De burger als rechter, onderzoek naar geprefereerde sancties voor misdrijven in Nederland (projectnummer 1933B)

Given the opportunity, how would the Dutch public sentence perpetrators of different types of crime? To what extent are these verdicts related to characteristics of the crime event (e.g., offender characteristics, type of crime, victim characteristics)? Does the verdict depend on characteristics of the citizen who issues a sentence (e.g., young/old, male/female)? And does information about sentencing options (i.e. the costs involved and rates of recidivism) affect verdicts decided by members of the general population? These questions have been central in the current research project on sentencing preferences of the Dutch population.Politicians and media alike often state that Dutch judges are more lenient than the general public would like them to be, and that judges prefer different types of sanctions (choose different sentencing options) than the general public would. There is, however, no consensus among scientific researchers as to what extent a punitiveness gap between the general population and judges exists, and whether or not broad social support for actual sentencing practices is lacking. It was therefore also investigated if preferred sentences of the general population deviate from verdicts of Dutch courts.