Public Attitude Towards Prision
Wednesday the 15th of March 2006
Preferred initiatives to tackle crime
4 out of 10 adults (37%) if given a budget of €10 million to tackle
crime, would opt for additional Gardaí on the streets. 17% would look
for additional youth workers and 15% for additional drug treatment
facilities. Only 5% of adults surveyed chose building additional prison
facilities as their preferred choice for tackling crime.
The preferred options for non-violent offenders were; 41% proposed
drug treatment for offenders with drug problems, 39% proposed community
service and 34% proposed mental health treatment for offenders with
mental health problems.
Opinions of the Penal Systems
Those who participated in the research agreed almost universally
(91%) that mentally ill offenders should be treated in a mental health
facility instead of being sent to prison. Whilst 8 out of 10 (81%)
agreed that offenders with a drug addiction should be placed in drug in
drug recovery programmes instead of serving a prison sentence.
66% of respondants agreed that ore people come out of prison worse
then they go in. 54% of respondants disagreed with the statement
"increasing prison numbers will reduce crime."
44% agreed that criminalising drug use causes more problems than it
prevents, while 28% disagreed. This question also caused the most level
of uncertainty with 19% answering "neither agree nor disagree" and a
further 9% answering "don't know."
Youth Offenders
74% of those interviewed were in favour of using alternatives to prison when dealing with young offenders.
Perceived Proportion of Violent Offenders Committed to Prision
There is widespread misconception amongst the public regarding the
proportion of prisoners who served a sentence for a violent offence in
2005. Figures from the Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2005, show
that 15% of prisoners were convicted of a Group 1 or Group 2 offence.
However, the research findings show 69% of respondants overestimated
the proportion of prioners sentenced for violent offences compared to
just 4% who underestimated the proportion.
Preferred initiatives to tackle crime
4 out of 10 adults (37%) if given a budget of €10 million to tackle crime, would opt for additional Gardaí on the streets. 17% would look for additional youth workers and 15% for additional drug treatment facilities. Only 5% of adults surveyed chose building additional prison facilities as their preferred choice for tackling crime.
The preferred options for non-violent offenders were; 41% proposed drug treatment for offenders with drug problems, 39% proposed community service and 34% proposed mental health treatment for offenders with mental health problems.
Opinions of the Penal Systems
Those who participated in the research agreed almost universally (91%) that mentally ill offenders should be treated in a mental health facility instead of being sent to prison. Whilst 8 out of 10 (81%) agreed that offenders with a drug addiction should be placed in drug in drug recovery programmes instead of serving a prison sentence.
66% of respondants agreed that ore people come out of prison worse then they go in. 54% of respondants disagreed with the statement "increasing prison numbers will reduce crime."
44% agreed that criminalising drug use causes more problems than it prevents, while 28% disagreed. This question also caused the most level of uncertainty with 19% answering "neither agree nor disagree" and a further 9% answering "don't know."
Youth Offenders
74% of those interviewed were in favour of using alternatives to prison when dealing with young offenders.
Perceived Proportion of Violent Offenders Committed to Prision
There is widespread misconception amongst the public regarding the proportion of prisoners who served a sentence for a violent offence in 2005. Figures from the Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2005, show that 15% of prisoners were convicted of a Group 1 or Group 2 offence.
However, the research findings show 69% of respondants overestimated the proportion of prioners sentenced for violent offences compared to just 4% who underestimated the proportion.