ABSTRACT

There has long been concern among academics and those in criminal justice professions regarding the public’s seemingly enthusiastic support for punitive responses to sexual offenders, such as long sentences, residency restrictions, registration, and community notification. Yet there has been little research to date on what motives may be driving the endorsement of these policies, particularly registration. Our understanding is further muddled by conflicting research on punitive attitudes in general, with some suggesting that retributive motives are behind such attitudes while others report the efficacy of utilitarian motives. Using a sample of 376 university students, the current study sought to determine whether retributive, utilitarian, or other motives drove support for longer sentences and registration for juvenile and adult sexual offenders. Results indicated that motives largely differed between the two sanctions as well as the two age groups of offenders. Both retributive and utilitarian motives contributed to support for policies, suggesting that these motives work in congruence with one another. This has clear implications for policy discussions, as advocates for criminal justice reform should be appealing to both motives to change societal attitudes.

摘要

长期以来，学术界和刑事司法专业人士一直担心公众似乎热情支持对性犯罪者的惩罚性反应，例如长期刑期、居住限制、登记和社区通知。然而，迄今为止，很少有人研究推动这些政策得到认可的动机，尤其是注册。对一般惩罚性态度的相互矛盾的研究进一步混淆了我们的理解，一些人认为这种态度背后是报复性动机，而另一些人则报告了功利主义动机的功效。目前的研究使用了 376 名大学生的样本，试图确定是否报复性、功利性或其他动机推动了对青少年和成人性犯罪者的更长刑期和登记的支持。结果表明，两种制裁以及两个年龄组的犯罪者之间的动机差异很大。报复性动机和功利性动机都有助于支持政策，这表明这些动机相互协调。这对政策讨论具有明显的意义，因为刑事司法改革的倡导者应该呼吁改变社会态度的两种动机。