Punishing Criminals: a Study of the Relationship between Conservatism

PERSONS arguing for and against changing legal codes and the penal system often refer to the state of public opinion. Such a reference is well founded because despite the fact legislators are sometimes ahead of public opinion (as in New Zealand when the death penalty was abolished or behind public opinion such as the six o'clock swill persisting past the time when later closing was over-whelmingly in favour) there is generally an attempt to administer justice and punishment in accordance with prevailing attitudes and behaviour. This is in keeping with the basic tenets of democracy but whether or not public opinion concerning penal policies is rational and based on the facts concerning the effec-tiveness of strategies concerning the treatment of offenders is another question. Casual observation suaaests there is a widespread approval of retributive penal policies, But high recidivism rates suggest policies geared to punishment yield little social benefit (apart from keeping some undesirables temporarily out of circulation). Although there is frequent discussion concerning the need to make punishment suit the offenders (or the offence) it would appear that cor