Studying Criminal Justice Lecture 1 PDF

Studying Criminal Justice Lecture 1 1 Criminology and Criminal Justice: Liberal Arts Endeavours Criminology: how and why crime happens Criminal justice: what to do about criminal activity once it’s occurred Areas of Study and Key Players 1. Policing Investigation of criminal...

Studying Criminal Justice Lecture 1 1 Criminology and Criminal Justice: Liberal Arts Endeavours Criminology: how and why crime happens Criminal justice: what to do about criminal activity once it’s occurred Areas of Study and Key Players 1. Policing Investigation of criminal activity 2. Courts Enforcement of criminal law 3. Corrections The correctional arm of the state 3 Does it reflect your priority today? What is the first word you see? WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CRIME? What are your main sources? Where do you learn about crime? 5 https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/09/15/judge-sentences-alberta-boy-12-to- basketball-practice.html 6  https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/community-calls-for-changes-after-woman-killed-crossing-rural-highway-in-n-b-1. 4085354 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KH_Fjk_gQE 7 News sources How Do We Come to Know What We Know About Crime and Criminal Justice? The media subjects us to a vocabulary of force Police = “crime fighters” in the “war” on crime Criminal justice scholars should: Create counterarguments based on evidence Be aware of their own biases and values Be open-minded, fair, empathetic, and value multiple points of view Reasonably decide what to do and/or believe Construct good arguments where the issues are controversial 8 How Much Crime Is There? Debunking the Myths The Crime Rate: Counts all police-reported crime equally. Crime Severity Index (CSI): Weighs each offence based on the average sentences handed down by the courts. Statistics Canada reported a decrease in the CSI in 2020 after five years of increases. Crime is experienced differently because of many factors. In 2020, Indigenous people accounted for 5% of the Canadian population, but 27% of homicide victims were Indigenous. How Much Crime Is There? Understanding Criminal Victimization Unreported Crime: The Dark Figure The Dark Figure of Crime: Crime that is undetected and/or not reported. Self-Report Studies: Data on crimes not reported to the police. The General Social Survey: Polls a sample of society (those who are 15 years and older) every 5 years to study: 1. changes in the living conditions/well-being of Canadians over time; and 2. current/emerging issues in Canadian society. Canadian Victim Bill of Rights Act (cont’d) Who Are the “Criminals”? Criminal: Anyone who has been convicted of a crime. Attrition: The filtering process that criminal cases undergo as they move through the justice system; estimated to be roughly 4% in Canada. Crime Funnel: Only some criminal behaviour comes to the attention of the police/courts; many cases are dealt with outside of the formal justice system. Crime Net: Police seek out criminals, deciding where to go and who to target.  Ideology- a set of abstract beliefs or assumptions about the correct or proper order of things- especially morality and political arrangements. Ideologies are value laden and shape a person’s position on specific issues Need a framework to bring together the competing belief systems that often influence public policy Beliefs about Society Look at the Areas of Well-Being in Canada diagram; think about the areas where the “root causes of crime” might impact an individual’s likelihood of being involved in crime. While it has been pointed out that the “security” indicators may increase/decrease crime, there may be other indicators that affect whether the crime rate changes. What kinds of policies and laws would be needed to counteract some of these other negative outcomes, which may in turn prevent/control crime? Well Being in Canada- How does that impact crime?  Individualis Collectivist t society has precedence over Society has no claim individuals on the individual Society has the right There should be no to demand conformity with the rules, government or rules for the public constraints on good individual actions Collectivist = Crime Control, Community Change Individualist = Welfare, Justice Determinism= one’s actions are Free will=able to act in spite of heavily influenced by outside factors outside influences or predisposing or predispositions factors The manner in which we intervene in people’s lives when they have broken the law falls somewhere along this continuum based on ideology and beliefs.  focus on a screening main tenet is that it is the process that diverts responsibility of the state and the innocent out of the courts courts to maintain order in Police have great deal society (collectivist) of authority and no Criminal behavior is seen as need for special freely determined; choose to protections in court- commit offences probably guilty focus on this model is on the offences are specified repression of criminal conduct and defined prior to through punishment their occurrence Crime Control Model  main tenet is that interference focus on formal adversarial with individual’s freedom is system of justice; limited; procedures for criminal justice matters are based on consent by all parties as much as key is protection of rights possible (individualist) of public and accused, behavior is seen as freely legal safeguards, due determined process rights, right to a focus is on the repression of lawyer, right to appeal, crime with a qualification that right to legal there is a high probability of representation at all stages error in informal fact-finding of proceedings Justice- due process  main tenet is that the needs of offences are unspecified the young person and family prior to occurrence ;young must be attended to; evaluation person is brought to court of whole youth Criminal behavior is seen as to be aided and assisted Rehabilitation would be being determined by social/psychological forces seen as key to this focus on criminal conduct as part approach of other social events impacting primary ideology of 1908 on person (family dysfunction, low income, single parents, Juvenile Delinquents Act, alcohol/substance abuse, victim youth seen to be in a of family violence, etc.) “state of delinquency” Welfare  main tenet is that society is focus on changing responsible for the promotion of the welfare of its citizens social processes that and must work to prevent crime and delinquency lead people to engage (collectivist) Criminal behavior is seen as in criminal conduct being determined by life and to improve the consequences focus on collective society quality of life for all rather than the individual as offences are being responsible for criminal conduct (social unspecified prior to structural explanation- their occurrence poverty, social class) Community Change  all citizens have a role to youth are required to face play in the prevention and the personal harm that repair of the harm done their offending behavior when a crime is committed has done to the victim and families, victims and the the wider community community are involved restitution, victim offender to the greatest extent mediation, and community possible in rehabilitation, service form part of the community safety initiatives, and holding restoration of the victim, offenders accountable the offender and the community Restorative Justice  26 Emond Montgomery Publications