NCJ Number
102768
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 14 Issue: 5 Dated: (1986) Pages: 413-431
Date Published
1986
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Findings from the National Survey of Crime Severity, the largest survey ever conducted of how the general public in the United States ranks the seriousness of a variety of offenses, are compared with the offense severity index used by the U.S. Parole Commission as one component of its decisionmaking guidelines.
Abstract
This comparison illustrates a practical method for using survey research to provide feedback to criminal justice policymakers. The necessity of distinguishing between harm and culpability, when examining the concept of 'offense seriousness' in the context of sentencing policy, is then discussed. (Author abstract)