Criminal Justice in Canada PDF

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN CANADA, CONT’D Potlatch: -​ Indigenous practice carried out by indigenous- often in the winter months. -​ A ceremony with different layers and aspects. -​ This practice was actually criminalized- Canadian government. Connected to capita...

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN CANADA, CONT’D Potlatch: -​ Indigenous practice carried out by indigenous- often in the winter months. -​ A ceremony with different layers and aspects. -​ This practice was actually criminalized- Canadian government. Connected to capitalism, christianity, and assimilation. Encouraging people to adopt privatization. 2) CRIME AND SOCIAL REACTION- The second approach. ​ More broadly a sociology approach. CONT ​ Studying the process of how deviance is constructed- who decides what? What sorts of deviance are served? ​ Pushing against a common sense, objectivist, legalistic perspective. ​ There is nothing in the act that is inherently deviant, it has to be socially constructed ○​ They're not natural givens, they don't exist prior to a social process. ○​ From this perspective, deviance is attached to behaviours. CONT ​ When we say that something is not innate, it means that something can be constructed differently. Things can vary from place to place, etc. ​ 5: being poor used to be a crime. Homosexuality. Laws have changed. DEVIANCE; ​ Social control: how people respond to what they see as deviance. ​ Often more effective ways of governing behaviour. People are often much more concerned about disapproval of peers and parents than getting arrested for something. Crime and Social Control CONT ​ Pyramid: various kinds of actions that can have varying levels of consensus. ​ Conflict crimes: treated as crimes but there soem debated around them CONT ​ Is deviance always criminal? No, there are behaviours that are definitely not against the law ​ Is a crime always deviant? Jaywalking? Answer can still be no. CONT ​ There are processes by which these lines get drawn and redrawn. CONT  ​ One of the perspectives that takes this seriously is critical criminology; an umbrella term inclusive of things of conflict theory/perspective on society- seeing society as a battlefield between groups with different interests, and they are struggling with one another. Marxism analysis of capitalism- class struggles. ○​ Useful in answering questions as to why there are so many laws that are interested in protecting private property. ○​ From this perspective, the law is seen as protecting particular groups- probably those in power. CONT ​ Moral regulation; broadly speaking, law and crime is just one mode of regulation. ​ One answer to how some things are defined as deviant or criminal is this notion of moral entrepreneurs ○​ They are key individuals who participate in the creation of rules. MEDIA PORTRAYALS OF CRIME IN SOCIETY ​ Where most people's opinions about crimes come from. ○​ It becomes our filter that ends up shaping particular kinds of beliefs. ​ Why might people always believe that crime is getting worse? Depictions in the news media/ ​ Why might the media promote a view of increasing crime severity- ○​ Fear driver's engagement. MEDIA REPRESENTATION CONSEQUENCES; ​ MEDIA COVERAGE may contribute to some crime: mass shootings, spree shooting; clear cases where its recognized that these acts are driven by the media environment. They are not universal around the world but can be a cultural phenomena. CONT: ​ Unsure if mass media contributes to misrepresentations. CRIME AND MORAL PANICS ​ Moral panic: ○​ Problem is identified. ○​ Police attract attention to a problem ○​ Main point: in this concept of moral panic, the role of the media is central. You need the media to create something that didn't exist before. Media coverage fueled a change and led people to identify with these groups that may have not been identified before. MORAL PANICS IN CANADA ​ Momo- became an actual thing because everyone was exposed to the story. ​ Why did the momo become a moral panic ○​ Parental fears; kids are online, doing who-knows-what.  ​ Happened because of a social shift; kids are online more and parents are not. VIDEO; CLASSIC case of modern panic; the satanic panic of the 80s and 90s; ​ Manhattan beach; mother noticed her son was having nightmares and difficulty settling down. ​ Teachers accused of abusing the children. ​ Charges mounted on the evening news; charge of CP, sacrificing children, Satanic panic: ​ fear/anxiety; seeking control. ​ About daycares; a relatively new phenomenon. Women are going to work and need a place to put their kids in the daytime. But can you trust the daycares? ​ Religious shifts; people are not going to church. Evangelical christianity is rising. ​ Child abuse; being recognized now as an actual phenomenon in the 80s. ​ Exam: it's these underlying social shifts that manifest in this explosion of fear and allegations.