systematic means to examine and reach understandings about that experience. As Brown
observed (1986, 58), “Only subjective opinions are at issue in Q and although they are typically
unprovable, they can nevertheless be shown to have structure and form, and it is the talk of Q-
technique to make this form manifest for purposes of observation and study.” Q technique
reveals patterns in the narratives.
In reviewing the literature on mass beliefs about criminal justice policy, we found several
narratives about crime. One is the Evil Person Narrative. A very different, less popular set of
beliefs could be called the Evil Society Narrative. A short examination of these narratives
follows.
The Evil Person Narrative
A major policy commitment was made in the 1980s to increase the punitive nature of
correctional systems in the United States. The assumption seemed to be that most criminals are
dangerous people who need to be locked up. Increasing the length of incarceration will keep
dangerous criminals off the streets and will deter potential criminals when they think about
engaging in crime (Irwin and Austin, 1997).
A number of studies in the 1980s suggested that there were “career criminals” from
whom society needed to be protected (Greenwood and Abrahamse, 1982; Blumstein, Cohen and
Farrington, 1988). A cohort of individuals was identified that continued to commit crime over a
long period of their lives. These “criminal careers” engendered fear in the public. The media,
along with politicians, responded to this perceived concern by advocating an increase in the
length of prison terms and the numbers of people being incarcerated.
The Evil Person Narrative reflects the concern about “career criminals” as generators of
Convention