FIRST MIDTERM Flashcards
What is deterrence theory?
Deterrence theory implies that the best way to reduce/control crime is to set up a system of punishment that will deter ppl from committing crime
For deterrence theory to work, what three components need to work together?
Punishment should be SEVERE ENOUGH, SWIFT AND CERTAIN
Among the three components of deterrence theory, which is said to be the most effective?
Certainty (but it is really hard to attain)
Increasing severity of crime is easier for government to accomplish. How do they implement this?
Longer imprisonment and mandatory minimum sentences
Why is longer imprisonment found ineffective by criminologist?
It may increase the individual’s likelihood of future criminal behaviour. They get stigmatized and they get less opportunities outside of prison. They may learn more criminal skills/values in prison and this may lead to recidivism. Imprisonment may create resentment against society.
What is recidivism?
The tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend and commit crime after getting out of jail.
What does California’s three strike law entail and what is it becoming a problem right now?
It gives mandatory sentence of 25 years in prison for a third felony conviction following two earlier convictions for serious felonies (including residential burglary). It has become very costly and the number of prisoners in California ballooned. According to studies, it does not actually reduce crime rate. And it may have actually increased homicide rate dues to offenders wanting to eliminate people that can identify them.
What is hotspot policing and what seems to be the problem with this strategy?
Policing based on addresses that produced the most number of crimes. Although focussing police force on these high-crime area can reduce crime and inc the certainty of apprehension., the police data is usually not reliable, and we don’t get the actual location of crimes.
What is target hardening what problems arise in this strategy?
Target hardening means increasing the surveillance in a high-risk area. We do not really stop criminals, they just change target usually.
Explain individualized deterrence.
This is directly informing individuals about the consequences of future misbehaviour and then ensuring promises are kept. This may work for one person, but may not in others groups of criminals.
What are examples of individualized deterrence?
Boston Operation Ceasefire
Project HOPE
Winnipeg Auto Theft Suppression Strategy
What is Situational Crime Prevention?
It assumes that much crime is opportunistic and contextual rather than that offenders are driven to commit a crime no matter what.
Explain the five categories of Situational Crime Prevention.
Increasing efforts: commit to a crime by target hardening or by controlling access to targets or the tools required to commit to a crime
Increasing the risks: increasing levels of formal/informal surveillance/guardship
Reducing the rewards: denying the benefits of the crime, removing visible targets
Reducing provocations: controlling for peer pressure or by reducing frustration/conflicts
Removing excuses: setting clear rules and limits
What does crime prevention through social development entail?
This strategy focuses on reducing the number of motivated offenders by changing the social environment. We try to alter conditions that breed crime by implementing programs that focus on family problems, peer issues, poverty and range of school and community factors.
In the Winnipeg Auto Theft Suppression Strategy, what did this solution focuses on?
Effective guardship
Target stability
Motivated offenders
What is criminal law?
This includes not only the definition of the various crimes and specification of respective penalties, but also general principles concerning criminal responsibility and a series of defenses to criminal charge.
What is Substantive Criminal Law?
legislation that defines the nature of the criminal offenses (murder, manslaughter, theft), specifies the various legal elements that must be present before a conviction can be entered against an accused person
What are true crimes?
True crimes occur when an individual engages in conduct that is not only prohibited but also constitute serious breach of community values. They are perceived as inherently wrong and deserve punishment.
What are the three categories of offences?
Indictable = most serious penalties Summary = less serious Mixed/Hybrid = can be tried as indictable/summary
What are regulatory offences?
Regulatory offences: arise under the legislation that regulates inherently legitimate activities connected with: Trade, commerce, and industry
What is common law?
Judge-made law that has evolved in areas not covered by legislation
What does the crown need to prove for the actus reus element of a crime?
The conduct should be voluntary.
Circumstance/surrounding: the victim did not want the action/assault
Consequence brought harm to the victim
Does a failure to act can qualify as the conduct element of the actus reus of an offence?
It can constitute to a crime only if the accused was under pre-existing legal duty to act. (E.g. Parent to a child)
What does defence of automatism mean?
A successful defence of automatism presupposes that accused persons are plunged into such a state of impaired consciousness that they are barely aware of what is happening.
What does the element of crime mens rea refer to?
Refers to all the mental elements (other than voluntariness) that the crown must prove (beyond reasonable doubt) in order to obtain conviction. It can be a combination of mental states and ensures only those defendants who are morally blame-worthy are convicted of “true crimes” under the Criminal Code.
The subjective mens rea is based on:
It is based on the notion that accused person may not be convicted unless
a. ) the action is deliberately intended,
b. ) prohibited consequences are subjectively realized,
c. ) and deliberately closed their minds to the obvious criminality of their actions (willful blindness)
What does the crown look into in the objective mens rea element?
An accused person may be convicted of crime, not because they intended to bring about the prohibited consequences, but because a reasonable person in the same situation would have appreciated that their conduct created risk and would have taken action to avoid doing so. The crown objectively judges the act of crime.
