Abstract
This study aimed to explore (1) how images toward criminals and victims were structured, and (2) how they related to attitudes toward criminal justice. In the pilot study, a qualitative method was used to collect images toward criminals and victims and the results were classified into different categories. In the subsequent quantitative study, factor analyses were performed on the 54 items created on the basis of the pilot study. The results showed that the images toward criminals comprised three factors— “negative image,” “image regarding criminals’ circumstances,” and “redeemability image”—and those toward victims comprised four factors— “image regarding victims’ predicament,” “emotional image,” “image regarding universality of victimhood,” and “negative image.” A correlation analysis was then conducted to examine the relationship between these extracted factors and attitudes toward criminal justice. The results revealed that each factor of images toward criminals and victims correlated with different sub-scales of attitudes toward criminal justice. Regarding the practical implications of the study, as images toward criminals and victims were not one-sided, their ambivalence during the formulation of criminal policies should be considered.
