Fulltext

Subjective Proximity to Crime or Social Representations? Explaining Sentencing Attitudes in Switzerland

Hammer, Raphaël ; Widmer, Eric ; Robert, Christian-Nils

In: Social Justice Research, 2009, vol. 22, no. 4, p. 351-368

Add to personal list
    Title
    • Subjective Proximity to Crime or Social Representations? Explaining Sentencing Attitudes in Switzerland
    Author
    • Hammer, Raphaël. Centre d'étude, de technique et d'évaluation législatives (CETEL), Faculty of Law, University of Geneva, bd du Pont-d'Arve 40, 1211, Geneva 4, Switzerland
    • Widmer, Eric. Department of Sociology, Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, University of Geneva, bd du Pont-d'Arve 40, 1211, Geneva 4, Switzerland
    • Robert, Christian-Nils. Department of Criminal Law, Faculty of Law, University of Geneva, bd du Pont-d'Arve 40, 1211, Geneva 4, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Language
    • English
    Published in
    • Social Justice Research, 2009, vol. 22, no. 4, p. 351-368. Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com
    Other Version
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:317585
    Summary
    Lay sentencing attitudes are considered in the light of two theoretical perspectives. The first perspective views sentencing attitudes as parts of broader sets of social representations anchored in one's position in the social structure. The second perspective explains sentencing attitudes by their subjective experiences of crime. This paper tests both theories by performing a series of multiple regressions on two dimensions of sentencing: punishment goals and severity of punishment. Empirical data comes from a quantitative survey conducted in Switzerland. Findings reveal that indicators of subjective proximity to crime largely account for sentencing attitudes. Nevertheless, social representations of crime measured by causes of crime also have a significant impact on sentencing attitudes. Implications of these findings for sentencing in Western democracies are discussed