Punitiveness, fear of crime, and perceptions of violence

Develops and tests a multivariate model accounting for attitudes of punitiveness toward criminal offenders. While those with accurate information about the prevalence of violent crime in Canadian society tend to favour less severe sentences for the convicted, the only factor that has a substantial effect on the degree of punitiveness expressed by respondents is the nature of the crime, ie whether it is violent or not. (Abstract amended)