"I think we've been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it's the government's job to cope with it. 'I have a problem, I'll get a grant.' 'I'm homeless, the government must house me.' They're casting their problem on society. And, you know, there is no such thing as society.”

To Consider…

• To what extent are individuals responsible for crime?

• Does society sometimes create conditions that foster crime?

• To what extent is society responsible for crime?

Crime: Deviance that violates the Law

• Laws being the most serious norms, behaviourthat violates them is the most serious deviance

• The severity of a crime is usually reflected in the type of punishment (formal sanction) received

• Just as norms are relative across cultures, so are laws and sanctions

• Crime is an issue all societies must deal with

Criminology

• The field of study that uses sociological and psychological ideas to understand crime and criminals

Measurement of Crime• Collection of statistics• In the US – FBI has the Unified Crime Report• In Canada - Canadian Center for Justice Statistics• Violent crimes

– Murder– Assaults– Robbery

• Property crimes– Burglary– Theft– Arson

• White Collar Crime – job-related crimes committed by people of high status in society

Saint John Crime Mapping

Top Four Crimes in Saint John

1. Assault

2. Robbery

3. Burglary

4. Driving Under the Influence

The Criminal Justice System

May 17th, 2018

Components of the Criminal Justice System

1. Law Enforcement

2. The Courts

3. Corrections

How does the criminal justice system attempt to control crime?

4 approaches to crime control:

• Deterrence

• Retribution

• Incarceration

• Rehabilitation

Identify the following sanctions as either deterrence, retribution, incarceration or rehabilitation or a

combination thereof

1. The threat of corporal punishment for vandalism2. Locking someone up in prison without chance for parole3. Revenge through the death penalty4. Helping inmates study for the GED5. Imprisonment without parole6. Longer prison sentences7. Extremely harsh prison conditions8. Psychological counseling in prison9. Swift justice10. Captial punishment 11. Skills training12. Drug rehab13. Literacy education programs

Does incarceration deter?

• Are people dissuaded from committing a crime when they know there is a risk of jail time?

• What should the culture and atmosphere of a prison be like?

Does incarceration rehabilitate?

• Jail sentences may protect the public

• Does little to help offenders

• Prisons are costly and can exacerbate inmates problems

• Rates of recidivism often high

• Sociologists/psychologists are interested in alternatives

Recidivism

• A repetition of or return to criminal behaviour• Reasons for Recidivism

– The Basic Nature of the Offenders– Influences of other criminals– The Stigma of being an ex-com

• John Howard Society – an organization devoted to helping ex-convicts find

gainful employment

Evaluating the Criminal Justice

System

“The real measure of civilization in any society can be found in the way it treats

its most unfortunate citizens - its prisoners” – Winston Churchill

Alternatives to Prison

• Alternative Measures - A program in New Brunswick that offers a constructive way to deal with non-violent, low risk adult offenders, who accept responsibility for their crimes.

• Probation – an individual is placed under restrictions regarding travel, curfew, drugs/alcohol, associations or other

Incarceration: A means to what ends?

1. To protect society?

2. To rehabilitate?

3. To punish?

• How do the Black Dolphin (Russia) and HaldenPrison (Norway) fulfill these roles? Comment on their efficacy in achieving an end goal?

• What values and beliefs underlie the types of prisons used in Russia and Norway?

The Role of Retribution

“IF A NOBLE MAN PUTS OUT THE EYE OF ANOTHER NOBLE MAN, HIS EYE SHALL BE PUT OUT. IF HE BREAKS ANOTHER NOBLE MAN’S BONE, HIS BONE SHALL BE BROKEN.”

• What purpose does retribution serve?

The Debate

• Does capital punishment benefit society?

The NCR Debate

• Perpetrators of serious violent crimes are deemed not criminally responsible according to diagnosed mental illness

• Cases:

– Greg Depres

– Vince Li

– Jeffery Arenburg

Next Debate

• Should the NCR designation be upheld under Canadian law?

Article Study

On the Effectiveness of Prison and Punishment

Stuart Henry, PhD

Professor and Chair of Interdisciplinary Studies, College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs Wayne State University

On the effectiveness of Prison as Punishment

1. What needs to be clarified to assess the questions “does punishment work?” What other related issues need to be specified and addressed?

2. Why do people generally support punishment?3. How can punishment be defined?4. What can increase/decrease the efficacy of punishment?5. What claims does Charles Murray (1997) make? How is his

argument supported?6. What do critics of Murray’s ideas hold forth in rebuttal?7. What assumption is the argument for deterrence based

upon?8. When examining demographic data on US prisoners, what

can be said about the efficacy of deterrence?9. What are suggested as more appropriate/effective ways

to deter crime?

Crime Scenarios

Bill McFarqauson, 46 of Shawville Quebec pled guilty to driving under the influence in a Gatineau courtroom last Thursday. Mr. McFarquason was found passed out behind the wheel of his 98 Chev Cavalier at a deppaneur in Aylmer last August. The proprietor called the police after noticing him asleep with the car parked but running for about half an hour. When officers roused him from the car several empty beer cans and Pringles containers fell to ground. McFarquason had recently lost his job with a local sawmill due to his issues with alcohol. This is his second offence, his first was back in 2008 when stopped at a random check point in Ottawa.

Livette Langstrop of North Battleford, Saskatchewan pled guilty to shoplifting from Mary McCaskills Pharmacy and Bake Shop in a local court earlier this week. Langstrop was charged after store personnel observed her on closed circuit security camera slipping a $8.99 tube lipstick into her purse. This is the first charge for the 23 year old daycare worker who claims she had a momentary lapse of judgement.

Yuri Mascovitch, 68, of the Former Bulgarian Republic of Traskadelphia has been found guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide on a mass scale. The verdict was handed down by the international criminal court in Belgium. Charges stem from abuses that took place prior to and during a bloody civil war in the region during which rebel forces overthrew his authoritarian regime.

Vince Li was apprehended by police on the side of a Manitoba highway after murdering and mutilating a 22 year old passenger on a Greyhound bus bound for Winnipeg from Edmonton. At trial Li admitted to being on a mission from God to seek out and murder aliens, of which he believed his victim was one.

Possible Written Response Questions1. Are deviant individuals a product of their genes (nature)

or their socialization (nurture?) How would Differential Association Theory answer and elaborate on this question? (5 pts.)

2. In attempting to explain deviance in society, what theoretical perspective do you think is most fitting? Why? (5 pts.)

3. Describe with examples, Robert Merton’s Strain Theory (10)

4. Consider the “4 Approaches to Crime Control.” How does the prison system in Canada try to meet each of these? Also, what potential problems exist within the prison system?

5. Explore the controversy surrounding Capital Punishment. Does it benefit society? How does it relate to the “4 Approaches to Crime Control” (10 pts.)