The Nature of CrimeWhat constitutes a crime and a criminal offence

Defining Crime and Criminal OffencesWhat is a crime?an act or an omission of an act that is

prohibited and punishable by federal statute

What is an omission of an act?some crimes are not the acts that you

commit but rather the failure to act in certain situations

Omission of an ActA six foot tall expert swimmer sits by

the side of a five foot tall pool and heartily enjoys watching a four foot tall child drown.

Is this person committing a crime?

Omission of an ActThe person is not committing any crime by his

omission (assuming he / she isn't the lifeguard, of course). The usual reasoning behind this is that people should be punished only for deliberately adding to human misery, not for being indifferent towards it. Also, in many situations where coming to another's aid might put the rescuer at risk, there is far too much difficulty in ascertaining at what exact point the risk to the rescuer becomes too great to incur criminal liability.

Omission of An ActHowever, when statute specifically requires

action on the part of a citizen, saying "I didn't do any harm" is not enough.

If a father watches his child drown in a shallow pool and does nothing, he may be guilty of homicide on account of the responsibility he holds for his child's life.

Omission of an ActFailing to: pay taxeschild support, and alimony are a few recognizable examples of

omission

Conditions for a Crime in CanadaWhether an act or omission,the act is considered wrong by societythe act causes harm to society in general

or to those (such as minors) who need protection

the harm must be seriousthe remedy must be handled by the

criminal justice system

Changes to WrongsTime and place can lead to changes in what

is considered wrongProstitutionlegal in some European countries but not hereAdulterywas a criminal offence in Canada, but not anymoreTheftthey used to hang people for simple theft

Criminal LawCrimes are considered offences against

not only against the direct victim of the crime, but against the public, or society as a whole

Criminal LawSomeone steals an iPod from an

electronics store.

Who is affected by this crime?

Criminal LawThe owner of the store is affected

Raises prices to compensate for merchandise

Customers pay more

Have less money for other things

Criminal LawCrime affects everyone, so the

government has to investigate and act against those who commit crimes

Criminal law is the body of laws that prohibit and punish acts that injure people, property, and the entire community

Criminal LawWhat do the laws do?Protect people and property

Maintain order

Preserve standards of public decency

Elements of a CrimeTo convict someone of a crime, Crown

has to prove two things existed at the time the offence was committed:

1.the act itself2. the intention to commit the actThese elements are referred to as actus

reus and mens rea

Actus Reus“The guilty act”; shows a voluntary

action, omission, or state of being that is prohibited by law

The physical act involved in committing the offence described by the criminal law

Actus ReusYou have an argument with a friend. You

then proceed to strike your friend in the face

This is the criminal act of assault; s. 265(1)(a) in the Criminal Code

You commit a wrongful act (actus reus) of assault when “without the consent of another person, he applies force intentionally to that person, directly or indirectly”

Actus ReusIn most cases, a criminal act must be

completed to qualify as an offenceIf you only thought of striking your

friend, but he / she saw you were angry and ran away before you could hit or threaten him / her, you would not be guilty of assault

Actus Reus and OmissionFailing to do something can be considered

a wrongful actNew (and by definition inexperienced)

parents do not give their baby enough to eat

Baby dies of malnutritionS. 215(1) says those parents can be

charged with failure to provide their baby with the necessities of life

Actus Reus and State of BeingYour friend says that he / she has a

MacBook in his / her car that he / she no longer needs. He / she says you can have it

You later find out the MacBook was stolen during a home invasion

Being in possession of stolen goods is an offence where the wrongful act is a state of being

Actus Reus and State of BeingBeing in possession of break-in tools =

State of Being

Being found in a gaming or betting house = State of Being

Final Words on Actus ReusActus reus has to be voluntary, not

forced by someone elseI threaten you to commit a robbery is not

a voluntary actYou are sleepwalking and commit an

offence = no actus reusReflex reactions = no actus reus

Mens ReaAccompanies actus reusmeans “the guilty mind”implies moral guilt; accused person

deliberately did something he / she knew to be wrong with reckless disregard for the consequences

have to have the intent to commit an offence or knowledge to know it was against the law

IntentIntent = meant to do something wrong,

recklessly regarding the consequences, and knew or should have foreseen the results

wilfully or intentionally are words that show intent

assault was defined as “applies force intentionally”

intentionally shows the mens rea of assault

IntentGeneral intent: person commits a wrongful

act with no other motive or purposeRyan struck JFost because he was angry

with him and wanted to vent his anger physically

His general intent was to assault JFostHow would the Crown establish mens rea? Simply prove Ryan struck JFost

IntentSpecific Intent = the commission of one

wrongful act in order to accomplish another

Let’s look at s. 343(c) in the Criminal Code“Every one commits robbery who assaults

any person with intent to steal from him”What does this mean?

IntentRyan struck JFost. What if Ryan had struck

him in order to take his iPod?If this was the case, then Ryan committed

assault for the sake of accomplishing a theftHow does the Crown prove mens rea to

commit robbery?Has to show that Ryan not only assaulted

JFost, but that his specific intent was to steal from him

IntentGeneral intent is easier to prove than

specific intentCould explain why the Crown prosecutes

for manslaughter (unplanned homicide and a general intent offence) instead of murder (planned and deliberate homicide and a specific intent offence)

IntentThis gives rise to the great drunkenness

defence“Your Honour, I was too drunk to have

committed…”Specific intent is harder to prove if you

were intoxicated or impaired at the time

Motive vs. IntentDon’t confuse motive and intent

Motive is your reason for committing a crimeIntent is your state of mind and willingness

to break the lawIf you kill someone for money, money is the

motive. The Crown must prove intent by showing the crime was “planned and deliberate”

KnowledgeMens rea can be shown if the Crown can

prove the accused had knowledge of certain facts

The fake licenses.368(1)(a) of the Criminal Code states:

“Every one who, knowing that a document is forged, uses, deals or acts upon it” is guilty of the offence of circulating a forged document

KnowledgeCrown only needs to prove you knew the

fake license was forged

Does not need to show either general or specific intent

Criminal NegligenceMens rea can exist if the accused

showed negligenceAccused failed to take precautions that

any reasonable person would take to avoid causing harm to another

Criminal Negligences.219(1) defines Criminal Negligence as:someone who(a)in doing anything, or(b) in omitting to do anything that it is

his duty to do, shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons

Criminal NegligenceProper storage of guns (leaving them in

places where children could access them)

Mens rea here is “wanton or reckless disregard”

RecklessnessInvolves taking an unjustifiable risk that

a reasonable person would not takeDriving without prescription glassesCrown could prove you had the

necessary intent to commit a crime because you behaved recklessly

Wilful BlindnessDeliberately closing your mind to the

possible consequences of your actionsWilfully blind when you don’t ask a question

because you don’t want to know the truthThe stolen computer with the “N.B. Ed” tag

on itWilfully blind to the fact that it was likely

stolen

Strict and Absolute LiabilityLooking at regulatory laws

environmental protection, workplace safety, hunting and fishing regulations, traffic offences

Many have words wilfully or with intent written into them

Means that mens rea is not required

Strict and Absolute LiabilityStrict Liability: the offence does not

require mens rea but the accused can offer the defence of due diligence

Due diligence is taking every reasonable precaution to avoid committing the offence

Many environmental pollution offences are strict liability

Strict and Absolute LiabilityAbsolute Liability: There is no defence

possible.Crown proves the offence took place and

the accused was responsible, the court must assign guilt

Driving with no license or speedingAbsolute liability means only a fine, no

prison time