Chapter 3 - The Study of Criminal Justice

Question 1

inequality in Canada

Answer 1

• The top 1 percent of the population earns 39.1% of the income
• One million children live in low-income households
• Gender inequality in the workplace costs Canada $150 billion a year
• As of 2021, women working fulltime earn 89 cents for every dollar that fulltime male workers make
• Low income and poverty are associated with poor health, a lack of access to services, and higher risk of becoming involved in the CJS
• Poverty has been found to be related to child anxiety, depression, and anti-social behavior

Question 2

prejudice

Answer 2

the unsubstantiated, negative pre-judgement of individuals or groups, generally on the basis of ethnicity, religion, or race

Question 3

discrimination

Answer 3

an action or a decision that treats a person or a group negatively for reasons such as their race, age, or disability

Question 4

racism

Answer 4

prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s race is superior

Question 5

racialization

Answer 5

the process by which societies construct races as real, different, and unequal in ways that matter to economic, political, and social life

Question 6

racialized persons

Answer 6

are persons, other than Indigenous people, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in color

Question 7

racial profiling

Answer 7

any action undertaken for reasons of safety, security or public protection that relies on stereotypes about race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or place of origin rather than on unreasonable suspicion, to single out an individual for greater scrutiny or different treatment
- Singling people out when they’ve done nothing wrong

Question 8

legacy of colonization

Answer 8

Many Indigenous people live on the margins of Canadian society. This is reflected by:
- Pervasive poverty
- High rates of unemployment
- Low levels of formal education
- High death rates from accidents and violence
- On nearly every measure of health and wellbeing, Indigenous persons are much worse off than non-Indigenous persons (lack of clean water, in some communities the houses are falling apart, etc)
- There are jobs available, but many times they don’t get them because of so much discrimination
- residential school system from the 1880s-1990s
- 150,000 Indigenous children were sent to residential schools
- The “60s Scoop” saw 16,000 Indigenous children removed from their families without parents’ consent

Question 9

experiences of indigenous women

Answer 9

• Stereotypes about indigenous women held by Canadians
• Gap in life expectancy between indigenous and non-indigenous women
• Household crowding for Indigenous women
• Rates of unemployment among Indigenous women twice as high as for non-indigenous women
• Indigenous women much more likely to live in households under the poverty line

high risk of victimization:
- About 2/3 of First Nations and Metis women have experienced violent victimization in their lifetime
- more likely to be affected by all types of violent victimization
- The homicide rate is more than 6 times higher than for non-Indigenous women
- higher rates of spousal abuse

Question 10

re-victimization

Answer 10

the negative impact on victims of crime caused by the decisions and actions of the criminal justice personnel

Question 10

changing boundaries of criminal justice agencies

Answer 10

Historically, there have been very clear boundaries between the various components of the CJS
- The police focused on the apprehension of offenders
- The courts focused on prosecuting and sentencing
- Corrections focused on implementing the sentences of the courts

This often resulted in agencies operating in “silos”, focused only on their specific mandate and not considering the larger context of a problem of crime and disorder, specific patterns of criminal behavior, or the needs of offenders, which are often multifaceted (ex: mental illness and addiction)
- The siloed approach is slowly changing, and criminal justice agencies are partnering with social services, health, and other agencies and community resources to address the needs of persons in conflict with the law

Question 10

victim bill of rights act

Answer 10

sets out a number of statutory rights for the victims of crime, including the right to information, participation, protection, and restitution