§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the general population's attitude towards(a) prisons and (b) alternatives to prison as a means of punishment and rehabilitation. [182283]
§ Paul GogginsThe most recent assessment was made as part of the Review of the Sentencing Framework for England and Wales "Making Punishments Work", released in July 2001. This assessment is based on a review of the literature on attitudes to sentencing as well as a survey of public attitudes (conducted in October 2000). Full details can be found in Appendix 5 to the report.
Further information on public attitudes is also available in Home Office Research Study 245 (Improving public attitudes to the Criminal Justice System: The impact of information, Chapman et al, 2002). This includes details from a nationally representative sample on knowledge and attitudes to crime and sentencing.
In addition, information will be available in future as a result the Crime and Justice Survey. Results from this are currently being analysed and will provide information on offending, and people's attitudes towards the Criminal Justice System and sentences.