation strategy.

In September 2008 the Council released an update to the original Myths and Misconceptions paper that reviews the most recent research literature in the field from mid-2006 through mid-2008. To accompany this update, the Council also released a research paper that examines some of the methodological issues in measuring public confidence in sentencing, with a particular focus on the use of public surveys.