Lec 1

Question 1

Criminology

Answer 1

The body of knowledge that regards crime as a social phenomenon

Question 2

3 areas of studies for criminology

Answer 2

Making laws
Breaking laws
Reacting to the breaking of laws

Question 3

What do criminologists try to understand

Answer 3

Why people commit crimes

Question 4

Six major areas of criminology

Answer 4

The Definition of Crime and Criminals
The origins and role of the law
The social distribution of crime
The causation of crime
Patterns of criminal behaviour
Societal reactions to crime

Question 5

How is the media’s portrayal of crime not often accurate

Answer 5

-Crime statistics are not an accurate measure of real crime in the communities
-TV coverage barely pays attention to social and structural reasons behind crime

Question 6

Why does the media’s portrayal of crime have sever consequences

Answer 6

-A stereotypical imagine of crime is created
-Media could facilitate creation of crime (eg. Money Heist)

Question 7

White-collar criminology

Answer 7

Committing a crime from the place of one’s job

Question 8

Harm Criminology

Answer 8

Acts that are harmful but not criminalized

Question 9

Green crminology

Answer 9

Criminal behaviors that destroy environment

Question 10

Anti terrorism act, 2015 (Bill C-51)

Answer 10

Promotes widespread surveillance and racial/religious profiling, and the detention of suspects without due process

Question 11

Surveillance studies

Answer 11

In Canada, surveillance studies have increased

Question 12

The legal perspective

Answer 12

Crime is an unlawful act that is punishable with jail time, fines etc. Focuses on class

Question 13

The human rights perspective

Answer 13

Any crime that violates human rights

Question 14

The harm perspective

Answer 14

Crime is defined as anything that is harmful

Question 15

The moral perspective

Answer 15

Seen as any immoral bad or wrongful act

Question 16

Crime as a social construct

Answer 16

Society determines the circumstances which make an act unlawful (eg. define what situation murder is unlawful)

Question 17

Crime as a relative construct examples (Place relativity)

Answer 17

Drinking age in different places is different
Homosexuality is acceptable in some places while banned in others

Question 18

Crime as a relative construct example (Time relativity)

Answer 18

Homosexuality was once seen as deviant but isn’t anymore

Question 19

2018 Cannabis Act

Answer 19

Creates strict legal framework for controlling the production, distribution, sale and possession of cannabis in Canada, came into force in 2019

Question 20

Provisions of Cannabis act

Answer 20

Adults above 18 can use
Can only buy from a provincially licensed retailer
Can grow up to 4 plants for personal use.

Question 21

Wortman Mass Murder

Answer 21

Killed 22 people in 2020, which led to the ban of the sale and possession of assault weapons

Question 22

When was legal abortion allowed in the US (Roe V Wade ruling)

Answer 22

1973

Question 23

2022 changes to abortion law in the US

Answer 23

Allowed states to decide if abortion is legal (outlawed in many states)

Question 24

Crime vs Deviance

Answer 24

Deviance is any act that goes against social norms. All criminal acts are deviant, but not vise versa

Question 25

Deviance as a continuum: John Hagan Categorization

Answer 25

Looks at:
The degree of consensus that say it is wrong
The severity of social response
The assessment of the degree of harm

Question 26

The consensus approach

Answer 26

There is a broad agreement about many laws

Question 27

The conflict approach

Answer 27

sees crime as a tool for the ruling class to maintain power