Confidence in the criminal justice system

Public confidence is fundamental to the operation of the criminal justice system. The system depends on the participation of victims and members of the public who participate as witnesses and jurors. Low levels of public confidence also leads to disrespect and dissatisfaction with those responsible for administering the system. The political debate surrounding dissatisfaction has become well established over the past decade. Given the centrality of public confidence, it is not surprising there has been intense interest in measuring, understanding and addressing this phenomenon. This paper examines how confidence in the criminal justice system needs to be understood as a multidimensional construct with distinct differences in levels of confidence between the three major components of the system-police, courts and corrections. Public confidence declines from the police, to courts to prisons, suggesting the public views each component individually, rather than the criminal justice system as a whole. It is argued that the best way to improve confidence in these criminal justice institutions is to enhance the perception that the institution is acting on behalf of citizens and representing their interests.