Public Opinion and Criminal Justice Policy Formulation

• DOI: 10.1177/088740348700200202
• Author: C. Ronald Huff,Bruce Johnson
• Date: 01 June 1987
• Published date: 01 June 1987
• Subject Matter: Articles

118

Public

Opinion

and

Criminal

Justice

Policy

Formulation

Bruce

Johnson

National

Institute

of

Justice

C.

Ronald

Huff

Ohio

State

University

Abstract

This

article

examines

the

use

of

public

opinion

in

the

formulation

of

criminal

justice

policy

by

state

government

agencies.

Although

democratic

political

ideology

suggests

that

government

must

be

responsive

to

the

people,

the

complexities

of

modern

society

make

difficult

the

determination

of

how

best

to

assess

and

utilize

public

opinion

in

the

policy

process.

This

article

addresses

that

issue

by

examining

the

results

of

a

study

that

generated

four

databases:

(1)

a

national

survey

of

147

state

government

agencies;

(2)

a

random

sample

of

805

citizens

located

in

a

large,

representative

state;

(3)

a

survey

of

31

interest

groups;

and

(4)

a

survey

of

133

state

legislators.

The

study

suggests

that

methods

currently

used

to

assess

public

opinion

may

be

unreliable,

while

the

public

opinion

poll,

which

offers

significant

advantages,

is

an

underutilized

tool

in

state

criminal

justice

policymaking.

To

what

extent

do

agencies

of

state

government

attempt

to

assess

and

utilize

public

opinion

in

formulating

criminal

justice

policy?

What

methods

are

most

frequently

employed

in

such

assessments?

How

accurately

do

legislators

perceive

the

opinions

of

their

constituents?

This

study

addresses

these

and

other

important

questions

concerning

the

linkage

between

public

opinion

and

state

criminal

justice

policy

formulation.

Public

Opinion

and

Contemporary

Democracy

Traditional

conceptions

of

democracy

frequently

embody

three

principal

ideas:

(1)

rule

by

the

people,

(2)

a

government

that

reflects

the

preferences

of

the

citizenry,

and

(3)

a

government

that

makes

decisions

in

the

&dquo;public

interest.&dquo;

These

fundamental

concepts

define

the

relationship

between

the

people

and

their

government

in

a

democratic

system.

Those

who

lead

in

a

democracy

do

so

through

the

consent

of

the

governed

(Luttbeg, 1974).

While

democratic

theory

suggests

a

degree

of

governmental

subservience

to

the

will

CJPR,

VOL.

2,

6/87,