ABSTRACT
In the fall of 2004, shortly after the release of a report about the number of Belgians held captive in foreign prisons, a journalist asks Rudi Veestraeten, Director-General of Consular Affairs of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: ‘Isn’t it ambiguous that the public demands harsher punishment for criminals in Belgium, but sympathizes with imprisoned Belgians abroad?’ (De Standaard, 16 October 2004). The question highlights two important issues in the public debate about crime control policies. On the one hand, that debate is characterized by references to the opinions, desires and expectations of ‘the public’, and most often those references are negative: politicians, magistrates, police and media assume that the public wants harsher punishment. On the other hand, the journalist suggests that the public is ambivalent about these issues. Apparently, the public isn’t that clear about what the right punishment is or should be.
