New
Crime
and
Punishment
Poll
Shows
Most
Americans
Don't
Want
to
Throw
Away
the
Key
7/27/01
(The following is a press release from the ACLU. Visit http://www.aclu.org/features/f071901a.html for further info.) A new poll commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union reveals a strong dissatisfaction with the current state of the criminal justice system in America and a growing public confidence in rehabilitation and alternative punishments for nonviolent offenders. "Contrary to popular belief, punishment and retribution are not foremost in most Americans' minds," said Nadine Strossen, President of the ACLU. "In fact, this new study shows our nation to be far more concerned with rehabilitation and social reintegration than with throwing away the proverbial key." Of particular interest are the public attitudes about drugs and drug crimes revealed in the study. According to the poll, a majority of Americans draw sharp distinctions between trafficking in illicit narcotics and other drug offenses. While a majority believes that drug dealers should always be sent to prison, far fewer agree that users (25 percent), minor possessors (19 percent) or buyers (27 percent) should always be locked up. The public's recognition of the misdirection of the drug war and the race to incarcerate in America, the ACLU said, is also reflected in the finding that a majority of Americans (61 percent) oppose mandatory sentences that require an automatic sentence for nonviolent crimes. Many organizations have questioned whether Americans indeed have a lock-'em-up mentality, yet the ACLU's survey is the first to empirically demonstrate that this is not an accurate characterization. Prominent in the polling results is surprising support for and emphasis on rehabilitation for non-violent offenders. According to the poll, six in ten Americans believe that it is possible to rehabilitate a non-violent offender; four in ten believe the main purpose of prison is rehabilitation, rather than deterrence, punishment, or the protection of society. The study also found strong public support for changing the current laws so that fewer nonviolent offenses are punishable by prison (62 percent). In particular, Americans showed enthusiasm for alternatives for nonviolent offenders such as mandatory education and job training (81 percent), compensation to victims (76 percent) and community service (80 percent). The poll also studied society's views on education and skills training for offenders and showed very strong support for providing inmates with skills training in prison (88 percent). Only a very small minority of Americans believes punishment (two in ten) or deterrence (one in ten) to be the main role of the courts or prisons. The survey also shows that most Americans believe that prisons are largely failing in their rehabilitative mandate (six in ten). The poll therefore demonstrates, the ACLU said, that American citizens are dissatisfied with the status quo and favor decisive reforms of the criminal justice system that will render it more practical, more realistic and more responsive to current social needs.
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