Summary
"The goal of the 2007 National Justice Survey (NJS) was threefold. First, the NJS (2007)
sought to develop an understanding of public confidence in the criminal justice system in
general, and in specific components of the justice system (e.g., police, courts). Second,
the NJS (2007) was designed to solicit public attitudes towards major criminal justice
policies. Given the federal government’s current focus on ‘Tackling Crime’, opinion was
sought on some of the more topical criminal justice policies being debated within the
political landscape, such as mandatory minimum penalties, conditional sentences, and
illegal drugs. The questions were essentially developed based upon the current priorities
within the Department of Justice, as well as discussions within Parliamentary Committees
and Federal/Provincial/Territorial Working-Groups. Thirdly, the questions within the
NJS (2007) were structured in order to better understand the factors that drive public
confidence in the criminal justice system, with a particular emphasis on the relationship
between justice policy and confidence."--Page 6.
Contents
1. Introduction -- 2. Method -- 2.1. Sample -- 3. Results -- 3.1. Public confidence in the criminal justice system -- 3.2. Perceptions of crime in Canada -- 3.3. Federal government’s tackling crime agenda -- 3.4. Principles of sentencing -- 3.5. Age of consent -- 3.6. Illegal drugs -- 3.7. DNA sampling -- 3.8. Bail -- 3.9. Conditional sentence of imprisonment -- 3.10. Mandatory minimum penalties -- 3.11. Predictors of public confidence -- 4. Discussion -- 5. Conclusion -- Appendix A. Questionnaire.