Understanding Crime in Canada

Chapter 1
Disciplines/areas of study that founded criminology:
-Sociology, psychology, law most important, chemistry and bio becoming more
important
-Minor: Geography, economics, history, political sciene
Social, cultural, demographic trends in the 20th century that led to the
rise of criminology:
-Rise of crime in 2
th
cent!ry d!e to:
!rbani"ation and ind!striali"ation# introd!ction of new categories of crime,
esp$ related to !rban poor: %agrancy, dr!n&enness, prostit!tion etc$
1'(s: rise in crime bc of yo!th rebellion)co!nter c!lt!re$ *s: alcohol
inta&e increased$
demographic shift: higher percentage of yo!ng men, boomers entered
crime prone years
Range of subjects studied by criminology:
S ociology: social order, how social forces de+ne crime, create conditions that
a,ect them, critical criminology
- sychology: foc!s on criminal, ris& of reo,ending, e,ecti%eness of rehab, life
co!rse de%elopment theory
.aw: sets speci+cs of prohibited beha%io!rs, indicates how criminality is treated
G eography, history, political science, economics: patterns in social)spatial
geography a,ect crime and programs of pre%ention, geographic pro+ling
C hem)bio: forensic entomology, /01 pro+ling
Approaches used by criminologists:
-1s&ing why indi%id!als commit crimes- early theories incl!ded criminality as a
biological trait and somatotyping$ 2idely !nderstood that certain traits lead to
criminality# /anish st!dy s!ggests there may be some biological ca!se along with
!s!al en%ironmental ones 3ac4!ired tra!ma, brain in5!ry6
-Usef!l technologies: Crime prevention through environmental design, m!lti
disciplinary approach with inter%entions applied mostly to an !rban en%ironment
/ecreases indi%id!al7s opport!nity and moti%ation for crime
8ncreases ris& to o,ender if crime is committed
Some arg!e it 5!st displaces crime to less protected en%ironments
-Geographic profling: obser%es spatial patterns of crime and h!nting beha%io!rs
of o,enders to determine residence of a serial predatory o,ender
Electronic monitoring: an o,ender wears an electronic de%ice that monitors
their location$ 1%oids cost of incarceration and negati%e e,ects of prison life$
-Critical criminologists: foc!s on power of state and potential for ab!se
-Rational choice theorists: arg!e crimes occ!r as choices made by willing or
mostly willing actors
-Qualitative and quantitative methods both important# combination within a st!dy
9 mixed methods approach. St!dy of crime has history of mostly 4!antitati%e
analysis$
Other notes:
-Canadian criminology: 1':s british col!mbia, dept of social sciences- idea that
more &nowledge wo!ld help correctional e,orts
-1'(;: /enis S"abo fo!nds School of Criminology at !montreal, spread to other
!nis from that point
-<oc!s on !nderstanding crime as a form of de%iance, =and then st!dying the
processes of de+ning criminal law, the social prec!rsors to in%ol%ement in crime,
and the potential range of appropriate and)or e,ecti%e responses to lawbrea&ers=
-/e%iance: beha%io!r that di,ers from accepted social norms# may incl!de acts
that %iolate speci+c r!les 3crime6, se>!al beha%io!rs, or non-criminal acts that
challenge accepted %al!es
-Correlation: the +nding that two meas!rable phenomena occ!r together,
s!ggesting a relationship, b!t not necessarily one of direct ca!se and e,ect
-8nc!lpatory)e>c!lpatory: pointing to one7s g!ilt or innocence
-Criminali"ation: to de+ne an act as a crime, and thereby s!b5ect that act to
formal p!nishment
-Criminal 5!stice system: ?@he %ario!s instit!tions and processes thro!gh which an
o,ender passes, s!ch as the police, the co!rts, and correctional facilities and
programs$A
-Bmpirical: ?@hat which is !nderstood or %eri+ed thro!gh e>periment,
meas!rement, or direct obser%ation# as opposed to theoretical$A
-Se> o,enders: often a wide %ariety of criminals who commit other crimes as well
and are not speciali"ed in se> o,ences# crimes ca!sed by antisocial de%iance
-0et widening: ?8mposing a form of control on indi%id!als who might otherwise not
be s!b5ect to s!ch control$A
Chapter 2
ie!s on ho! media producers and audiences negotiate meaning of
crime and "iolence images # $mportant %uestions to consider in "ie!ing
media critically:
-Media efects: @he concept that e>pos!re to media has an e,ect on beha%io!r$
<or e>ample, yo!ng people e>posed to %iolent media will beha%e aggressi%ely$
-Ray S!rette- images of crime e>pose %iewers to antisocial beha%io!rs that may
be copied 3esp$ 2ith predisposition to %iolence6- catalyst)trigger for crime rather
than ca!se
-Active audiences: @he concept that a!diences are not passi%e recipients of
information or meanings b!t are instead acti%e in the process of creating
meaning$ Meaning of messages is constr!cted thro!gh interaction, %iewers ma&e
meaning of %iolent media according to own perspecti%es and %al!es$
-Cultural criminology: e>plores the lin&s between c!lt!re, crime, and crime control
in contemporary social life
-Criminological st!dies of media emphasi"e importance of critical thin&ing
-B>ample of disc!ssion between media %iolence and real-life %iolent acts:
Col!mbine Massacre$ ?@he Col!mbine incident is an e>cellent ill!stration of how
media stories abo!t crimes shape o!r !nderstanding of those crimes, and how o!r
!nderstanding of crime shapes the &inds of media stories we prod!ceA
-ro!lem "rame: ?1 narrati%e that is easily !nderstood beca!se it foc!ses on the
e>istence of something e>traordinary and ?badA that a,ects many people, and
identi+es !nambig!o!s sol!tions that can be implemented in the f!t!re$A /oes
not pro%ide long term sol!tions, often band aid instead$
-Crime stories often lin&ed to e>traordinary)horrifying e%ents, e%o&e sense of fear$
/owler, <leming, and M!""atti- crime as a prod!ct$
&oral panics, !ho is in"ol"ed, and ho! they are produced:
-Moral panic# condition, episode, person or gro!p of persons emerges to become
de+ned as a threat to societal %al!es and interests 3Cohen6$ Ccc!rs when there is
a gap between peopleDs perceptions of a problem and the ?factA of the problem,
and the di,erence can be e>plained ideologically
-media stories can distort %iews of crime and lead to changes in policy that can be
harmf!l and)or !nnecessary$ Crime rates seem to rise when they7re not$
-Eall et al: the ?rising crime rate equationA plays a conser%ati%e ideological role in
maintaining the stat!s 4!o by creating p!blic s!pport for more policing to bring
the ?crisisA bac& !nder control
-Cohen, $ol% devils and moral panics: disc!sses primary %s secondary de%iance,
moral entrepren!rs 31 person, gro!p, or organi"ation that ta&es the lead in
identifying certain beha%io!r as de%iant and in need of legal sanctions6, identi+es
mass media as cr!cial factor in ma&ing moral panics$ Cften targets yo!th
s!bc!lt!res as ?threatsA
-"ol% devils: Criginating in images from fol&lore, this term refers to people or
gro!ps presented in media as de%iant o!tsiders and the ca!se of social problems$
'oode and (en)yehuda*s +"e characteristics of moral panics:
1$ Concern: a ?heightened le%el of concernA abo!t the ?problem,A often fanned
by media attention, action gro!ps, or legislati%e initiati%es$
2$ &ostility: an ?increased le%el of hostilityA toward the targeted gro!p, with
the gro!pDs beha%io!r characteri"ed as harmf!l or threatening to the %al!es,
beliefs, and morals of ?normalA society$
;$ Consensus# some sort of fairly widespread ?consens!sA 3agreement6 among
members of the society that the threat posed by the wrongf!l beha%io!r is
real and serio!s$
F$ 'isproportionality: a le%el of concern that is disproportionate to the act!al
serio!sness of the threat# +g!res may be e>aggerated, and there may be
little or no e%idence of a real threat$
:$ (olatility: the s!dden appearance and then disappearance of the ?threatA
witho!t any %alid e>planation for why it became s!ch a big problem one day
and was no longer a problem the ne>t day$
-Elite)engineered theory: small, powerf!l gro!ps create moral panics to di%ert
attention from serio!s problems that might negati%ely impact the interests of
those gro!ps$ olicing the Crisis by Eall et al$ 1s an e>ample$
-*nterest group theory: interest gro!ps s!ch as the media, politicians, professional
gro!ps, and religio!s organi"ations act independently rather than wor& together
3Gec&er6$ May be self ser%ing b!t also o!t of gen!ine belief they are doing the
right thing$
-Goode and ben-yeh!da: 1ll three are important for a complete !nderstanding of
moral panics$
&edia perceptions of "ictims based on class, race, gender etc:
-stories abo!t crime often reHect social bias
--oC portrayed negati%ely, more li&ely to be reported on, raciali"ed pop!lations
portrayeda as criminal$ More e>pos!re for lesser o,ences 3e>$ 0H 4!arterbac&s#
dog+ghting %s se>!al assa!lt6
-Raciali"ed o,enders rarely seen in sympathetic manner
--ersonal note- Michael Grown %ictim of shooting yet still portrayed negati%ely by
media$ http:))tangelotime$t!mblr$com)post)':*(II;(:)arabellesicardi-here-is-a-
side-by-side
-E!rricane Jatrina- moral panic o%er e>aggerated rise in crime after h!rricane$
?@he mediaDs distortion of e%ents can be e>plained by se%eral factors, incl!ding
brea&downs in comm!nication, class and racial stereotyping, and narrati%es that
had been established, s!ch as 7ci%il !nrest7 and 7!rban warfare$7A
--re5!dice against M!slims: h!ge rise after ')11$ ?M!slims are commonly
constr!cted in %ario!s pop!lar media as terrorists, 5ihadists, and se>!al de%iantsA$
@error attac&s by whites greatly diminished in media$
-/isco!rses: ?Refers to forms of lang!age, representation, and practices and how
meaning is created and shared$ /isco!rses ta&e place within speci+c c!lt!ral and
historical conte>ts$A
-<emale o,enders: ?predatoryA or ?promisc!o!sA, 5!dged for departing from
stereotypically feminine ideals
-Christie: ?a person or a category of indi%id!als who, when hit by crime, most
readily are gi%en the complete and legitimate stat!s of being a %ictimA
- ,-ortrayals of "ictims are often strongly a.ected by racism,
$slamophobia, ageism, ableism, homophobia, and misogyny/0 Minority
stat!s 9 less ideal %ictim$ Characteri"ation as de%iant also 9 ?less innocentA$
Crimes against whites 3esp$ 2ith blac& perpetrator6 gi%en h!ge co%erage, %ice
%ersa is largely ignored$
- 1ccording to Christie 31'I(6, an ideal %ictim is
1$ 2ea& in relation to the o,ender: either female, sic&, %ery old, %ery yo!ng,
or a combination thereof
2$ going abo!t ro!tine, respectable, and legitimate 3read as ?legalA6 daily
acti%ities when she or he is %ictimi"ed
;$ blameless for what transpired
F$ !nrelated to and !nac4!ainted with the person who committed the
o,ence
:$ in a s!bmissi%e or s!bordinate position to the perpetrator, who can easily
be described in negati%e terms
($ someone with eno!gh inH!ence, power, or sympathy to assert ?%ictim
stat!sA witho!t threatening the broader political stat!s 4!o
-female %ictims gain more sympathy as long as they can be characteri"ed as
innocent# otherwise they are blamed for the crime
-police portrayed as heroes# police br!tality ignored$ Ko!rnalists sometimes
press!red to portray police positi%ely so they &eep access to inter%iews and news
tips$
-Reality @L sometimes misconstr!es what it7s li&e to be a police oMcer- all abo!t
+ghting crime rather than %ariety of responsibilities$
Other notes:
-Under section 1(; of the Criminal Code, it is a crime to ma&e, print, p!blish,
distrib!te, or sell a crime comic$ @echnically still f!nctional b!t not enforced$
-Cther: 1 person or gro!p of people de+ned as f!ndamentally di,erent, or e%en
de%iant, by the dominant c!lt!re, often thro!gh stereotyping$
-So!s%eillance: @he recording, by a citi"en participant or witness, of an incident or
acti%ity, to hold a b!rea!cratic organi"ation to acco!nt$ 8t can be !sed to record
incidents in which police may be seen ab!sing their power$ Compare with
s!r%eillance$ Some states ha%e made it illegal to +lm police in response$
-CS8 e,ect: 5!rors hold !nrealistic e>pectations of forensic e%idence and
in%estigation techni4!es, and ha%e an increased interest in the discipline of
forensic science, beca!se of the inH!ence of CS8-type tele%ision shows 3Robber6