What is a Crime? Law Commission of Canada

• The document is a discussion paper by the Law Commission of Canada focusing on "What is a Crime?"
• The paper explores the challenges and alternatives in defining crime and responding to unwanted behaviour in modern Canadian society.

Purpose of the Paper

• Aims to engage Canadians in discussions about crime, its definition, and societal responses.
• Seeks to address questions about the values in determining unwanted conduct and intervention strategies.

Core Questions Addressed

• How do societies decide which behaviours warrant intervention and deterrence?
• Is over-reliance on law to deal with unwanted behaviours present?
• What are the alternatives to criminal law, and what do they provide?

Reflex to Criminal Law

• There's a growing "law and order" agenda perceived due to a "growing crime problem".
• Academics and government warn against relying too heavily on criminal law for complex social issues.
• There is often a gap between expectations of criminal law and its actual achievements.
• Example: Marijuana criminalization hasn't significantly reduced production or consumption.

Origins of Perceptions

• Perceptions are shaped by experiences, interactions with family and friends, and media influence.
• Common image of a criminal is someone committing a “street crime”
• Common belief that everyone is equally likely to be victimized.
• Most crime victims are victimized by someone they know
• Marginalized people are often the victims of crime.

Harm and Criminal Definition

• "Harm" is often used as a basis but is not easily defined.
• Example: Workplace deaths outnumber homicides in Canada annually but are rarely treated as crimes, even with negligence involved.

Interrelation of Intervention Strategies

• Responses to behaviour are rarely isolated; they are often criminal, regulatory, health, and educational issues.
• Smoking is an example of this, with criminalization of sales to youth combined with taxation, healthcare, and education campaigns.

Democratic Principles

• Justice, equality, accountability, and efficiency should guide discussions on defining unwanted behaviour and interventions.
• Justice means fair treatment, proportionality, and limited freedom restriction.
• Citizens should have equal access to associated mechanisms, including adequate legal services.
• Accountability means people with authority must be held responsible for exercising power in the public and private sectors, and that citizens are responsible for their own conduct
• Efficiency means intervention strategies should deliver promised outcomes

The Current System

• The current ways behavior is defined and responded to may not be appropriate.
• There is generally a tendency to rely on criminal law.
• The text urges Canadians to reflect upon these issues and questions.

What is a Crime?

• The text aims to address questions about the values in determining unwanted conduct and intervention strategies.
• Criminal law functions as a punitive response to a perceived problem aimed at staving off violence, disorder, and danger.
• The act of attributing personal responsibility is a core concept.
• By making individuals accountable, the context of the problem disappears into the background.
• Criminal law both universalizes the problem but individualizes the causes.
• Example: Child abuse is recognized as resulting from complex social factors, but the act is placed solely upon the individual.

Expectations of Criminal Law

• Criminal law aims to deter the individual and the broader public, as well as to reinforce social values.
• It also signals when a behavior has been deemed undesirable.
• Studies suggest that some criminal laws have failed as deterrents.
  • Example: Studies on cannabis use in Canada suggest that 25 years of criminalization had no deterrent effect, but increased costs.

Symbolic Message

• Criminal law carries the messages that society disapproves of an act and a reaction by the state is necessary.
• Various groups redefine the symbolic message by campaigning on issues of concern and lobbying government for law changes.
• The symbolic meaning of law results in complex definitions depending on the context.
  • Example: The Criminal Code categorizes theft based on the value of the stolen property. If it is accompanied by violence, it is classified as robbery.

Crime, Media, and Influence

• Our notions are developed through a mix of experience, family, friends, and media influence.
• A prominent source is the media.
• The media tends to focus on violent crime, which observers believe creates an inaccurate perception

Focus on Criminal Law

• Statistics indicate an increase in the use of incarceration in recent years.
  • 1986-1996: Prison population grew by 26%.
  • 1988-1993: Incarcerated persons grew by 39%.
  • 1989-1995: Federal prison population increased by 22%. Provincial population increased by 12%.
• 1986-1995: The number of young offender custody increased by 26%.
• 1995: Incarceration rate was over 130 per 100,000 inhabitants.
• The Canadian crime rate has decreased, which undermines the calls to get "tough" on criminals.
• Crime statistics may not present a complete picture.

Criminal Law and Harm

• The Ouimet Report states, no conduct is deemed a crime unless it presents a serious threat and cannot be dealt with through other social or legal means.
• "Death" is the most serious harm.
• Workplace deaths outweigh homicides in Canada and are rarely treated as criminal events.
• There has been an increase in number of government-run casinos, while private forms of gambling remains illegal
• The concept of harm reveals little about how we ought to respond.

Harm

• Conduct harmful to others justifies greater societal intervention, but it is highly debated.
• Society bears collective responsibility to regulate conduct, even that which is primarily self-harmful.
• What constitutes harmful behavior is not to be raised in abstract but in context.

Realities of Criminal Law

• Criminal law is influenced by representations of criminals and victims
• It's typically perceived as conduct taking place at the street level by individuals.
  • Examples: theft, shoplifting, robbery, and physical/sexual assault

Influence on Criminal Law

• Studies reveal violence more often occurs at home by people that are familiar to the victim.
• More than 1 in 3 households in the US have experienced victimization from economic crime. Fewer than 1 in 10 reported the victimization.
• Marginalized groups are more likely to be crime victims
• A disproportionate number of men, 97%, are in federal prison, with Aboriginal persons making up 16% who are incarcerated.
• Those who fit the offender profile are over-policed, while those who commit serious harms without fitting the profile are under-policed.

Community Control

• Solutions to unwanted conduct in the community has interest from government/private agencies
• They involve victim offender mediation programs, family conferences, and Aboriginal justice programs.
• Criminality can be attributed to numerous factors.

Social Influences

• There are concerns that the therapeutic model will be used to simplify control/dissent, but will not be used effectively.
• Criminalization can have diverse consequences.

Conclusion

• Law and policies should reflect equality by addressing inequities
• Criminal law is often debated as a consequence and concern when addressing overrepresentation.
• Society cannot fully uphold equality when disadvantaged populations feel unjustly targeted by police.
• Intervention might contribute to inequalities. -Example: Regulation might focus on targeting certain individuals, or community-based strategies might perpetuate the same inequalities.

Discussion paper by the Law Commission of Canada that explores the definition of crime and societal responses to unwanted behavior in Canada. It questions the over-reliance on criminal law and explores alternatives for dealing with complex social issues.