Criminology Textbook Chapter 1 PDF

What is Criminology? Criminology “The body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon.” It includes such aspects as the making of laws, the breaking of laws, and reacting to the breaking of laws. —Sutherland and Cressey, 1960 Chapter 1 Crime, Fear, and Risk ...

What is Criminology? Criminology “The body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon.” It includes such aspects as the making of laws, the breaking of laws, and reacting to the breaking of laws. —Sutherland and Cressey, 1960 Chapter 1 Crime, Fear, and Risk  Learning Objectives Understand the objectivist-legalistic and social-reaction approaches to defining crime Grasp key concepts related to criminal law and the criminal justice system in Canada Outline the ways in which crime is depicted in mass media Recognize the relationship between public fear of crime and how crime is depicted by mass media Situate the law as an outcome of political processes and contests, typically also involving the media Understand the term moral panic and provide examples of how social reactions to crime may be subject to moral panics Critically evaluate the moral panic framework 3 © 2021 Oxford University Press  Introduction Defining Crime: Different answers to the question “What is crime?” Two different approaches: 1) Objectivist-legalistic approach 2) Social-reaction approach 4 © 2021 Oxford University Press  What is a Crime? Historically, harmful behaviour against others was treated as a private matter Gradually, certain harmful acts became defined as criminal —These harmful acts are considered harms against society as a whole —As such, the state is responsible for enforcing and prosecuting those who commit these harmful acts  1) Objectivist-Legalistic Approach Laws are considered a reflection of widely shared customs and beliefs codified into legal statutes “Value consensus” position or “normative” position Simply, crime is something that is against the law (crime has an “objective reality”) Criminality is limited to its legal construction (whatever is against the law) According to this view, the goal of criminologists is to analyze criminality (where behaviour violates criminal law) and answer the question “What are the causes of criminal behaviour?”  1) Objectivist-Legalistic Approach, cont’d This approach to defining crime informs many theories of crime, where (1) criminal law is taken to reflect a social agreement about what is right/wrong, (2) those who violate it are seen as deviant, and (3) the question then becomes: what makes them (criminals) different from others? -Biological theories (e.g., Lombroso) -Psychological theories (e.g., Cleckley) -Some sociological explanations of offending (e.g., Gottfredson and Hirschi)  What Is a Crime? Legal definition: conduct that is prohibited by law and subject to a penal sanction (if in dispute, must target a “public evil” or some harm to society) –In Canada, prohibitions are the result of a legislative process that is intensely political –Police and judiciary are required to enforce the laws regardless of their own personal views The Legal Definition of Crime If we follow the legalistic understanding that crime is an act that violates criminal law and is punishable, then in Canada crimes are primarily defined by Legal Definition of Crime the Criminal Code http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46  Criminal Justice in Canada, cont’d Criminal law: Criminal Code of Canada Three broad categories: 1) Crimes against the person (e.g., homicide and sexual assault); also called violent crime; 2) Property crime (e.g., theft over $5000 and breaking and entering); and 3) Offences that are wrong, with no obvious victim (e.g., living off the avails of prostitution, illegal drug use); sometimes called public order crimes or victimless crimes.  Federal Legislation and Criminal Law Other relevant federal criminal statutes Controlled Drugs Youth Criminal Customs and and Substances Justice Act Excise Act Act 11 © 2021 Oxford University Press  Criminal Justice in Canada Our criminal justice system is also modelled on the objectivist-legalistic approach Four types of law (textbook only discusses the top three): Administrative law Civil law Criminal law Regulatory Law  Criminal Justice in Canada, cont’d Administrative law: A form of public law that governs the relationships between individuals and the state (e.g., regulating employment insurance, labour relations, and landlord and tenant relations) Civil law: Arrangements between individuals (e.g., property disputes, wills, and contracts)  Federal and Provincial or Territorial Regulatory Legislation: Quasi-Criminal Law Criminal law is directed toward the control of behaviour that is considered to be inherently wrong (i.e., public evil) Regulatory offences (don’t result in a criminal record and don’t require a criminal trial in which the crown proves its case beyond a reasonable doubt in court) are seen as less serious than criminal offences. Might be considered “quasi- criminal”. 163 (1) Every one commits an offence who: (a) makes, prints, publishes, distributes, circulates, or has in his possession for the purpose of publication, distribution or circulation any obscene written matter, picture, model, phonograph record or other thing whatever; or (b) makes, prints, publishes, distributes, sells or has in his possession for the purpose of publication, distribution or circulation a crime comic. 16 © 2021 Oxford University Press  17 © 2021 Oxford University Press  18 © 2021 Oxford University Press  19 © 2021 Oxford University Press  Impact of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on Criminal Law  Impact of Charter of Rights and Freedoms on Criminal Law The Charter empowers judges to declare invalid any legislation that infringes on an individual’s rights Rights include presumption of innocence, right not to be deprived of life, liberty, or security of the person except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice, etc. Supreme Court has ruled many criminal laws (e.g., abortion laws, prostitution laws) invalid  22 © 2021 Oxford University Press  Criminal Justice in Canada, cont’d Breaking administrative and civil laws leads to less serious punishment (e.g., fines) than violations of criminal law (e.g., incarceration) Most criminal offences in Canada require an “evil” act (actus reus) and an “evil” mind (mens rea) Children under 12 and some people who “suffer from a mental disorder” are unable to form mens rea and are therefore not held criminally responsible for their actions  Actus reus and mens rea need to be shown beyond reasonable doubt for a person to be convicted An accused may not be convicted of a crime unless it can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt: –(i) that a particular event or state of affairs was “caused” by the accused person’s conduct (actus reus); and –(ii) that this conduct was simultaneously accompanied by a certain state of mind (mens rea)  Becoming a Party to a Criminal Offence Individuals do not need to commit an offence to be convicted –Criminal Code section 21(1): anyone is a party to a crime who (i) actually commits it, (ii) aids another person to commit it, or (iii) abets (encourages) any person to commit it –Supreme Court held that this section means the person who aids and/or abets a murder is equally as guilty as a person who actually commits it 25 © 2021 Oxford University Press  Inchoate Offences Inchoate crime: when a person attempts to bring about a crime but is unsuccessful in doing so Three types of Criminal Code inchoate offences: 1.Criminal Attempt: an individual takes some form of action that manifests the intention to commit a crime 2.Conspiracy: an individual enters into an agreement to help another commit a crime 3.Counselling: procuring, soliciting, or inciting another to commit a crime  Criminal Justice in Canada, cont’d Offence types in Canada fall into two main categories : 1) Summary offenses (less serious; e.g., causing a disturbance) 2) Indictable offenses (serious; e.g., murder, assault with a weapon) Remember: only a fraction of offenses end up in court, or proceeding to trial Major reason: Plea bargaining - Negotiation between accused or their counsel and Crown prosecutor  Criminal Justice in Canada, cont’d First contact of a person with criminal justice system is with police Police can: arrest a person with or without a warrant and charge them Accused is not always detained / taken into custody If detained, a bail hearing determines whether accused is granted bail or is remanded prior to trial  Criminal Justice in Canada, cont’d Prior to European colonization of what is now Canada, Indigenous Peoples had different legal systems / legal traditions Based on different sets of customs and practices than Western legal systems Different understandings of legal concepts such as property, evidence, and how justice is administered They also existed and were passed on in oral form - not codified (written down) like Western system are Elders and cultural ceremonies played central roles 31 © 2021 Oxford University Press  2) Crime and Social Reaction The development of labelling theory by Howard Becker in the 1960s and later by the various “critical criminologies” in the 1970s led to a questioning of the objectivist-legalistic approach: Definition of crime needs to be less narrow The law is not a reflection of consensus in society regarding what is should be a crime There is no consensus in society regarding what is deviant behaviour  Crime and Social Reaction, cont’d Howard Becker: No act is inherently deviant or criminal Social groups make the rules and apply them to behaviours and consequently create deviance Deviance and crime are “socially constructed” “The deviant is one to whom that label has successfully been applied; deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label” (Becker, 1963, p. 9) The label ‘deviant’ is the social / societal reaction to deviance  Deviance involves the violation of a rule or regulation or law –However, these rules vary across societies and groups There is nothing inherent in any act that makes it unlawful –It is up to a society to decide 34 © 2021 Oxford University Press  Crime and Social Reaction, cont’d Social constructionism: Examining the processes through which social problems (crime, deviance) are defined and responded to Meaning of deviance and crime varies across social and cultural contexts (and time) There are no universally condemned acts (e.g., killing) There is nothing inherent in the act that determines whether it is criminal (this is the outcome of a social process) Harm is not always a predictor whether a behaviour gets to be defined as deviant or criminal  Deviance: When sociologists study deviance, we study various kinds of rule-breaking, and the people, conditions, and behaviors targeted for “social control” (forms of disapproval, including dirty looks, shaming, exclusion, and imprisonment) 1- 36 © 2021 Oxford University Press  Crime and Social Reaction, cont’d Crime is not an objective condition Social deviance is a continuous variable that ranges from the most serious to the least serious acts in any society Is crime always deviant? Is deviance always criminal? “The separation of crime from other kinds of deviance is a social and political phenomenon.” (Hagan, 1985, p. 49)  Crime and Social Reaction, cont’d Why are some behaviours regarded simply as social deviance? Why are some behaviours breaches of administrative statutes? Why are a select number of behaviours viewed as criminal? E.g., Possession of marijuana for non-medicinal purposes was against the law in Canada until mid-2018 What behaviours in society are considered harmful or socially injurious? Are they all crimes?  Crime and Social Reaction, cont’d “Conflict criminologists” or “critical criminologists” focus on the entire law-making process Conflict theory sees society as a site of conflict between groups with opposing interests (ie. economic classes, like property-owning bourgeoise and the proletariat) What becomes law and which behaviours are criminalized is the result of social conflict ‘Critical’ definitions of crime generally include concepts such as social class, race, and gender and examine the power imbalances that exist between different groups in society  41 © 2021 Oxford University Press  Crime and Social Reaction, cont’d Moral regulation (Michel Foucault): Social regulation of behaviour is based on moral regulation (not social consensus) Importance of social institutions in generating social discipline and self-regulation Criminologists need to ask, “whose morals are being regulated, and by whom?”  Crime and Social Reaction, cont’d “Moral entrepreneurs” (H. Becker) and Politics: As rule creators (or motivating the creation of new rules): Use rhetorical communication to persuade audiences o Might include compelling statistics, or emotionally compelling examples/anecdotes to typify the seriousness and character of the threat posed by the behaviour  Media Portrayals of Crime in Canada Mass media accounts of crime play an integral role in how we understand the social reality of crime These tend to depict: Personal fear and risk in which violence is commonplace; Sympathetic portrayal of victims; and Victims let down by a justice system perceived as being too soft on criminals.  Crime and the Media Media’s misrepresentation of crime has consequences. It influences public perceptions —The amount of crime can be overestimated —Fear of crime is higher than the risk of victimization —There are public calls for government to tighten laws Media coverage may contribute to (some) crime Media coverage does not examine the social and structural reasons behind crime 45 © 2021 Oxford University Press  Media Portrayals of Crime in Canada, cont’d Research on presentation of crime in mass media shows: 1. Public knowledge about crime and justice is derived largely from the mass media 2. The way crime is portrayed in the media differs from how crime is measured and defined officially Decreasing consumption of mass media is replaced by increased importance of new media / social media but difficult to track how this leads to changing crime awareness Fear  Crime and Moral Panics Stanley Cohen examined the impact the media played in shaping how crime was defined in England during late 1960s (Mods v. Rockers) Moral panic: “A condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as threat to the societal values and interests” (Cohen, 1973, p. 9) Media promoting misconceptions can have an impact on what the public believes should be done to confront crime, which is used by politicians to further their own agendas, often focused on law and order Moral Panics in Canada Criticisms of the Moral Panic Perspective Criticisms of the Moral Panic Perspective