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63 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Criminal Justice System Definition |
an organized and institutional reaction to criminal behaviour. goal is social control of the criminal behaviour and protection of the public. |
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3 Purposes of the Criminal Justice System |
1. control of crime 2. prevention of crime 3. maintenance of justice |
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Legal Definition of Crime |
crime is behaviour prohibited by the criminal code |
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Social Definition of Crime |
crime is behaviour that violates social norms |
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Social Constructionist Definition of Crime |
crime is unacceptable behaviour defined by the powerful people in a society. 'agents of social control' |
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The Punitive Turn |
Rehabilitation takes the back seat for treatment to crime "condemn more understand less" Began in the 1970's Failure of the 'social engineers' -- those who wanted to engineer rehabilitation programs that have failed in the past. Rising levels of the fear of crime and expectation of crime. Risk society- a perpetual sense of crisis Rise in victim-centered crime policy Declining trust and/or confidence in the police |
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Key Factors to Reduce Crime |
1) Increase educational attainment 2) Increase employment rates 3) Increase wages 4) Increase number of police per capita |
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Durkheim - Mechanical Societies |
In a mechanical society social cohesion and integration comes from the homogeneity of individuals. ex: same educational, religion, training, etc. |
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Durkheim - Organic Societies |
social cohesion based upon the dependence individuals have on each other in more advanced societies. comes from the interdependence that arises from specialization of work and the complementaries between people. |
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Law in Mechanical Societies |
law enforces uniformity of members goal is repression of deviance through repressive sanctions (ex: taking liberty or the life of those who transgress social codes). |
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Law in Organic Societies |
law aims at restitution among particular individuals or groups in society (ex: through legal means but those not linked to social disgrace) |
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Emile Durkheim on Crime |
Crime is functional for societies and normal in mechanical societies to reinforce the collective conscious Crime also helps the majority of society to feel self-righteous and superior. |
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The Society of Saints Metaphor - Emile Durkheim |
Imagine a society of saints, a perfect cloister of exemplary individuals. Crimes, properly so called, will there be unknown, but faults which appear venial to the layman will create there the same scandal that the ordinary offense does in ordinary consciousness. If, then, this society has the power to judge and punish, it will define these acts as criminal and will treat them as such. For the same reason, the perfect and upright man judges his smaller failings with a severity that the majority reserve for acts more truly in the nature of an offense. Formerly, acts of violence against persons were more frequent than they are today, because respect for individual dignity was less strong. As this has increased, these crimes have become more rare |
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Situational Relativity |
Acts considered deviant or criminal in one situation may not be considered so in another. |
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Class/Status Relativity |
Acts considered deviant or criminal for some people may not be considered so for others of a different class/status. |
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Crime Does Not Exist - Nils Christie |
Crimes vs. Acts and Interactions Norms are not, they become Acts are not, they become |
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Christie - Criminal Justice System as a Pain Delivery System |
Expansion of the system based not on the number of criminal acts, but the amount of 'pain' society agrees to impose on it's citizens (collective conscious) |
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Christie - Crime Control as an Industry |
Like other industries, it is unwilling to justify stagnation Its grown leads to the justification for its existence. (self-fulfilling prophecy) 'if you build it, they will come, if they come, we need to build more.' Prisons have become modern-day workhouses, targeting the unemployed and other denizens. Privatized groups relieve the State of the burden of their unwanted, at he lowest possible cost. |
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Christie - House of Perfection, House of Turbulence Analogy |
Man in the park "limited amount of knowledge inside a social system opens for the possibility of giving an act the meaning of crime." |
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The Constraints of Modernity - Christie |
The importance of empathy There are no monsters Crime provides an "unlimited natural resource" for various stakeholders (ex: politicians, police) Modern life as arenas with armies of providers of meaning (?) |
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Crime Statistics: Christie & Reiman |
"social phenomena which tells what the system sees as crime and bothers to cope with, or has the capacity to cope with...crime does not exist as a given entity" - Christie "a distorted mirror of dangers, shaped more by the mirror than the reality it affects" - Reiman |
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Uniform Crime Reports (UCR's) |
In the 1920's they were "offences known to law enforcement" In 2003 they were - "all reports of crime received from victims, officers who discover infractions, or other sources." UCR's are ambiguous - offences are noted whether or not a crime has been committed. Police department's also classify crime in different ways... for example: burglary is defined as use of force for breaking and entering...however, the FBI directs police to report burglaries as any unlawful entry. Thus, Net widening effect > Sensitization > Escalation UCR directs police to report a death as a homicide regardless of the findings of coroners or courts. |
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Influences on Crime Reporting |
Computerization and expansion of f 911 during the 1970's and 1980's Changes in awareness regarding social problems such as rape, rape crisis centres, and women's shelters. UCR data do not accurately reflect crimes committed, but they do reflect police department practices and politics. |
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The Dark Figure of Crime |
Majority of crimes are unreported. |
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The Reality of Crime |
Approx. 98% of the US population was not the victim of any type of personal crime. There is much fear towards 'random violence' that seems to be without motive. Perhaps because the police, media, and corrections mainly focus on street crime. Individ's are more likely to be victimized by their own relatives or peers. Underscored by underreporting of crimes among intimate associates. |
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Police Reported Crimes |
40% of police reported crime in Canada comes from two relatively less serious offences: theft under $5,000 and mischief. Any variation will dramatically impact the overall crime rate. |
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Crime Severity Index |
created in 2008 assigns 'weightings' to particular offences in 2015 police reported crime in Canada, as measured by both the crime rate and crime severity index (CSI) increased for the first time since 2003. This 2015 change was driven primarily by increases in fraud, breaking and entering, robbery, and homicide. The upward movement of the national CSI was fuelled by a notable growth in crime reported by Alberta. |
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General Social Survey (Crime Trends) GSS "Victimization Surveys" |
GSS on victimization began in 1988 Original UCR data does not include details of victimization Dark figure: 2009- 2,485,207 police recorded crimes in Canada, just over 9.4 criminal victimization incidents. GSS- Asked respondents about overall feelings of satisfaction with personal safety from crime and in particular situations - being home alone at night, taking public transport at night, walking home alone after dark. Younger Canadians are more satisfied with their personal safety than older Canadians Higher levels of comfort satisfaction came from males who made $20,000 annually plus non-Aboriginals, and those without a physical disability. |
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Limits to Victimization Survey |
Still under-reported crime --- e.g. if it's defined as insignificant, or fear of repercussions Response bias: variability in reporting |
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Qualitative Research on Crime Perceptions |
Interviews Focus Groups -- captures the contexts and lived experiences of people with victimization experience and those without. |
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Making Crime Count (Statistics Canada) |
Politics creep into statistics despite the mandate |
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Penal Populism Definition |
Populism -- is a political response that favours popularity over other policy considerations Penal Populism - the pursuit of a set of penal policies to win votes rather than to reduce crime rates or promote justice...Penal populists allow the electoral advantage of a policy to take precedence over its penal effectiveness. A spectrum of intentionality - exploitation of public anxiety, desire to reflect public opinion without in-depth examination Politicians say they are merely reflecting community attitudes and sentiment. 'Law and order' crime control policy responses ensue despite - absence of evidence of escalation of crime, absence of systematic evidence of public punitiveness. |
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House of Perfection (In Regards to Penal Populism) |
the over-use of imprisonment the primary effect, at least an unintended consequence of penal populism criminal justice policies resulting from penal populism take a long time to dissipate |
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Moral Indignation (Durkheim) (Penal Populism) |
Reacting to good crime news... skepticism about declining crime rates rejecting the numbers "we're not concerned about the latest statistics, we're concerned about protecting our community" |
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Symbolization of Police Work: Commonly understood functions of the police |
Commonly understood functions of the police: to serve and protect maintain social order and the public trust deter/prevent crime enforce the law use of legitimate force |
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Symbolization of Police Work: Police Role |
Sense of secular sacredness or awesome power linked directly to the state; obligated to defend its interests. |
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Symbolization of Police Work |
the symbolization of the government, including the police, is far more important than the actual conduct of their activities Police -- tap into public morality and use it as a resource (social capital) -- this reinforces their role in the public eye as 'crime fighters' and 'agents of control' So long as the public see the police as crime fighters, they will not be perceived in an alternative way "the police cannot control crime or eradicate it, they can only regulate or manage it" |
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Symbolization of Police Work: The Police Mandate |
Prevent, control, deter and punish crime but cannot uphold this mission due to organizational factors such as: being dependent on the public for cooperation, limited access to the private sphere, & the covert nature of much crime. "the police act in the interests of the powerful and the authoritative against those without power and without the access to means of power" - Manning |
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Western Police Culture |
Ethos of bravery, autonomy, and secrecy Role calls "stay safe out there, never back down" |
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Western Police Culture is Characterized By... |
High degree of cohesiveness Isolation from others in the community Inherently suspicious of the public Feelings of powerlessness Problems of status |
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6 Basic Values of Police Culture |
1. police are the only real crime fighters 2. no one else understands the real nature of police work 3. loyalty to colleagues counts above everything else (leads to noble cause corruption) 4. it is impossible to win the war against crime without bending the rules (ex: civil rights) 5. members of the public are unsupportive and unreasonably demanding 6. patrol work sucks but detective work is exciting |
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Noble Cause Corruption |
Corruption that stems from a sentiment that the ends justify the means police misconduct justified or rationalized as serving a greater good |
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Western Police Culture: What Shields Malpractice? (organizational aspects) |
Police drawn usually from lower-middle class young and impressionable officers with average intelligence solidarity and loyalty to their own force police 'code of silence' |
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Western Police Culture: Reality of Police Work |
directing traffic investigating accidents writing reports much of police work involves activities unrelated to crime crime clearance rates are normally quite low |
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Police Legitimacy |
Legitimacy has a strong influence on the public's reactions to the police "key antecedent" to public is fairness of procedures used by the police |
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Police Legitimacy: Procedural Justice |
Police Legitimacy linked to public judgements about the process through which the police make decisions and exercise authority ex: during police citizen interactions Procedural justice (idea of fairness) found to be more significant for public perceptions than instrumental outcomes-> ex: assessments of police's ability to respond quickly and effectively to crime and prevent crime People who view the police as legitimate are more likely to conform to the law Police have more control over how they treat people than the crime rate |
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Dull Compulsion |
where compliance does not necessarily signify trust and legitimacy |
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Police Who Use Deadly Force |
deadly force -- force that is used to with the intent to cause bodily injury or death Second 21(1) any individual (including police officers) can use any force necessary if it stands on reasonable grounds |
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Racial Profilling Definition |
when the members of certain racial or ethnic groups become subject to greater levels of criminal justice and surveillance than others. racial disparity in stop and search practices blacks are approximately 8x more likely to be stopped and searched than whites |
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Canadian Trends Racial Profiling |
Canadian police are not required to record the race of the people they stop or search In 2002 and 2010 the Toronto star found blacks were treated more harshly and stopped more often than whites Students who engage in variance forms of crime and deviance are much more likely to receive police attention than students who do not break the law |
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The Myth of Criminal Behaviour Trumping Racial Profiling |
Racial differences in police stop and search practices are actually greatest among students with low levels of criminal behaviour Deference to authority (being polite to law enforcement) does not prevent black's from unwanted police attention this challenges previous research on procedural justice |
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Police Culture (Racial Profiling) |
when seen in the context of police subcultures, racial profiling occurs even in the absence of officers who may be inclined to prejudice or discriminate against visible minorities. As well, that subculture provides police with a powerful and convincing deflection rhetoric to neutralize claims that the policing institution has failed to root out the racist practices of its officers |
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Problem-Oriented Policing |
Alternative to reactive policing ex: (police responding to reported crime) police direct energies at causes of crime rather than complaints focus is not crime-- it's behaviour indicating a risk of crime also aimed at alleviating fear of crime expansion of police role -- police are now involved in more preventative and social problem based ideas. results in the expansion of working attitudes .. the watchman etc. One problem with this method...police don't always consider including the community when examining causes of crime..Ironic considering principle 1 |
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5 Key Principles of Problem-Oriented Policing |
1. a problem is something related to the community, not just the police officers 2. a problem is a group or patterns of incidents, and therefore demands a different set of responses then does a single incident 3. a problem is something that must be understood in terms of the competing interests at stake 4. responding to a problem involves more than a 'quick fix' (ex:arrest). It is a long term strategy 5. problem solving requires a heightened level of creativity and initiative on the part of the patrol officer |
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Community Policing |
an attempt to close the gap between the police and the community perceived correlation between disorder and crime seen as the future of policing attempts at reducing fear in communities neighbourhood activity programs for youths, etc. sponsored and operated by police volunteers |
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3 Aims of Community Policing |
1. Formation of community partnerships 2. Organizational change 3. Problem solving |
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Community Policing Ctnd... |
success of the police depends on the creation of competent communities - not just their own skills need community support need to change culture of policing and management approach |
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Criticisms of Community Policing |
veneer masking traditional reactive practices a way for police to project legitimacy vague concept and role ambiguity vague sense of community |
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Broken Windows |
Minor offences generate fear of crime 1. neighbourhood disorder causes fear 2. neighbourhood disorder generates crime-promoting signals 3. the police should get involved at the first signs of deterioration 4. police need citizens cooperation one un-repaired window is a signal that no-one cares at the community level, disorder and crime are usually inextricably linked in a kind of developmental sequence "while foot patrol may not objectively reduce crime, it addresses concerns for public order and fear of unpredictable people." |
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Zero Tolerance Policing |
focus is on order maintenance communities may not be able to police themselves embraces the crime-attack model/suppression concentrates on specific types of crimes place-specific oriented 'inward directed, favours existing command structure.'
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Zero Tolerance Policing (NYC) |
Mayor Giuliani and police chief Bratton no tolerance of any disorder or offensive behaviour of any variety emphasis on proactive, rather than reactive policing. productivity measured by quotas police directed by Bratton to make at least one arrest a year number of policemen grew from 25,000 in 1990 to 38,000 in 1997 part of the aim was to 'reclaim' the subway system after Giuliani was elected into office in 1994, violent crime and burglary significantly decreased.
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Zero Tolerance Policing Pt. (2) |
Damages informal community relations with police officers "community-policing" suffers, which is messy and time-consuming, but at least it builds social trust impossible to enforce |
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Effects of Zero Tolerance Policing on the Public |
civil rights complaints against NYC police for abusive conduct increased 75% between 1994 and 1998 quality of life infractions rose (ex: drinking in public) and misdemeanour arrests rose not enough to implement zero tolerance, need to have a strong base of social services "it destroys the fabric of community-police relations." |
