Criminal Justice (Page 10)

short readsAug 13, 2013

Americans skeptical of value of enforcing marijuana laws

Roughly three–in-four Americans say government efforts to enforce marijuana laws cost more than they are worth.
short readsAug 5, 2013

Even in white collar crime, female crooks face a glass ceiling

A study finds that female white-collar crooks face the same glass ceiling as their law-abiding peers in the corporate world: they typically hold inferior positions to men, rarely are in charge and make significantly less money for their dirty deeds than their male accomplices.
short readsAug 2, 2013

Chart of the week: The problem of prison overcrowding

Prison overcrowding is a problem for countries around the world, including the United States, where 30,000 California prison inmates initiated a hunger strike in July to protest solitary confinement policies at the state’s prisons. Now in its fourth week, nearly 500 inmates are still refusing meals. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the state to reduce […]
reportJul 22, 2013

Big Racial Divide over Zimmerman Verdict

Overview The public is divided over the not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial and over the conversation about race that has surrounded it. The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted July 17-21 among 1,480 adults nationwide finds roughly as many satisfied with the verdict in the case (39%) as dissatisfied […]
reportJul 15, 2013

Modest Public Interest in Close of Zimmerman Trial

Overview The final days of the trial of George Zimmerman, which concluded July 13 with a verdict of not guilty, attracted relatively modest public interest overall. In a weekend survey, 26% say they were following news about the trial very closely. This is lower than interest in the initial controversy over Trayvon Martin’s shooting when […]
short readsJun 21, 2013

Sesame Street reaches out to 2.7 million American children with an incarcerated parent

Last week, Sesame Street added a new character — Alex, a child whose father is in prison. The new feature was meant to deal with the reality of a sharp increase in the number of incarcerated adults in the U.S.
reportJun 12, 2013

Sexual Assault in the Military Widely Seen as Important Issue, But No Agreement on Solution

Overview A substantial majority of Americans (81%) view sexual assault in the military as an extremely or very important issue. But the public does not believe the problem of sexual assault is a bigger problem in the military than outside it: Just 11% say it is more of a problem inside the military, 23% say […]
reportMay 7, 2013

Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

National rates of gun homicide and other violent gun crimes are strikingly lower now than during their peak in the mid-1990s, paralleling a general decline in violent crime, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data. Beneath the long-term trend, though, are big differences by decade: Violence plunged through the 1990s, but has declined less dramatically since 2000.
reportMay 7, 2013

Gun Homicide and Violent Crime

Note Some trends shown in this report have been updated. Rates for overall gun deaths, firearm homicides and firearm suicides have been updated through 2013. The rate for non-fatal violent firearms victimizations has been updated through 2014. Updated charts and information can be found here. National rates of gun homicide, non-fatal gun crime and all […]
reportJun 20, 2012

Mexicans Back Military Campaign Against Cartels

As Felipe Calderón’s term as Mexico’s president draws to a close, Mexicans continue to strongly back his policy of deploying the military to combat the country’s powerful drug cartels, despite public unease about the moral cost of the drug war. Meanwhile, a majority of Mexicans say they have a positive opinion of the U.S.