29 March 2023
Only 47% of members of the public with experience of the criminal justice system say their confidence in the system improved as a result.
Some 22% were less confident afterwards. About half of more than 2,000 individuals surveyed by the House of Commons Justice Committee had served on a jury or had some other experience of the justice system.
One in five of the respondents did not know judges follow sentencing guidelines. Half the respondents support non-custodial sentences for non-violent offences. However, two-thirds opposed non-custodial sentences for violent offences.
Nearly two in five adults in England and Wales say they get their information on sentencing by courts from online news sources.
The survey, published this week, was commissioned by the committee for its inquiry, ‘Public opinion and understanding of sentencing’.
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