Abstract
Public opinion has been studied as an important influence in criminal policy and legislation. Different ways of measuring public preferences have been proposed. The aim of this study is to compare attitudes toward sex offenders when assessed through surveys and deliberative polls. An experimental design was used, with treatment and control groups and multiple observations. The results of the multivariate analyses show that the attitudes measured through deliberative polls are less punitive and more stable over time. The implications of this study for future research and the potential of deliberative polling in informing criminal policy are discussed.
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