The Public and the Justice System: Attitudes, Drivers and Behaviour - A Literature Review

6 Conclusions

Key messages for policy and practice

6.1 This literature review has demonstrated the importance of people's personal experience in shaping their attitudes to the justice system - their experience of the justice system, their experience of the area they live in, and the stories they hear about the experiences of those they know or identify with. In both individual encounters, and in general relationships between the system and communities, it is crucial that people feel that the justice system and its representatives have the best interests of people, and communities, at heart, that they behave fairly, neutrally, respectfully, and allow people to have their say.

6.1.1 There are some factors which we might have expected to be more influential than the evidence suggests, such as crime victimisation, knowledge about performance trends and media reporting. It is an important message for policymakers and practitioners alike that the media neither directly reflect public opinion, nor directly influence it.

6.1.2 The evidence on what works to improve attitudes to the justice system supports this, and finds that the methods which have been found to improve attitudes centre on direct engagement, either in person, by sight, or by other forms of communication like newsletters. The most important aspect to all these forms of engagement is that they are based on a sound understanding of what people want from the justice system and its representatives, in terms of how they want to be treated, the issues that are important to them, the actions and the information they want.

6.1.3 This literature review gives some direction as to how improved attitudes can be achieved, but has also found that the needs of the public vary between communities and across demographic groups. The best way to maximise public attitudes in the justice system is to engage with users and local communities in a meaningful, honest and committed way. This has the potential to improve not only people's attitudes, but their behaviour.

Reflections on the evidence landscape

6.2 This literature review has examined a wide range of research evidence and has outlined strong findings, especially in the areas of procedural justice and attitudes to the police. Throughout this report, however, we have also identified several areas where there is not enough evidence to reach firm conclusions, for which further research, and analysis of existing data, is required. These are:

• Scottish trends in attitudes to the civil justice system, civil and criminal courts, fines and prisons
• The differences in extent and nature of attitudes to and experiences of the justice system across age, gender, ethnicity, deprivation, and minority groups in Scotland.
• The relationship between views on sentencing and attitudes to the Scottish justice system.
• Drivers of attitudes to the Scottish civil justice system
• What works to improve attitudes to courts, judges, prisons, fines, and community sentences in Scotland.

6.2.1 Research in these areas would provide a fuller picture of trends in and drivers of attitudes to the justice system, and what works to improve attitudes.

6.2.2 The limitations to the scope of this review should also be noted. This review focused on public attitudes to the justice system, and aimed to provide a high level summary of the evidence in this area. Thus existing literatures on more detailed, or tangential topics which may add to these findings, have been omitted. These include the literatures on fear of crime, the experiences of specific user groups (e.g. offenders and victims), the relationship between process and outcome judgements, and research on wider drivers of cooperation and compliance.

6.2.3 It is also worth noting that some of the data outlined in the first chapter of this report focused on people's views on instrumental, performance related aspects of what the justice system does, such as local police's ability to catch criminals. However, this literature review has found that more central to people's attitudes to local police is to what extent they are seen as procedurally just, as examined in questions such as whether local police listen to the concerns of local people.

6.2.4 Future research and analysis in this area should take this evidence into account when considering how to approach and measure public attitudes to the justice system. Relevant to this is the recent Eurojustis project, which aimed to identify robust survey questions to measure trust and confidence in justice (see Hough & Sato 2011).

6.2.5 In conclusion, this literature review has taken a comprehensive look at the evidence on what people think about the justice system, what influences those attitudes, how this impacts on people's behaviour in terms of cooperation and compliance, and how attitudes can be improved. This evidence has direct and practical relevance both for justice policy, and for practitioners throughout the justice system. We have seen that public attitudes are not entirely within the control of the justice system itself and those working within it, but we have also seen that it is within the power of policy and practitioners to improve people's experiences with the justice system, and their attitudes towards it in terms of confidence, trust, and perceived legitimacy.