|
|
01 September 2010
Participants:
• Leif Petter Olaussen, University of Oslo
• Flemming Balvig, University of Copenhagen
• Henrik Tham, University of Stockholm
• Kristina Jerre, University of Stockholm
• Helgi Gunnlaugsson, University of Iceland
• Aarne Kinnunen, Ministry of Justice in Finland
About the project:
On August 19, 2010, the main findings of a large NSfK project on public attitudes to punishment were presented in Copenhagen during a Nordic criminology conference. This project started a few years ago and was modelled after a study conducted by Flemming Balvig in Denmark in 2006. All of the five Nordic countries participated. Leif Petter Olaussen from the University of Oslo, Flemming Balvig from the University of Copenhagen, Henrik Tham and Kristina Jerre from the University of Stockholm, Helgi Gunnlaugsson from the University of Iceland and Aarne Kinnunen from the Justice Ministry in Finland. The findings from each country were presented at the conference to about two hundred experts in the field, among others the Minister of Justice in Denmark who opened the conference.
The findings drew quite some attention in the Nordic media. Many newspapers reported on the main findings and DR I in Denmark for example included a ten minute segment on the study in their news hour. In the study a variety of methods was employed to gain a deeper insight to the subject than typically is used. First a telephone survey of general attitudes toward punishment, second an informed mail survey with info on punishment types and six crime stories vignettes , third, 12 representative focus groups were participants watched a video clip from one of the cases in court, and finally a judge panel decision on the cases presented to the public in the mail survey and focus groups for comparison.
The major findings show that with more concrete information and discussion about crime and punishment the more lenient the public becomes - most evident in the focus groups.
The mail survey and focus groups showed that in almost all cases participants underestimated how harsh the courts really are. In all of the six cases was the judge decision more harsh than the public.
These findings contradict conventional wisdom about the public and punishment. Harsher measures are often justified by citing the public opinion - but the picture is more complex than this according to the study.
Nordic media coverage about the research:
Dagens Nyheter (Swedish)
Aftenposten (Norwegian)
Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law:
Reports on the research:
Status: Ongoing
Name: Helgi Gunnlaugsson
Country: Iceland
Contact: helgigun@hi.is