Lady Dorrian

Ipsos MORI conducted a 15-minute telephone survey with 1,000 randomly selected adult residents in Scotland between 13 March to 7 April 2019 on behalf of the council.

The survey also revealed that 62 per cent of respondents were confident that Scotland’s criminal justice system is fair to all and that those who thought that crime in their local area had increased were most likely to have a lack of confidence in the system.

People were more likely to say the emphasis should be on rehabilitation when sentencing a young person as compared to sentencing an adult, and respondents felt that public protection was the most important purpose of sentencing, followed by rehabilitation of offenders.

When asked how offenders should be sentenced in specific scenarios, the most common response was broadly in line with likely sentences for four out of the five offences covered.

Lady Dorrian, Lord Justice Clerk and chair of the Scottish Sentencing Council, said: “The council is grateful to Ipsos MORI and all those who participated in the survey. Developing an understanding of how the public views sentencing, both in general and in relation to those topics on which we are currently developing guidelines, is absolutely crucial. This is a significant piece of research and the results will be considered further as we progress our work programme.

“While it is positive that most people contacted felt they had a good knowledge of sentencing options, it is clear from the survey that there remains work to be done to demystify sentencing in Scotland. This research gives the council some insight into how we can most effectively contribute to improving that public understanding.

“Part of that work is undoubtedly the development of clear, concise sentencing guidelines which help explain how sentencing works. For example, we are currently consulting on a draft guideline setting out the sentencing process for all offences, which we hope will be of particular interest to the public. I would urge anyone with an interest in how sentences are decided in Scotland to take part in the consultation exercise.”

Lady Dorrian added: “This survey gives us valuable insight into public attitudes towards causing death by driving and sexual offences. The findings will be carefully considered as the Council continues its work on these guidelines.”

View the survey here