Barry Cartwright\'s notes. All the notes for the midterm - Lecture notes, lecture 1 - 5 PDF

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Barry Cartwright's notes. All the notes for the midterm...

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Intro to Criminology 101    

Criminology = the scientific study of crime Crime= an act punishable by law The discipline of criminology is a relatively recent development Systematic study of crime did not begin until the 19th century (during 1800s) The Demographic Shif  Beginning in 1960s, population of young males in Canada, US and UK increased dramatically (caused by ‘’the baby boom”)  15-24 the most crime-prone years-young men known to commit disproportionate Rising Crime Rates  1960s and 1970s also time of social and political upheaval  Increase in alcohol consumption, increase in divorce rates, increase of mind altering drugs  Dramatic increase in crime rates, throughout 1960s,1970s, and 1980s  Contributed to greater interest in discipline of criminology Criminology as an interdisciplinary Social Science

 Criminology tends to be interdisciplinary in nature  Draws on sociology, psychology, biology, law geography, economics  Includes the study of law; the history of law; the criminalisation process; crime prevention and crime control; policing, corrections and penology and other studies related to the ‘’ criminal justice system ‘’  Sociological explanations  However, earlier 19th century explanations-eg.the positivist school and ‘’criminal man’’- were biological or psychological Criminalization  Criminologists study the ‘’criminalization’’ process-how certain behaviours become criminalized over time, while others become decriminalized(eg abortion was illegal in Canada but now is legal)  Also study the ‘’stigmatization’’ process-how offenders come to be ‘’demonized’’ and ‘’labelled’’

 Also examine ‘’net-widening’’-how new laws and new methods of ‘’community’’ supervision (eg electronic monitoring) may increase the population under ‘’social control’’ Fascination with crime  Crime is popular topic for newspaper,tv shows, books and movies

The appeal of Crime Stories    

Crime related stories are often dramatic and lurid. Deal with moral questions of good vs evil Criminal appear in stories insane, or as dangerous psychopaths Stories happen in short time span between newscasts or newspaper editions  Easy for public to understand

Crime Comics 

Illegal to make print or publish crime comics (law made in 1940, still in effect today)  Back then it was believed that these comics would increase psychopathology among young people ‘’

Music and the influence of media  Music influences crime and drug use  Average child spends 5 or more hours per day, watching TV, movies, playing video games.  2/3 of what they watch involves violence  By age 18, average child will have seen 200,000 violent acts and 16,000 murders Media Effects

 Social scientists began to study relationship between crime and the media in the ‘60s-70’s  Early studies of ‘’media effects’’ suggested that children who watched a lot of violence on TV were more likely to engage in violence in real life  Some social scientists have rejected and not approved of this approach, whereas others are still interested, claiming that violent video games are related behavioural problems, and that certain youth who are predisposed to violence may copy ideas that they see in media Copycat Crimes  Little but growing evidence that offenders do get idea for real life crime from the media including tvs and movies.  1/3 of serious and violent juvenile offenders had considered the possibility of committing copycat crime, and ¼ had actually attempted a copycat crime Cultural Criminology  Cultural criminology is sub discipline of criminology, that explores ‘’links between culture, crime and crime control in contemporary life’’  Explores cultural meaning of media violence, and emphasizes significance of ‘’ active audiences’’  “Active audiences’’ means that people do not consume media messages passively; rather, ‘’the meaning of the messages is negotiated or constructed’’ actively, through interaction between those who produce the message and those who consume it  From perspective of cultural criminology, ‘’ news media and popular culture are social sites where people collectively negotiate the meaning of crime, violence , victimization, justice and community ‘’  Crime generates media stories, but media stories at the same time create ‘’narratives that provide context for understanding crime.  By examining media narratives, we can see how the meaning of crime is socially constructed

The production of News

 Journalists consider crime to be newsworthy and sometimes put it in priority over other stories  Crime is often central component of ‘’entertainment’’- grips the imagination of TV viewers, moviegoers etc.  News organizations and producers of popular media are primarily interested in clear (unambiguous) stories that will attract immediate attention, are easy to understand, and that will have a resolution???? The ‘’Problem Frame’’  A ‘’problem frame’’: a. Is a narrative that is easily understood b. Focuses on something extraordinarily ‘’bad’’, that affects many people c. Calls out for solution to the ‘’problem’’, to be provided by the police, the government  Problem frame for Columbine focused on exceptionally ‘’bad’’ nature of the school shootings, the ‘’horror’’ that they generated in the community and across the nation, and identified violent video games as ‘’the cause’’  US government responded by legislating label and content warnings Moral Panics  Stanley Cohen explored relationship between media and moral panics in 1972 book ‘’ Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The origins of the mods and rockers’’  Cohen and identified the media as a crucial factor is stirring up moral panics  According to Cohen, when there is no news to report, the media engage in actively searching out social problems Policing the Crisis Part 2  Once politicians reported that the mugging ‘’problem’’ had been’ ’resolved’’, fewer police resources were allocated, and muggings seemingly decreased  No evidence that actual number of robberies changed throughout entire ‘’war on mugging’’  Hall et al. observed that reports of rising crime rates boosted public support for more policing to bring manufactured ‘’crisis’’ under control The ‘’Bad Guys’’

 Media representations often stereotype racial minorities as ‘’bad guys’’, to be feared  Black offenders portrayed by media as more violent and aggressive  Can have real consequences social ones The ‘’ideal victim’’  The ‘’ideal’ victim comes from a ‘’majority status’’ background  The ‘’ideal victim’’ preferred by the media is a white female, victimized by an ethnic minority male  Victims from ethnic minorities or socially marginalized groups are often ignored by the median, or if not ignored, portrayed as ‘’blameworthy’’, because they are in the ‘’minority’’  The ideal victim, preferred by the media is: 1. Weak, female, sick, very old or very young, or a combination of the above 2. Going about their routine-‘’respectable’’ and ‘’legal- activities at time of victimization 3. Unrelated to the offender The ‘’Good Guys’’  Police often portrayed as heroic crime fighters  Police described by media as ‘’hyper-competent’’-able to solve crimes quickly and effectively, catch criminals, maintain law and order  Creates ‘’ exaggerated public expectations for real-life police performance’’  Media also tends to conceal the darker sides of police(inability to solve many cases) Reality TV & News Media 

Journalists face pressure to report about police in a positive way, since positive relationship with police ensures access to interviews/news tip  Police are sometimes given ‘’ultimate control’’ over footage that appears in final broadcast  Media portrayals usually show police fighting crime, when in reality , most time is spent keeping the piece doing paperwork The CSI Effect

 No definitive evidence of the ‘’CSI Effect’’  However, recent American study found that majority of prosecutors, defence lawyers and judges felt that jurors made decision based on forensics evidence

Lecture 2:Criminal Law in Canada  “ The entire set of principles, procedures and rules established by governments through the courts and criminal code in order to ensure public safety’’ ( Jones,2014)  Includes definitions of crimes, criminal responsibility, punishments, and defences to criminal charges  Criminal laws include both a prohibition, and a prescribed punishment Criminal law and Civil Law Criminal Law Violation of public order, prosecuted by ‘’the state’’ Finding of guilt or innocence

Civil Law Infringement of contract, or rights of another citizen Party who feels ‘’wronged’’ brings civil suit Burden of proof: beyond a reasonable Burden of proof: balance of doubt probabilities Results in criminal penalties (e.g. Results in an award of imprisonment) damage(griffiths,2011) The origins of Criminal law  Most of the criminal laws in Canada –murder, robbery, assault – were inherited from engl common law  England does not have a criminal code, rather English criminal law operates on the principle of ‘’common law’’  Canada adopts its own Criminal code in 1982, although it retained to power to create common law until the 1950s

Common Law

 English body of law defined through successive decisions by judges, over generations and even over centuries (common law is not defined through legislation)  Canadaian judges are permitted to exercise discretion in their decisions, and often write detailed legal explanations to justify their decisions (similar to common law)  Common law crimes were abolished in Canada in 1953, when the criminal code was consolidated  Some legal decisions (e.g. Supreme court of Canada decisions) can become binding on lower courts, but Canadian judges are still bound/constrained by legislation (e.g. Criminal code) The Canadian Criminal courts  Adjudication of criminal cases divided between two levels of courtprovincial or territorial “superior courts’’, and provincial or territorial ‘’inferior courts’’  Provincial and territorial superior court judges are appointed by the federal government, but the courts are administered an paid for by the provincial or territorial governments  Superior courts deal with the most serious cases, both criminal civil  Provincial and territorial court judges are appointed by the provincial ad territorial governments; again, courts are administered and paid for by the provinces or territories

Provincial superior courts Superior court-trial Called supreme court of BC, Court of Queen’s bench in Alberta, Superior Court of justice in Ontario Deals with serious criminal and civil cases; may hear appeals of decisions

Superior court-Appeal Called B.C. court of appeal,

Hears appeals of decisions (criminal and civil) made by provincial/territorial

made by provincial/territorial court Cases may be heard by judge alone, or by judge and jury

court and superior court trail divison Cases heard by three judges

The Court Hierarchy The Supreme Court Superior Court-Appeal division Superior Court-Trial division Provincial and territorial court (inferior court)

 Supreme Court of Canada hears fewest number of cases, and hears only those cased it considers important; makes decisions/sets precedents binding on lower courts  Superior Court Appeal Division hears fewer cases than Trial Division or Provincial/Territorial Courts, but more cases than Supreme Court of Canada; makes decisions and sets precedents binding on Superior Court Trial Division and Provincial/Territorial Courts  Superior Court Trial Division hears fewer cases than Provincial/Territorial Courts, but hears many more cases than Superior Court Appeal Division ; makes decisions/sets precedents binding on provincial/territorial courts  Provincials/Territorials Courts hear the majority of cases The Federal Court  Like superior Courts, has Trial Division and Appeal Division  Does not hear Criminal Code cases. Hear cases about copyright, immigration etc.  Decisions by Federal Court Trial division may be appealed to federal court appeal division  Decisions made by Federal court Appeal division may be appealed by the supreme court of Canada The Gladue Decision

 1999 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada, referred to as R. v. Gladue.  Section 718.2 of Criminal code makes it mandatory for sentencing judges to take into consideration unique circumstances of Aboriginal offenders.  Supreme Court confirmed this ‘’is remedial in nature and is designed to ameliorate the serious problem of overrepresentation of aboriginal people in prison  Decision encourages judges to take ‘’a restorative approach’’ when sentencing Aboriginals  Court acknowledges that ‘’the jail term for an Aboriginal offender may in some circumstances be less than the term imposed on a non-Aboriginal offender for the same offence’’ Summary Offences & Indictable Offences Summary Offences Less serious offences, e.g., theft under $5,000 ( referred to as misdemeanours in the US) Proceed directly to trial in Provincial Court (no preliminary inquiry)

Indictable Offences More serious offences, e.g. murder, robbery and assault ( referred to as felonies in the US) Often involve preliminary hearing, to determine if sufficient evidence exists to proceed trial Generally result in maximum sentence May result in lengthy term of of six months, imprisonment or $5,000 imprisonment(up to life in prison) fine

Hybrid Offences  Majority of criminal offences in Canada fall under category of ‘’hybrid offences’’ ( Jones, 2014)  Hybrid offences can be proceeded on by way of summary conviction or indictment  Crown prosecutor (not the accused offender) decides whether to proceed by way of summary conviction or indictment (Goff,2011) Plea bargaining

 Accused gives up right to make Crown prove its case  Crown agrees to withdraw some charges, reduce to lesser charge, proceed by way of summary conviction, or to ask for concurrent sentences (Griffiths,2011) The Evolution of Policing in Canada *** WILL BE ON TEST  England didn’t have regular police force until shortly after the Norman Conquest in 11th C.  See emergence of the ‘’Comes Stabul,’’ a mounted horseman who led the posse  Comes Stabuli = officer of the stable  Constable = ‘’ a police officer of the lowest rank’’  Constabulary= ‘’an organized body of police’’  Shire reeve was ‘’the top law enforcement official in the county’’  In charge of a ‘’shire’’, the equivalent of a modern day county  Sheriffs assist in jury management, escort accused and convicted persons, and provide security in the court room(griffits 2011) Justice of the peace  Statute of Westminster (1285)- created ‘’watches’’ in cities and towns, allowed the drafting of eligible males to serve as police officers  Justices of the Peace act (1361)- created officials who had policing, judicial and administrative duties  Justices of the peace became keepers of the peace for individual counties; held authority over constables and the night watch Back in the Great White North  Wasn’t until Gold Rush in BC in 1800s that Canada had anything like a provincial police force  North West Mounted police created in 1873, to police Alberta, Saskatchewan and NWT  NWMP became the RCMP, and took over provincial policing- in all provinces but Ontario and Quebec, between 1918 and 1953 Policing in Canada

 Provinces are responsible for policing within their own provincial jurisdiction  Provinces may form their own police force or enter into contract with RCMP to provide provincial policing  Municipalities are responsible for policing within their own municipal jurisdiction  Municipalities may form their own municipal police department eg vpd or delta police or enter contract with RCMP Hired Guns  RCMP do a lot of contract policing for provincial and municipal governments  Get orders from NHQ in Ottawa, and are governed solely by RCMP act (Griffiths,2011) Municipal police  Have jurisdiction only within municipal boundaries  Enforce Criminal Code, provincial laws, municipal by-laws, and some federal statutes  Create your own force, combine with another municipality’s police force The Criminal Justice Process  Stage 1 : crime reported to/observed by police Police investigate crime gather evidence  Stage 2: Provide report to Crown Counsel Crown Counsel decided whether evidence will support, conviction, and whether prosecution is in public interest  Stage 3: Prosecution begins with swearing of an information (usually by police) before a justice of the peace in provincial court. Justice of the peace decides whether or not to order charge  Stage 4: Accused arrested, or issued with summons to appear in court If arrested, accused is usually granted bail; if held in custody, must be brought before court within 24 courts  Stage 5: If proceeded by indictment, will start preliminary hearing in provincial court If dealt with as summary, then goes straight to Provincial court

 Stage 6 Trial in Superior Court trial by judge (or by judge & jury), for serious indictable offences Trial in Provincial court by judge alone, for summary conviction, hybrid and less serious indictable offences.

Sentencing  In adult criminal court, most common outcome is finding of guilt (over 60 percent of cases)  After finding a guilt, sentences can range from absolute discharge (no penalty and no criminal record) to life in prison with no chance of parole for up to 25 years  Over 50% of cases dealt with via absolute or conditional discharge, community service order, prohibition order, or suspended sentence  Most common sentence is probation( 45% of convicted offenders)  Sentence is served with the community (with conditions), under supervision of probation officer  Average length of probation is about one year  Custody (imprisonment) is second most common sentence (slightly over 30% of sentences)  Over 80% of custodial sentences are for less than six months ( average length is 30 days)  If sentenced to less than two years, sentence is served in federal correctional institution  Third most common sentence is a fine(about 30 percent) (usually less than $1000) The Elements of a Crime  To obtain a criminal conviction, the crown prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of two main elements- an actus reas and mens reas  Actus Reus= the commission of a physical act by the accused offender, commiting the crime, hitting someone, stealing something  Mens Rea= criminal intent, or mental culpability referred to as the guilty mind

Criminal Defences  Partial defences e.g. intoxication, or an alibi  Intoxication raises issue of whether defendant was fully able to form mens rea, or criminal intent  Alibi raises issue of whether defendant was at crime scene and thus able to commit the alleged act or actus reus  True defences e.g. mental disorder, acting in self-defence  Defendant admits to committing crime (actus reus) but was incapable or knowing the act was wrong (no mens rea) due to mental disorder  Defendant admits to committing crime (actus reus) but did not form the necessary criminal intent (mens rea) because he/she was defending themselves  Common Law defences eg duress  Defendant admits to committing crime (actus reus), but did not form the necessary criminal intent(mens rea) because he/she did so under the threat of bodily harm or serious injury The Purpose of Criminal Law  Deterrence= discourage individual offenders and other members of the general public from offending  Specific deterrence occurs when individual offender is deterred from reoffending as result of conviction and punishment  General deterrence occurs when members of general public are deterred from offending by seeing individual criminals convicted and punished for their actions  Denunciation= formally denouncing criminal behaviour, saying that is socially unacceptable and wrong  Retribution= punishment, making offender pay for his behaviour (‘’an eye for an eye’’) The Rule of Law ***will be on test  Takes power to make laws away from the ruling monarch, and transfers th...