Crim 101 lectures - Google Docs PDF

Preview

Summary

Download Crim 101 lectures - Google Docs PDF

Description

LECTURE #3 JAN.20

Measuring Crime & Victimology Paper assignment up on canvas! THE LOW-DOWN ● Took place in rural saskabush in aug 2016 ● Colten boushie, a first nations male was shot in the head and killed by gerald stanley on stanley’s farm ● Boushie and four other young from the red pheasant first nation were on stanleys farm, trying to start( eg. steal) his ATV ● Apparently words were spoken, and warning shots were fired in an effort to get them to leave ● The first nation youth first insisted to the RCMP that they were just trying to get help with a flat tire, but after admit that they had also attempted to break into and steal a truck on a neighbouring farm THE JUSTICE SYS AT WORK ● Standley claimed that the gun went off by accident, and was acquitted at trial by “jury of his peers” ● Due to peremptory available to the defense, the jury consisted entirely of white men and challenges woman (no first nation jurors) ● Happened at a time when saskatchewan association of rural municipalities was pressuring the provincial govt “ for the right to protect one’s self and property” which first nations ppl’s viewed as a right to “shoot indigengious trespassers” JUSTIN TRUDEAU WADES IN ● Thrudeau says that “there are systemic issues in our criminal justice sys that we must address” ENTER BILL C-75 ● Received royal assent in june 2019 ● Abolishes peremptory challenges of jurors, and modifies the process of challenges a juror for cause so that a judge makes the determination of whether a ground of challenge is “true” also abolished preliminary hearings except for offences punishable by imprisonment for 14 yrs or longs Direct Observation ➢ Not necessarily the most efficient way to study crime ➢ Criminal events occur with relative infrequency ➢ Criminals spend a lot of their time doing the same things as non-criminals The Secret Lives of Criminals ➢ Criminal behaviour tends to be secretive in nature ➢ Criminals go out of their way to avoid observation or detection

➢ However, if conducted successfully, ethnographic researchers may learn in-depth information about criminal subcultures that are not usually amenable to investigation Experimental Observations ➢ Issues of “informed consent” (if you tell the subjects what you’re going to do, they may refuse, or alter their behaviour) ➢ If you encourage subjects to break the law, you may be breaking the law yourself. Experiments in Electricity ● Milgram experiments: brought subjects together and experimented on them being obedient ● Sctizer being taught things by versuclisperson (who can electrocute him if she doesn't learn properly) ● The versiculos person tend to get stressed cuz they think they’re hurting the subject but they're actually not n thats y the experiment shut down The Uniform Crime Report ➢ “In Canada, police-recorded crime statistics have been collected and published since 1921” ➢ In 1962, Canada implemented the uniform crime report (UCR) ➢ Most common data Used by criminologists and criminal justice personnel when estimating crime rates. The Uniform Crime Report cont. ➢ Introduction of UCR in 1962 was intended to standardize the collection and assembly of police- reported crime statistics from across canada ➢ Tried to obtain a complete, accurate picture of crime reported to police ➢ Statistics generated by UCR are less than perfect, due to variations in recording and interpreting crime b/w different police departments. Distortions in UCR Measurements ➢ Police less likely to write an official report if: ○ Situations can be dealt with thru a warning, confiscation of illicit goods ○ There is a close relationship b/w victim and perpetrator (eg. siblings, friends) ➢ Police are more likely to write an official report if: ○ Victims is of higher social status; deferential toward police ○ Police are engaged in anti-crime campaign, or order maintenance crackdown The Dark Figure of Crime ➢ Dark Figure of Crime = amount of crime that is not reported to the police, and thus not reflected in the uniform crime report (UCR) ➢ According to the General Social Survey (a victimization survey conducted by statistics Canada), ⅔ of crime are not reported to the police (69% not reported in 2014) ➢ Suggests that data collected by the UCR are “erroneous and incomplete” The Central City Phenomenon

➢ Crime rates reported in city centres may not accurately reflect the number of criminally-minded people who actually live there ➢ Census Metropolitan Areas or CMAs often have a number of suburbs that are contiguous to-- or connected with-- the city itself ➢ People from suburbs travel to city centre in search of excitement, entertainment, or the opportunity to commit crimes The General Social Survey ➢ Surveyed 19,500 households across Canada in 2009; surveyed 33,127 households in 2014 ➢ Provides information on crimes that victims do not report to the police (estimated to be ⅔ of all crimes--69% not reported in 2014) ➢ Also provides reasons why victims do not report crimes to the police. Why Victims Don’t Report Crimes ➢ According to the GSS, victims don’t report criminal victimization to the police because they: a. Feel the crime aren’t important enough b. Think there is nothing the police can do to help c. Deal with the crime in another manner ➢ When examining official crime statistics (the UCR), we should bear in mind that the majority of crimes are not reported to the police; if they are reported, they may not be recorded by the police Emotional and Behavioural Consequences ➢ 2009 GSS reports that an overwhelming majority of people in Canada (93%) feel safe from crime ➢ Majority of Canadians (60%) feel their neighborhood is safer than other neighborhoods ➢ Media reports much worse cases so therefore ppl dont realize the little crimes that are happening around them Reactions to Crime ● Lot of anger caused by trauma ● Anger the highest→ upset, confused, frustrated→ fearful lowest and so forth Vulnerability Conversion ➢ Some individuals do become fearful of crime , and may go through a process known as vulnerability conversion ➢ Feel they are more susceptible to the dangers of life than they thought ➢ Being the victim of a serious (especially “random”) crime can cause people to reevaluate their notions about the world making sense, or about life being fair Vulnerability Conversion cont. ➢ Victims may feel weak and helpless , and even start to blame themselves ➢ Having home broken into is tantamount to invasion of privacy

➢ May suffer additional distress if personal possessions to which they are emotionally attached are stolen or damaged Avoidance Behaviours ➢ Steps people take to distance themselves from situations they perceive to be dangerous ➢ Moving to a new neighbourhood , or staying away from downtown core, especially at night( avoiding potential offenders) Defensive Behaviours ➢ Precautionary measures people take to reduce their risks of being victimized ➢ Getting a guard dog, installing a burglar alarm system in their home-- defending their personal space Weaknesses in the GSS ➢ Interviews only those respondents ➢ Marginalized people with no phone being excluded from the survey (may be victimized), the survey is only done thru phones ➢ GSS (household survey) misses crimes committed against businesses, eg. robberies, shoplifting, credit card fraud ➢ Doesn't sample children under the age of 15; may fail to uncover substantial amount to youth victimization Self-Report Surveys ➢ Ask members of the public whether they’re ever committed a criminal act ➢ Again confirm the large amount of undetected or unreported crime ➢ Offenders who have most to hide are least likely to participate ➢ Tend to uncover type of petty crime that many people engage in from time-to-time ➢ Sometimes get respondents confessing to every crime in the book The Crime Funnel ➢ Large amount of undetected, unreported crime ➢ Most crime (⅔) not reported to police ➢ Police do not record all reported crimes ➢ undetected/unreported crime→ detected (but not reported) crimes→ reported crime → recorded by police UCR (all this a funnel top to bottom) Declining Crime Rates ➢ With a few exceptions, homicide rates have been steadily declining since the early 1990s; in 2014, Canada had the lowest homicide rate in over 40 years ➢ In 2012, robbery rates reached the lowest level in over 30 years ➢ Rate of break-ins and motor vehicle thefts declined 43% and 57% respectively b/w 2002 and 2012 Not So Fast ● Crime rates have been decreasing but somewhat going back up (so still hope for getting jobs ) Going Back Up?

● Homicide rates going up but coming down (reversing trend) What Can We Say? ➢ Police-reported crime rate in 2018 increased for the fourth consecutive year (still 17% lower than in 2008) ➢ Over two-thirds of census metropolitan areas (CMAs) reported an increase in crime severity (CSI) b/w 2017 & 2018 ➢ The Youth Crime Severity Index (CSI) increased by 3% from 2016 to 2017 , with the rate of youth accused of homicide going up 108%, but went back down by 10% in 2018. Damn Lies and Statistics What Frontier Phenomenon? ● Crime rates tend to be higher in rural areas (eg. manitoba) ● Increase in shootings Crime Drop, or Crime Swap? ➢ While “official”, police-reported break and enters and motor vehicle thefts may be going down, Internet-related crimes-- credit card fraud, identity theft, child-luring-- are going up ➢ Eg. if you order a crime missle online n then it doesn't even come as a real missile then these crimes don’t get to police ➢ Many Internet crimes not reported to the police , because victims do not realize they have been victimized, or because police can't resolve crimes due to jurisdictional issues What is Victimology? ➢ Victimology is the study victims (rather than the study of criminals) ➢ Victimologists “study the victim experience and larger victimization trends” ➢ Victimologists seek to understand why certain individuals or groups are more likely to be victimized than others Victimology and Criminology ➢ Victimology ○ Emerging discipline ○ Study of victims ○ Victim-centred approach ○ Data collected from victimization surveys (GSS) ➢ Criminology ○ Established discipline ○ Study of criminals ○ Offender-centred approach ○ Data collected from police-report survey (UCR) The Criminal Justice System ➢ Victims ➢ Criminals Who are the Victims?

➢ Primary victims = the most easy to identify, because they are directly affected and often physically injured as a result of the event ➢ Secondary victims = witnesses and bystanders, who may be psychologically traumatized by witnessing the event ➢ Tertiary victims = family members and friends who were not present at the event, but who may be saddened or worried about the primary victim (or worried about their own well being) Who are the Victims? cont. ➢ Primary victims are referred to as direct victims or actual victims, cuz they were involved in the event and suffered actual damage as a consequence ➢ Secondary and tertiary victims are referred to as indirect victims or vicarious victims cuz they were not personally involved in the event and did not suffer direct haeman as a consequence. Perceptions of Victimization ➢ Victim status is based primarily on the perceptions of those involved directly in the criminal event(Scott, 2014) ➢ An actual victim is one who believes that he or she was victimized and whose belief is shared by others who witnessed or know about the event ➢ If the “victim” does not believe— and others who witnessed or know about the event do not believe-- that he or she was victimized, then we may not have an actual victim; instead, we may have a NON-VICTIM ➢ If the “victim” believes that he or she was victimized , but others who witnessed or know about the event do not agree then we may have what is referred to as a REJECTED VICTIM Strobl’s Self and Other Victim Classification (MIDTERM QUES) ● Check textbook for this under the actual victims etc Risk Factors for Violent Victimization ➢ single, young adults , age 15-24, at highest risk for violent victimization ➢ Aboriginals, immigrants and other minorities at increased risk for violent victimization ➢ males more likely to report being a victim of robbery or physical asssault; females more likely to report being a vcitim of sexual assault or theft of personal property Victim Precipitation ➢ In his study of murder in Philadelphia, Marvin Wolfgang (1958) found that murder victims precipitated their own dearths approx. 25% of the time ➢ Wolfgang noted that the victim might take initial threats, strike the first blow, or be the first to produce a weapon ➢ In a much-criticized 1971 study, Menachem Amir argued that sexual assault victims might precopotate their own victimzation, by dressing provocatively, talking provocatively, or engaging in risky behaviours. Victim Precipitation cont.

➢ While she was making breakfast for him, a man accused his wife of giving money to another man. The husband attacked his wife with a milk bottle, a brick, and then a concrete block. She killed him with the knife she was making his breakfast with ➢ A drunken “victim” approached the “offender” during a n argument, with a knife in hand. The “offender” showed him a gun, to which the “victim” said: “go ahead , shoot”. So he did. ➢ During a lover’s quarrel, the male “victim” threw kerosene on his mistress. She threw the liquid back at him, & then tossed a lit match at him. He went up in smoke....