Law and Policing Week 3B PDF

WEEK 3B Law and Policing Introduction 1. What is the purpose of law? 2. What do Canada’s Legal statues entail? 3. How did Policing originate? 4. What is the role of police in Society? 2 The Need for Criminal Law  Conservative Perspective  helps to keep order in socie...

WEEK 3B Law and Policing Introduction 1. What is the purpose of law? 2. What do Canada’s Legal statues entail? 3. How did Policing originate? 4. What is the role of police in Society? 2 The Need for Criminal Law  Conservative Perspective  helps to keep order in society; without it society would crumble  penalties help to deter (prevent) people from committing crimes (stronger penalties = less crime)  Liberal perspective  emphasizes prevention over penalties; deal with structures that promote crime (poverty)  Diversion / Restorative Justice / Community Policing  Radical perspective  Divest from CJS to empower communities  Abolition of Prison and TRUE Community Policing 3 The Origins and Nature of Criminal Law  Parliament  Ideally listens and responds to wants and needs of constituents (Sometimes usurped by ideology)  decides what behavior needs regulation and regularly passes laws to change the Criminal Code  In Canada courts also have a role in ‘approving laws’  Nature of Law  Criminal Code reflects the values of society (conservative and liberal perspective)  Criminal Code is a tool to keep working class repressed and productive (radical perspective)  Reform of the Criminal Code usually reflects a shift in values and may occur because of public pressure or moral panics 4  The Law Commission of Canada has suggested certain conditions must exist for an act to be subject to criminal penalty  harm others  violate the basic values of society  using the law to deal with the action must not violate the basic values of society  makes a contribution to resolving societal problem 5 The Criminal Code  CC is the main source of criminal law in Canada  Other criminal offences are listed in statutes passed by Parliament such as the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act  When judges make decisions on important cases, these decisions may become precedents and may be followed by other judges making similar cases  Can reshape the scope and functioning of 6 laws Types of Criminal Offences  summary conviction  indictable offences  hybrid offences 7 Summary Conviction Offences  Minor criminal offences  Can be arrested and summoned to court without delay  generally maximum penalty is $5000 and/or six months in jail  Common Assault  Minor drug Possession 8 Indictable Offences  Serious crimes – Trafficking; Sexual assault; Homicide  Results in more sever penalties  Maximum penalty for each offence set in legislation  up to life imprisonment for some offences such as homicide  Trial judge decides on the actual punishment or sentence tailored to offence, victims wishes and offender’s circumstances.  Some indictable offences have a Mandatory Minimum Sentence (MMS) 9 Hybrid Offences  Treated as indictable offences but the Crown attorney can adjust to summary  Minor theft  Usually when offender show’s promise and victim is cooperative 10 The Elements of a Crime  Two conditions must exist for an act to be a “criminal offence" Actus Reus and Mens Rea  Actus Reus is a wrongful deed  Physical Action that contravenes the law OR lack of action  Mens Rea means guilty mind  Intent to commit the physical act  Crown must prove the actus reus and mens rea existed  Must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt  Reasonable doubt will mean the accused will be acquitted and set free 11  Intent and Consent  The law considers some people to be incapable of forming the Intent necessary to commit a crime or Consent to certain behaviour  Mental illness,  Minors (children), or  (limited)  People who are drunk or “high”  Person under duress  Persons under guidance from authority figures 12 Criminal Offences and Procedures a) Summary and Minor Indictable Offences Procedures  must be charged within six months of committing an offence  court judge hears the evidence and gives the verdict  for traffic offences a court appearance is not necessary if you are signing the guilty plea on the ticket citation and you pay the fine  BUT you can challenge the ticket in court 13 Criminal Offences and Procedures b) Indictable Offences Procedures  No time limit for the laying of a charge (but usually harder to prove the longer the period of time)  Minor indictable offences are treated much like summary offences  Serious indictable offence the accused can choose between having a provincial court judge or a higher court judge or a judge and jury  Most serious indictable offences are treated by a judge and jury in the case of murder and treason 14  Policing in Canada  Based on UK Models originating in late 1700s – 1800s.  Initially policing was rejected as too intrusive by British Parliament  The Industrial Revolution changed Gov’ts mind  Massive influx of people with little infrastructure to handle it  Factory owners demanded ‘protection’ from working class  Moral Panics were employed to solidify the desire for policing 15 The First Police Bill in the UK  Peel’s Nine Guiding principle that were important to the early development of policing 1. Prevention of Crime/disorder, not military repression 2. Policing power is dependent on public support 3. Public must be willing to support laws that are enforced 4. Cooperation of public diminishes need to use force 5. Always demonstrate impartiality and good humour 6. Use force only when all other measures fail. Level of force should always be minimal 7. Police are simply citizens paid to give full time attention to the duties of every citizen, nothing more, nothing less. 8. Never overstep policing bounds to usurp judiciary 9. Test of policing is the absence of crime/disorder without the visible evidence of police action First Police Force in Canada  Toronto was the first city to develop a full time, paid position in 1835.  Other towns/cities were quick to follow Toronto’s lead:  Quebec City (1838)  Hamilton (1840)  Montreal (1843)  Ottawa (1855) Early Police in Canada  Municipal police were responsible for a host of duties including:  Jailer  Fireman  Tax collector  Truancy Officer  Bailiff  However there were 3 Main Functions: 1. Preventing conflict between ethnic/labour groups 2. Maintain order and enforce puritanical (moral) laws 3. Apprehension of criminals Federal Policing  Development of the RCMP can be traced back to the enactment of the ‘Act for the Better Preservation of the Peace and Prevention of Riots and Violent Outrages at or near Public Works while in Progress of Construction Act (1845)  This act formed a police force to control unruly labour used in the construction of the Welland and St. Laurence seaways.  Eventually this force would be used as a model to develop the North West Mounted Police, a predecessor of the RCMP Early Policing in Canada  The Act Respecting Police of Canada (1868)  Established the Dominion Police Force as the first national police force  The Act Respecting the Administration of Justice and for the Establishment of a Police Force in the North West Territories (1873) Established the NWMP to police the newly acquired Rupert’s Land (1869) NWMP  There are several reasons for the establishment of the NWMP.  Establish a federal presence in an area where indigenous peoples were being exploited by Americans  Ownership of Rupert’s Land was dependent on occupation  Facilitated western settlement by acting as negotiators between whites and indigenous groups.  Border patrol was important to maintain sovereignty.  Securing the construction sites of the trans-Canada railway.  Most notably the NWMP enforced, interpreted, reinterpreted and formulated the law in an area where no formal legal traditions had existed before How NWMP became the RCMP  King Edward VII renamed the force the Royal North West Mounted Police in 1904.  When new provinces (Saskatchewan and Alberta) contracted the RNWMP to be their provincial the police force took on a more national character as opposed to a frontier police force.  Federal Government amalgamated the Dominion Police and the RNWMP and renamed the police force the Royal Canadian Mounted Police The RCMP  The RCMP quickly became the foremost federal and provincial police force in Canada.  There are some notable exceptions  The Ontario Provincial Police  The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (unarmed)  Quebec Provincial Police Order Maintenance, Law Enforcement or Service?  The role of police in Canadian society is not clearly defined. Researchers have identified three major roles of police:  Order Maintenance  Law Enforcement  Service Order Maintenance  Preventing and controlling behaviour which disturbs the public peace.  Public Peace is very, very different from crime control  Patrolling concerts  Responding to noise complaints  Traffic duty – SPEED TRAPS; CHECK POINTS  Neighbour conflicts  Often times in order maintenance there are vague areas that make it difficult to know who is right and who is wrong so police are required to make judgement calls based only on social and psychological factors.  If a complaint does not involve an obvious criminal act to which they can invoke ‘criminal law’ police have to negotiate, criminalise or abandon the problem Law Enforcement  Law Enforcement or Crime Control is the most sensationalised role of police in Canada.  Involves:  responding to and investigating crimes  Apprehending offenders  Testing for drunk drivers  Law Enforcement is Aggressive and Punitive and distinguishes the police from the rest of society as it requires the use of force. Service (social)  Includes  Giving advice and directions to people  Assisting stranded motorist  Looking for missing persons  Organising community functions/watches  Escorting processions, and VIPs  Informing citizens of deaths and community services Service  Positives of the Service Role of Police  Creates good will in society for the police  Creates an opportunity for building a resistance to crime in neighbourhoods  Fills a social service need in society and strengthens the social network  Potential Negatives of Service Role of Police  Inflates police budgets  Distorts the cost of crime fighting  Prevents the ‘professionalization’ of police (into one role)  Diverts police away from the crime detection.  Role of Policing  By show of hands, who thinks _______ role takes up most policing time? 1. Order Maintenance 2. Criminal Law Enforcement 3. Social Service 29 The Role of Policing  So what is the most important role for police?  Approximately 17% of reports made to police are criminal in nature; THEREFORE approximately 83% of reports are not criminal in nature  10-30% of police time spent in Law Enforcement,  70-90% is spent in Order Maintenance or Service The Role of Policing  If 70-90% of the work done by police is non-criminal why is the main image of police as a crime fighter and not a social worker?  Image of crime fighter is ‘sexier’ than that of an armoured social worker  Image is used to sell TV and movies.  Image is used by police/state to enhance the prestige of policing (remember that legitimacy of the police power is related to the approval of the population)  Areas of Concern in Policing for Criminologists  Police Culture  Traditionally hyper masculine – mysoginistic  Secretive  Alienating for officers - leading to PTSD and burnout  Militarisation of Police  Community Policing & Restorative Justice 32