Do Stiff Fines Stop People From Drinking and Driving?
Would the public tolerate giving judges discretion in the sentencing of murderers?
Are online child pornography offenders likely to commit offences involving sexual contact with children?
Are job training programs for people leaving prison useful?
These — and another four — interesting questions get addressed summarily in the current issue [PDF] of Criminological Highlights, a publication of the University of Toronto’s Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies. Although criminal law is a specialty practised by relatively few lawyers, given the present federal government’s interest in crime, it might not be a bad idea if more of us educated ourselves about the facts pertaining to crime and punishment. Criminological Highlights is a good place to start.
For those truly pressed for time, research suggests that the answers to the questions above are: no, yes, probably not, and yes (in a way).
Comments are closed.