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J - SOC 321 > Lecture 2: Measuring Youth Crime > Flashcards

Lecture 2: Measuring Youth Crime Flashcards

1
Q

What are some typical questions criminologists are asked about youth crime and justice?

A
  • How serious and how common?
  • Is it getting worse?
  • Is legislation too lenient?
  • Who is committing these crimes? Why?
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2
Q

The worry of many people is that youth crime is…

A

On the rise.

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3
Q

Many people consider juvenile delinquents to be treated too ___.

A

Leniently.

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4
Q

The YCJA is mockingly dubbed as…

A

You Can’t Jail Anyone.

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5
Q

What are the two types of sources from which we get a measure of crime?

A

Official and unofficial accounts.

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6
Q

Give examples of official accounts of crime.

A

Police, courts, corrections.

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7
Q

Give examples of unofficial accounts of crime.

A

Self-report studies, victimization surveys.

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8
Q

Why are unofficial accounts of crime important?

A

They cover smaller-scale crimes as well, not just egregious crime.

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9
Q

Why do unofficial accounts of crime cover smaller-scale crimes, while official accounts do not?

A

People do not feel compelled to report every crime they witness/fall victim to.

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10
Q

What is the dark figure of crime?

A

Incidences of crime/delinquency that go undetected or unreported by the police.

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11
Q

Who are the youth at risk?

A

Young people at risk of offending or being victimized.

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12
Q

Youth at risk are young people that are at risk of offending or being victimized?

A

Both.

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13
Q

The dark figure of crime describes crime that is as good as it…

A

Never happened.

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14
Q

What we think we know about crime is an ___ sample.

A

Unrepresentative.

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15
Q

What types of crimes are the most accurately reported?

A

Murder, kidnapping, and car thefts.

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16
Q

The definition of youth crime has shifted as far as concepts and legal ___.

A

Terminology.

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17
Q

The JDA referred to underage criminals as…

A

Juvenile delinquents.

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18
Q

The YOA and YCJA referred to underage criminals as ___ or ___.

A

Young persons or young offenders.

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19
Q

What is the age range covered by the YCJA?

A

12-17.

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20
Q

The determining factor of whether or not a person is charged as a young person is the…

A

Time that the crime was committed.

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21
Q

The ___ determined that crimes committed by young people are delinquent acts, not criminal acts.

A

JDA.

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22
Q

Have we ever referred to underage criminals as criminals?

A

No, first it was juvenile delinquents, and now it is young offender.

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23
Q

What does MACR stand for?

A

Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility.

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24
Q

What is the MACR in Canada?

A

12.

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25
Q

Which countries have the lowest MACR in the world?

A

India and Nigeria.

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26
Q

Which country has a different MACR for boys and girls?

A

Iran.

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27
Q

What is the minimum age of MACR considered acceptable by the UN Committee on the rights of the child?

A

12.

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28
Q

A child is considered ___ ___ below the established threshold.

A

“Doli incapax.”

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29
Q

What does “doli incapax” mean?

A

Incapable of wrongdoing.

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30
Q

Does the YCJA apply to those under 12?

A

No.

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31
Q

What is the defence if the child is not 12 and has committed a crime?

A

Defence of infancy.

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32
Q

In cases where children under the MACR is accused of a crime, the best that can be done is…

A

Therapy or counselling.

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33
Q

There are two components of crime. What are they?

A

Actus reus and mens rea.

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34
Q

Children who commit crime fulfill which component of crime, and do not fulfill which component of crime?

A

They fulfill the acts refs, but not the mens rea.

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35
Q

What is the mens rea?

A

Guilty mind, or the intention to commit the crime.

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36
Q

Most laws are ___, not retroactive.

A

Proactive.

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37
Q

Give an example of laws being retroactive.

A

The three strikes law being overturned in the United States.

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38
Q

Youth crime has traditionally been defined ___, rather than ___ or ___.

A

Legally, rather than psychologically or sociologically.

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39
Q

The legal definition of youth crime focuses primarily on the ___ and ___ behaviour that is deemed punishable by law.

A

Predatory, aggressive.

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40
Q

Why was no one tried in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill incident?

A

No one meant for anyone to die. However, this criminal negligence should be studied by criminologists.

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41
Q

How does a legal definition of youth crime impede theoretical insight?

A

There is the exclusion of victimless crime.

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42
Q

How does a legal definition of youth crime neglect demographics?

A

Overlooks the fact that age distribution or race (Aboriginal) can affect rates.

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43
Q

How does a legal definition of youth crime neglect case filtration and dismissal?

A

Does not account for cases that are eliminated for insufficient evidence. Overlooks the discretionary practice in the system.

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44
Q

Give an example of how discretion could be exercised in the criminal justice system.

A

Assault may be tried as an indictable or summary offence.

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45
Q

How does a legal definition of youth crime neglect policy and administrative variation?

A

Interpretations of the YCJA varies across provinces and police establishments.

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46
Q

How does a legal definition of youth crime fail to consider the method of gathering statistics?

A

Statistics Canada does not enumerate all crimes. The statistics gathered are done so with an agenda by the reporting agencies.

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47
Q

How does a legal definition of youth crime fail to address varying reporting rates?

A

If the police force wants to convince people that they need more members, they are more likely to inflate crime rate numbers.

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48
Q

How does a legal definition of youth crime fail to address public perception?

A

If there is an attitude that there is an increase in crime, then the police forces are more likely to report more arrests to give the impression of “tough on crime.”

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49
Q

How does a legal definition of youth crime fail to address new technologies?

A

Complex crimes such as cyber-crime can go undetected.

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50
Q

What are the 3 types of offences?

A

Indictable, summary conviction, and mixed/hybrid.

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51
Q

Give examples of indictable offences.

A

Murder, kidnapping, terrorism, drug trafficking, robbery, etc.

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52
Q

What is the more serious type of offences?

A

Indictable.

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53
Q

What are summary conviction offences?

A

Considered minor offences.

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54
Q

Give examples of summary conviction offences.

A

Possession of marijuana under 30 grams, soliciting a prostitute, patronizing a brothel, etc.

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55
Q

What is commonly the punishment for summary conviction offences?

A

Fines of less than $5000 and/or 6 months in prison.

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56
Q

What are mixed/hybrid offences?

A

May be tried as any of the above.

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57
Q

What are some examples of mixed/hybrid offences?

A

Assault, sexual assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, theft under $5000, fraud under $5000, etc.

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58
Q

What needs to be proven for summary conviction offences?

A

Only actus rea.

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59
Q

Why is only the actus rea needed for summary conviction offences?

A

It is not enough to show that you did not mean to go over the speed limit, the fact that you went over is enough.

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60
Q

What are the three periods in Canadian history relating to youth crime and its measurement?

A
  1. Pre-confederation.
  2. State intervention.
  3. The twentieth century.
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61
Q

What are some statistics kept from pre-Confederation times?

A

There are no reliable official statistics.

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62
Q

What was established in 1876 that kept track of statistics?

A

The Dominion Bureau of Statistics.

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63
Q

Can the delinquency problem in pre-Confederation times be quantified?

A

No.

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64
Q

Pre-Conferation times refers to…

A

Before July 1, 1867.

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65
Q

When did the state intervention period of measuring youth crime begin?

A

Late nineteenth century.

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66
Q

What happened in the state intervention period?

A

The engagement of the state.

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67
Q

The state intervention period led to what important change?

A

The state was seen as caretakers of the child in cases where parents failed. Enables 4 year olds to call social services and take a child away.

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68
Q

How did urbanization and industrialization affect youth crime rates?

A

People left rural areas to work at factories, with large concentrations of people.

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69
Q

What is a factor in large cities that leads to things like homelessness or drug addictions?

A

Anonymity.

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70
Q

What is the ‘Child Saving’ movement?

A

Children from Eastern Europe were seen as problems.

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71
Q

How was the state intervention period of youth crime gendered?

A

The focus was on boy children, while crimes committed by girls were linked to their sexuality.

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72
Q

Prior to the state intervention period, education was reserved for the…

A

Male children of the ultra-rich.

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73
Q

The state intervention period introduced universal…

A

Basic education.

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74
Q

The ___ period came with a greater concern for addressing the root causes of delinquent behaviour.

A

State intervention.

75
Q

The ___ period introduced universal education.

A

State intervention.

76
Q

Give some characteristics of the state intervention period.

A
  • Urbanization/industrialization.
  • ‘Child Saving.’
  • Universal public education.
  • Addressing root causes.
77
Q

What are some characteristics of the twentieth century period of youth crime?

A
  • Changing pattern of juvenile delinquency under the JDA.
  • Shift to formal attention of young offenders.
  • Perceived growing problem of young offenders.
78
Q

Delinquency of young people being seen as a problem is a characteristic of the ___ period of youth crime.

A

Twentieth century.

79
Q

The perceived growing problem of youth crime in the 1970’s and 1980’s led to the ___, and then the ___.

A

YOA, YCJA.

80
Q

Official data for young offenders is collected by the ___.

A

CCJS.

81
Q

What does CCJS stand for?

A

Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.

82
Q

The CCJS is a branch of ___ ___.

A

Statistics Canada.

83
Q

What does the CCJS gather data from?

A

Police, courts, and corrections (official accounts).

84
Q

Youth crime is expressed as a number of youth (aged 12-17) charged per ___, and the percentage change from year to year.

A

100 000.

85
Q

What is the most predominant factor that young offenders possess?

A

Gender (male).

86
Q

Why is it the case that males are more likely to be reported of committing crime than females?

A

People are more fearful of men. Differential assessment of degree of danger.

87
Q

Describe how a differential assessment of degree of danger affects the gender proportion of reported crimes.

A

People are more scared of two males fighting than two females fighting.

88
Q

What are crimes committed most often by males?

A

Sexual assault, drug possession, attempted murder, weapons offences.

89
Q

What are crimes committed most often by females?

A

Prostitution, common assault, fraud.

90
Q

What is the second most important determining factor in youth crime trends and patterns?

A

Age.

91
Q

The rate of persons accused of crimes steadily increases from ___ to ___, the peak age, and then begins to decline.

A

12, 17.

92
Q

What is the peak age of crime?

A

17 (18).

93
Q

Those who are younger tend to engage in ___ related crimes.

A

Property.

94
Q

Those who are younger are more likely to commit ___ crimes.

A

Administrative.

95
Q

Give an example of administrative crimes.

A

Failure to comply with a disposition (sentencing).

96
Q

What is disposition?

A

Sentencing.

97
Q

What is the debate over youth violent crime?

A

Whether it is increasing or decreasing.

98
Q

What does Corrado and Markwart argue?

A

Violent youth crime is increasing.

99
Q

What does Carrington argue?

A

Violent youth crime is not increasing.

100
Q

What does Gabor argue?

A

The seriousness of crime has increased.

101
Q

What is the general consensus about the incidence of youth crime?

A

The seriousness of youth crime has increased (Gabor).

102
Q

What is the CSI?

A

Crime Severity Index.

103
Q

What does the CSI tell us?

A

Uses a weighting system to measure youth offences according to their seriousness.

104
Q

Who was CSI developed by, and when?

A

Statistics Canada in 2009.

105
Q

Does CSI account for the number of crimes?

A

No.

106
Q

What is happening with the overall youth crime rates?

A

Dropping.

107
Q

What is the definition of nonviolent crime?

A

Any offence that is not violent.

108
Q

Raw numbers of overall youth crime has been dropping, but we cannot definitively say the same about youth ___ crime.

A

Violent.

109
Q

Crimes against ___ are very high among youth.

A

Property.

110
Q

In particular, __ year old’s property offences are very high.

A

17.

111
Q

What is the most common type of crime among youth?

A

Theft.

112
Q

What is a very rare type of crime among youth?

A

Robbery.

113
Q

Why are there more criminal code offences than cases?

A

A single case can have two or more Criminal Code offences.

114
Q

What is the general trend of cases of youth crime in Canada?

A

There is a decrease.

115
Q

How can it be perceived by the public that crime is actually higher than it is?

A

Media coverage is a huge factor. If the crime is more spectacular, it is also more likely to get noticed.

116
Q

There is a ___ trend in the number of total youth court cases.

A

Downward.

117
Q

What is a crime that is not tried as often as people imagine?

A

Drug possession.

118
Q

With theft, the person is not usually ___ that the item is being stolen.

A

Aware.

119
Q

What age group accounted for the most youth crime?

A

16-17 years.

120
Q

Why would 16-17 year olds commit the most crime?

A

They are given the most freedom, they are no longer kids, but are not adults, and the in-betweenness results in an unstable time.

121
Q

What proportion of crime is accounted for by each age group?

A

61% for 16 & 17 year olds, and 39% for 12-15 year olds.

122
Q

The fact that the larger proportion of youth crime was committed by older individuals is higher for…

A

Both males and females demonstrate that being older increases likelihood of engaging in criminal behaviour.

123
Q

What is a case where younger youth committed more offences than older youth?

A

Sexual assault and other sexual offences.

124
Q

What youth gender and age group is most likely to commit sexual offences?

A

12-15 year old males.

125
Q

A great debate in the youth criminal justice system is whether or not contact is a predictor for…

A

Adult criminality.

126
Q

There is a recognition that institutionalizing youth may commence the…

A

Degradation ceremony, where the youth become set on a path of criminality.

127
Q

Those who commit crime are what gender?

A

Male (3/4). Females commit about 1/4.

128
Q

The gender that commits crime holds true…

A

Across societies.

129
Q

What crimes are female youth most highly represented in?

A
  • Fraud.
  • Disturbing the peace.
  • Failing to appear.
130
Q

What crimes are female youth least represented in?

A
  • Sexual assault.
  • Other sexual offences.
  • Homicide.
  • Weapons offences.
131
Q

What is the general trend in the provinces as far as the guilty cases completed in court goes?

A
  • Ontario is below the Canadian average.

- Western provinces and territories are typically higher.

132
Q

What is the sentence most commonly handed down to youth?

A

Probation, followed by community service, then custodial sentence.

133
Q

Most youth sentences are a length of…

A

1 month or less.

134
Q

It is very rare that a youth gets a sentence of…

A

More than a year.

135
Q

In many cases, a sentence that would be a life sentence for adults would be…

A

2-3 years for youth.

136
Q

The youth criminal justice system recognizes the ___ ___ of our young persons.

A

Limited maturity.

137
Q

Which crimes take the longest to adjudicate in youth court?

A

Homicide, taking nearly 400 days.

138
Q

What are court dispositions?

A

Patterns, trends, and regional variation in probation, secure custody, extrajudicial measures, and court case completion time.

139
Q

Court case completion time is taking ___ to process.

A

Longer.

140
Q

How does cultural and political environments affect sentences?

A

If people fear crime, you may get a harsher sentence.

141
Q

Can you be transferred to an adult court under the YCJA?

A

No.

142
Q

The ___ allowed for a youth to be tried in an adult court.

A

YOA.

143
Q

What is the welfare model of sentencing?

A

Informal, focused on individual needs, and indeterminate.

144
Q

What does an indeterminate sentence mean?

A

The judge could say you have “x” years, but the Crown could apply to keep you there.

145
Q

What is the modified justice sentencing model?

A

Focus is on due process with a bit of informality, and determinate sentences.

146
Q

What is a determine sentence?

A

Actually given an “x” number of months in custody, similar to what adults have.

147
Q

Is adult sentencing possible under the YCJA?

A

Yes.

148
Q

How does adult sentencing happen under the YCJA?

A

Youths are sentenced as adults in youth court.

149
Q

In what category of offences are youth most likely to be charged as adults?

A

Presumptive category offences.

150
Q

What are presumptive category offences?

A

Offences for which an adult sentence may be given to a youth.

151
Q

What are the 5 presumptive offences?

A
  1. Murder in any degree.
  2. Attempted murder.
  3. Manslaughter.
  4. Aggravated sexual assault.
  5. Repeated serious violent offences (usually the third).
152
Q

When a youth is charged for a presumptive offence as an adult, is there a limit?

A

No.

153
Q

What is the minimum age of eligibility for adult sentences?

A

14.

154
Q

What is the minimum age of eligibility for adult sentences?

A

Varies across provinces.

155
Q

The presumptions means that youth must demonstrate…

A

Why they should not get an adult sentence.

156
Q

In the case of presumptive offences, the ___ must demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt.

A

Youth.

157
Q

Adult sentences should only be used when there is…

A

No youth sentence long enough to hold the young offender accountable.

158
Q

If the Crown wishes to charge a youth as an adult for non-presumptive crimes, they must demonstrate…

A

Why the youth should get an adult sentence.

159
Q

What are some reasons that the Crown may argue for an adult sentence for a youth in the case of non-presumptive offences?

A
  • Youth is a repeat offender.
  • Youth demonstrates a level of maturity or criminal maturity.
  • Recidivism.
160
Q

Recidivism

A

Rate at which convicted individuals reoffend.

161
Q

Recidivism is often used as a measure of…

A

Success or failure.

162
Q

Is recidivism data on young offenders in Canada regularly recorded?

A

No.

163
Q

The ___ the rate of recidivism, the more the agents of criminal justice feel they are performing better.

A

Lower.

164
Q

Give a limitation on the recidivism rates as reported in Canada.

A

What seems to be recidivism can be technical violations/new violations. Failure to show up in court.

165
Q

Why would probation officers be reluctant to report breaches of probation?

A

It reflects poorly on their own performance.

166
Q

What are the unofficial sources of crime statistics?

A

Self-report and victimization surveys.

167
Q

What are self-report surveys?

A

Social science questionnaire survey designed to ask respondents to report on their involvement in criminal and delinquent activities.

168
Q

What is a limitation of self-report surveys?

A

Inconsistent methodologies limits ability to compare/extrapolate data from these sources.

169
Q

What are victimization surveys?

A

Social science questionnaire surveys designed to measure experience of respondents as victims of crime.

170
Q

Who is most likely to be the victims of crime?

A

Young people.

171
Q

What age group is most likely to be the victim of crimes?

A

15-24 years. The proportion is 37%, vs. 24% for all age groups.

172
Q

Victimization is higher for which gender?

A

Males.

173
Q

Young persons attending school are ___ likely to be victimized.

A

More.

174
Q

Why are young people attending school more likely to be victimized?

A
  • Sheer concentration of people of same age.

- Propensity to take risks.

175
Q

What are the greatest predictors of victimization among youth?

A
  • Peer group.
  • Weak family relations.
  • Socializing more with youth of a similar age than adults.
176
Q

The problem of difficulties in school translating to victimization risks is mainly in…

A

Those high school aged and lower.

177
Q

How do psychological challenges among students affect rates of victimization?

A

Those who have psychological challenges are more likely to be victimized.

178
Q

Young ___ are more likely to be victims of sexual assault than ___.

A

Females, males.

179
Q

Sexual victimization of young females is more likely to be at the hands of…

A

People known rather than strangers.

180
Q

Triangulation

A

Research methods technique that uses more than one source of criminological data to assess validity of what is being observed.

181
Q

What uses multiple methods to arrive at an effective study and analysis of the same social phenomenon?

A

Triangulation.

182
Q

What sources of crime data can triangulation use?

A

Both official and unofficial.

183
Q

Can one source of information give a clear picture?

A

No.

184
Q

What is a problem with court records?

A

They do not cover unreported crimes, and they do not cover crimes that do not make it to court.

J - SOC 321 (22 decks)

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