WEEK 21 LECTURES 1 & 2: THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM Flashcards
WHAT IS CRIMINOLOGY?
“The body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon. It includes within its scope the processes of making laws, of breaking laws, and of reacting to the breaking of laws… the objective of criminology is the development of a body of general and verified principles and of other types of knowledge regarding this process of law, crime, and treatment”
(Sutherland and Cressey).
*Criminologists = academics who study crime and the criminal legal system
WHY SHOULD WE STUDY CRIME?
- Social scientists believe it is intrinsically worthwhile to learn about all aspects of our social lives, including criminal behaviour and society’s response to this behaviour (i.e., it can tell us a great deal about our society)
- Just as an understanding of disease helps medical scientists develop cures, before we can reduce crime, we need to understand it
- Crime directly or indirectly affects all of us (e.g., victims, paying for costs of crime and crime control system through taxation, employed in the system, etc.)
6 MAIN AREAS OF CRIMINOLOGY
- The definition of crime and criminals
- The origins and role of the law
- The social distribution of crime
- The causation of crime
- Patterns of criminal behaviour
- Societal responses to crime
CANADA’S CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM
Policing
- Federal (RCMP) – enforce all federal legislation such as the controlled drugs and substances act; act as provincial police force in all jurisdictions except Ontario, Quebec, and some parts of Newfoundland and Labrador; act as municipal forces in some communities
- Provincial (OPP) – fills gaps between municipal services and patrols provincial highways and waterways; investigates cross-jurisdictional major crimes; provides support to municipal forces for major cases
- Municipal (Kingston Police) – respond to local emergency calls, patrol public areas, regulate traffic, control crowds, etc.
CANADA’S CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM
Defining and Classifying Crime
In Canada, ”crime” is defined as the prohibition against certain conduct coupled with a penalty for violating that prohibition.
The Criminal Code of Canada classifies criminal offences into three categories:
* Indictable offences
* Summary convictions
* Hybrid offences
Basic Elements of a Crime:
* Actus Reus – Guilty act
* Mens Rea – Guilty mind
CANADA’S CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM
Types of courts
Provincial Courts – summary offences and less serious indictable offences (judge, no jury)
Superior Court of Justice – more serious
criminal offences (choose between judge alone
or judge and jury. Exception: murder – judge +
jury always)
Supreme Court of Canada – cases of public
importance and national significance; final
court of appeal and last judicial resort
- R V Morgentaler 1988
- R v Ewanchuk [1999]
Mandatory Charges – people may be deterred from calling the police for assistance due to
mandatory charging policies (e.g., domestic violence in Ontario)
*only a fraction of those get a court case
*only a fraction of those get a conviction
*only a fraction of those go to prison
Victimization trends in Canada
Young people more than older people
- in and out of relationships
- younger people feel less stigma for reporting
- women more educated
- use of drugs and alcohol
- associating with strangers
women - sexual assault 50 for every thousand
men - sexual assault 9 for every thousand
Why might sexual assault not get reported?
- stigma
- usually someone you know
- mandatory charge policies
- crime funnel (low odds of conviction)
- perceived severity not bad
- self-victim blaming
- inadequate victim protection
Crime Severity Index in Canada
The Canadian Crime Severity Index measures changes in the level of severity of crime in Canada from year to year. It is complementary to the crime rate which measures only the volume of crime reported to police per 100,000 population.
moral panic: widespread feeling of fear, often irrational that something threatens values, interests, or wellbeing of community
Incarceration Trends in Canada
Canada has a relatively low incarceration rate compared to other countries. The United States has the highest at 724/100,000 followed by Russia at 581/100,000.
- Across the nation, Manitoba has the highest
incarceration rate (231/100,000) - roughly ¾ of inmates are Indigenous despite making up only 15% of Manitoba’s population - As criminologists, we might ask: WHY is the
incarceration rate highest in Manitoba? WHY are
Indigenous people over-represented in the prison population?
SENTENCING PRACTICES
TYPES OF SENTENCES:
TYPES OF SENTENCES:
1.Incarceration
* Federal penitentiary (2+ years)
* Provincial prison (< 2 years)
* Release can be through
(1) parole
- confined area
- place of employment
- continue to serve sentence in community
or (2) sentence expiry
* What is a conditional release?
- serving weekends
- day parole for employment
2.Conditional Sentence (e.g., house arrest)
- house arrest
- very specific requirements
- still surveillance component
3.Fines
CANADA’S DARK HISTORY WITH THE RCMP
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE RCMP
- The North West Mounted Police (NWMP) was established by the Canadian government in 1873
- In 1874, the NWMP deployed to Western Canada to assert sovereignty over Indigenous people and their lands
- In 1920, the NWMP becomes the RCMP, but its paramilitary origins remain visible
- In 1933, The Indian Act appointed RCMP officers as “truant officers” to enforce attendance and return truant children to residential schools
Dark history leads to a lack of trust in authorities
*RCMP may treat them as acting difficult and volatile
RCMP now
- hire more indigenous people
- mandatory training
- Relationship-building initiatives
REIMAGINING INDIGENOUS CRIMINAL JUSTICE I (CUNNEEN & TAURI 2016)
GLADUE REPORTS:
o S. 718.2(e) of the criminal code requires that all available sanctions other than imprisonment, that are reasonable in the circumstances, should be considered for all offenders, with particular attention to the circumstances of Indigenous offenders R V. Gladue (1999)
Gladue was accused of second-degree murder after killing her fiancée with a knife; she pled guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. They had been fighting about infidelity when the incident occurred; both were Indigenous
Gladue was sentenced to three year but appealed on the grounds that s 718.2 (e) was not considered in the sentencing. Went to Supreme Court and judge agreed that specific circumstances should be taken into consideration when sentencing indigenous people
GLADUE REPORTS – in sentencing Indigenous peoples, judges should consider information through a report based on two factors:
- The unique systemic or background factors that may have played a part in bringing the person before the courts
- The types of sentencing procedures and sanctions which may be appropriate in the circumstances for the offender because of their indigenous heritage or connection
REIMAGINING INDIGENOUS CRIMINAL JUSTICE II (CUNNEEN & TAURI 2016)
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES COURTS AND SENTENCING CIRCLES
Three principles of sentencing circles:
1.A criminal offence represents a breach of relationship between the offender and victim and offender and community
2.The stability of the community is dependent on healing these breaches
3.Communities are well-positioned to address the causes of crime
Criteria for sentencing circles:
4.Accused has roots in the community and agrees to participate in the SC
5.There are Elders or respected non-political community leaders willing to participate
6.The victim is willing to participate and has not been subjected to coercion or pressure
7.Disputed facts of the case have been resolved in advance
REINTEGRATION & RECIDIVISM
What is recidivism?
When someone who has been convicted of a crime reoffends
Why do people turn back to crime after being caught and punished?
Further reading – Western et al. 2015
(supplementary reading)
