ABSTRACT
In this chapter we continue to pursue the issue of public awareness of criminal justice. We explore the extent of people's knowledge of the legal system and the criminal justice system. A diversity of issues is included because research has not systematically examined every stage of the criminal justice process. Our focus in this chapter is upon adults' knowledge of the criminal law and the criminal justice system. It is worth noting that research using younger subjects (i.e., children and adolescents) shows widespread ignorance of the law (see Peterson-Badali and Abramovitch, 1992 for a review). The results of surveys at the adult level show that many misconceptions about the criminal process persist into adulthood, suggesting that public legal education is a priority for adults as well as adolescents. Before turning to the results of surveys dealing with specific issues, we note the findings from surveys which have posed a series of questions on a diversity of criminal justice topics. For example, Cumberland and Zambie (1992) posed a series of knowledge questions to a sample of Canadian residents. Scores on this test of criminal justice knowledge could range to a maximum of 100 points. The mean score of the sample was forty-four. Thus the average response of the group was a failing grade on criminal justice knowledge.
