Crime Flashcards
What is the legal definition of crime?
Act prohibited by state and punishable under the law.
What is the moral definition of crime?
An act that violates norms of a belief system and is punishable by a supreme being.
What is the social definition of crime?
An act that violates the norms and customs of a community and is punishable by said community.
What is the psychological definition of crime?
An act that is rewarding to a perpetrator but harmful to others.
What differentiates a crime from any other behavior?
The way people perceive said behavior.
Give 2 examples of crimes that are not universal.
- Polygamy:
- Sexual Assault within marriage:
When did sexual assault within marriage become criminalized in Canada?
1983
What are societal similarities? What is the study that was made? Give 3 examples of universal crimes.
Behaviors that are seen as crimes everywhere.
They asked people from 6 dfferent countries whether certain behaviours were crimes.
Theft, robbery, incest
Are all violent behaviours crimes? Are all crimes violent? Explain
No, violence isn’t a crime. Sports, sado-masochism, self-defense.
Non-violent crimes and victimless crimes.
What is the definition of crime we use in this course?
Crime is intentional behaviour that violates a criminal code. Meaning it does not occur accidentally or without justification or excuse.
What is the role of the Canadian Criminal Code?
Make clear what is criminal and how we enforce the law.
Why are definitions important when it comes to crimes?
Give an example.
- Critical role in prevalence (commonness of a crime). Strict definition decreases crime rates.
Bill 151: sexual violence is limited to penetration. All other sorts of sexual violence are decriminalized.
What type of influence does media have on crime?
Start talking more and more about a crime, make people believe that it is more common. They might stop talking to their neighbours, or start doing crimes themselves.
What is the crime severity index? What is it influenced by?
Tracks changes in police-reported crime’s severity.
Policing, enforcement rates, conviction processes.
Who is committing crimes in Canada? What crimes do they do?
Caucasian male between 20-39. Mostly incarcerated for violent crimes (70%).
