Lecture 2: Measuring Youth Crime Flashcards
What are some typical questions criminologists are asked about youth crime and justice?
- How serious and how common?
- Is it getting worse?
- Is legislation too lenient?
- Who is committing these crimes? Why?
The worry of many people is that youth crime is…
On the rise.
Many people consider juvenile delinquents to be treated too ___.
Leniently.
The YCJA is mockingly dubbed as…
You Can’t Jail Anyone.
What are the two types of sources from which we get a measure of crime?
Official and unofficial accounts.
Give examples of official accounts of crime.
Police, courts, corrections.
Give examples of unofficial accounts of crime.
Self-report studies, victimization surveys.
Why are unofficial accounts of crime important?
They cover smaller-scale crimes as well, not just egregious crime.
Why do unofficial accounts of crime cover smaller-scale crimes, while official accounts do not?
People do not feel compelled to report every crime they witness/fall victim to.
What is the dark figure of crime?
Incidences of crime/delinquency that go undetected or unreported by the police.
Who are the youth at risk?
Young people at risk of offending or being victimized.
Youth at risk are young people that are at risk of offending or being victimized?
Both.
The dark figure of crime describes crime that is as good as it…
Never happened.
What we think we know about crime is an ___ sample.
Unrepresentative.
What types of crimes are the most accurately reported?
Murder, kidnapping, and car thefts.
The definition of youth crime has shifted as far as concepts and legal ___.
Terminology.
The JDA referred to underage criminals as…
Juvenile delinquents.
The YOA and YCJA referred to underage criminals as ___ or ___.
Young persons or young offenders.
What is the age range covered by the YCJA?
12-17.
The determining factor of whether or not a person is charged as a young person is the…
Time that the crime was committed.
The ___ determined that crimes committed by young people are delinquent acts, not criminal acts.
JDA.
Have we ever referred to underage criminals as criminals?
No, first it was juvenile delinquents, and now it is young offender.
What does MACR stand for?
Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility.
What is the MACR in Canada?
12.
Which countries have the lowest MACR in the world?
India and Nigeria.
Which country has a different MACR for boys and girls?
Iran.
What is the minimum age of MACR considered acceptable by the UN Committee on the rights of the child?
12.
A child is considered ___ ___ below the established threshold.
“Doli incapax.”
What does “doli incapax” mean?
Incapable of wrongdoing.
Does the YCJA apply to those under 12?
No.
What is the defence if the child is not 12 and has committed a crime?
Defence of infancy.
In cases where children under the MACR is accused of a crime, the best that can be done is…
Therapy or counselling.
There are two components of crime. What are they?
Actus reus and mens rea.
Children who commit crime fulfill which component of crime, and do not fulfill which component of crime?
They fulfill the acts refs, but not the mens rea.
What is the mens rea?
Guilty mind, or the intention to commit the crime.
Most laws are ___, not retroactive.
Proactive.
Give an example of laws being retroactive.
The three strikes law being overturned in the United States.
Youth crime has traditionally been defined ___, rather than ___ or ___.
Legally, rather than psychologically or sociologically.
The legal definition of youth crime focuses primarily on the ___ and ___ behaviour that is deemed punishable by law.
Predatory, aggressive.
Why was no one tried in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill incident?
No one meant for anyone to die. However, this criminal negligence should be studied by criminologists.
How does a legal definition of youth crime impede theoretical insight?
There is the exclusion of victimless crime.
How does a legal definition of youth crime neglect demographics?
Overlooks the fact that age distribution or race (Aboriginal) can affect rates.
How does a legal definition of youth crime neglect case filtration and dismissal?
Does not account for cases that are eliminated for insufficient evidence. Overlooks the discretionary practice in the system.
Give an example of how discretion could be exercised in the criminal justice system.
Assault may be tried as an indictable or summary offence.
How does a legal definition of youth crime neglect policy and administrative variation?
Interpretations of the YCJA varies across provinces and police establishments.
How does a legal definition of youth crime fail to consider the method of gathering statistics?
Statistics Canada does not enumerate all crimes. The statistics gathered are done so with an agenda by the reporting agencies.
How does a legal definition of youth crime fail to address varying reporting rates?
If the police force wants to convince people that they need more members, they are more likely to inflate crime rate numbers.
How does a legal definition of youth crime fail to address public perception?
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.”
How does a legal definition of youth crime fail to address new technologies?
Complex crimes such as cyber-crime can go undetected.
What are the 3 types of offences?
Indictable, summary conviction, and mixed/hybrid.
Give examples of indictable offences.
Murder, kidnapping, terrorism, drug trafficking, robbery, etc.
What is the more serious type of offences?
Indictable.
What are summary conviction offences?
Considered minor offences.
Give examples of summary conviction offences.
Possession of marijuana under 30 grams, soliciting a prostitute, patronizing a brothel, etc.
What is commonly the punishment for summary conviction offences?
Fines of less than $5000 and/or 6 months in prison.
What are mixed/hybrid offences?
May be tried as any of the above.
What are some examples of mixed/hybrid offences?
Assault, sexual assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, theft under $5000, fraud under $5000, etc.
What needs to be proven for summary conviction offences?
Only actus rea.
Why is only the actus rea needed for summary conviction offences?
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.
What are the three periods in Canadian history relating to youth crime and its measurement?
- Pre-confederation.
- State intervention.
- The twentieth century.
What are some statistics kept from pre-Confederation times?
There are no reliable official statistics.
What was established in 1876 that kept track of statistics?
The Dominion Bureau of Statistics.
Can the delinquency problem in pre-Confederation times be quantified?
No.
Pre-Conferation times refers to…
Before July 1, 1867.
When did the state intervention period of measuring youth crime begin?
Late nineteenth century.
What happened in the state intervention period?
The engagement of the state.
The state intervention period led to what important change?
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.
How did urbanization and industrialization affect youth crime rates?
People left rural areas to work at factories, with large concentrations of people.
What is a factor in large cities that leads to things like homelessness or drug addictions?
Anonymity.
What is the ‘Child Saving’ movement?
Children from Eastern Europe were seen as problems.
How was the state intervention period of youth crime gendered?
The focus was on boy children, while crimes committed by girls were linked to their sexuality.
Prior to the state intervention period, education was reserved for the…
Male children of the ultra-rich.
The state intervention period introduced universal…
Basic education.
The ___ period came with a greater concern for addressing the root causes of delinquent behaviour.
State intervention.
The ___ period introduced universal education.
State intervention.
Give some characteristics of the state intervention period.
- Urbanization/industrialization.
- ‘Child Saving.’
- Universal public education.
- Addressing root causes.
What are some characteristics of the twentieth century period of youth crime?
- Changing pattern of juvenile delinquency under the JDA.
- Shift to formal attention of young offenders.
- Perceived growing problem of young offenders.
Delinquency of young people being seen as a problem is a characteristic of the ___ period of youth crime.
Twentieth century.
The perceived growing problem of youth crime in the 1970’s and 1980’s led to the ___, and then the ___.
YOA, YCJA.
Official data for young offenders is collected by the ___.
CCJS.
What does CCJS stand for?
Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.
The CCJS is a branch of ___ ___.
Statistics Canada.
What does the CCJS gather data from?
Police, courts, and corrections (official accounts).
Youth crime is expressed as a number of youth (aged 12-17) charged per ___, and the percentage change from year to year.
100 000.
What is the most predominant factor that young offenders possess?
Gender (male).
Why is it the case that males are more likely to be reported of committing crime than females?
People are more fearful of men. Differential assessment of degree of danger.
Describe how a differential assessment of degree of danger affects the gender proportion of reported crimes.
People are more scared of two males fighting than two females fighting.
What are crimes committed most often by males?
Sexual assault, drug possession, attempted murder, weapons offences.
What are crimes committed most often by females?
Prostitution, common assault, fraud.
What is the second most important determining factor in youth crime trends and patterns?
Age.
The rate of persons accused of crimes steadily increases from ___ to ___, the peak age, and then begins to decline.
12, 17.
What is the peak age of crime?
17 (18).
Those who are younger tend to engage in ___ related crimes.
Property.
Those who are younger are more likely to commit ___ crimes.
Administrative.
Give an example of administrative crimes.
Failure to comply with a disposition (sentencing).
What is disposition?
Sentencing.
What is the debate over youth violent crime?
Whether it is increasing or decreasing.
What does Corrado and Markwart argue?
Violent youth crime is increasing.
What does Carrington argue?
Violent youth crime is not increasing.
What does Gabor argue?
The seriousness of crime has increased.
What is the general consensus about the incidence of youth crime?
The seriousness of youth crime has increased (Gabor).
What is the CSI?
Crime Severity Index.
What does the CSI tell us?
Uses a weighting system to measure youth offences according to their seriousness.
Who was CSI developed by, and when?
Statistics Canada in 2009.
Does CSI account for the number of crimes?
No.
What is happening with the overall youth crime rates?
Dropping.
What is the definition of nonviolent crime?
Any offence that is not violent.
Raw numbers of overall youth crime has been dropping, but we cannot definitively say the same about youth ___ crime.
Violent.
Crimes against ___ are very high among youth.
Property.
In particular, __ year old’s property offences are very high.
17.
What is the most common type of crime among youth?
Theft.
What is a very rare type of crime among youth?
Robbery.
Why are there more criminal code offences than cases?
A single case can have two or more Criminal Code offences.
What is the general trend of cases of youth crime in Canada?
There is a decrease.
How can it be perceived by the public that crime is actually higher than it is?
Media coverage is a huge factor. If the crime is more spectacular, it is also more likely to get noticed.
There is a ___ trend in the number of total youth court cases.
Downward.
What is a crime that is not tried as often as people imagine?
Drug possession.
With theft, the person is not usually ___ that the item is being stolen.
Aware.
What age group accounted for the most youth crime?
16-17 years.
Why would 16-17 year olds commit the most crime?
They are given the most freedom, they are no longer kids, but are not adults, and the in-betweenness results in an unstable time.
What proportion of crime is accounted for by each age group?
61% for 16 & 17 year olds, and 39% for 12-15 year olds.
The fact that the larger proportion of youth crime was committed by older individuals is higher for…
Both males and females demonstrate that being older increases likelihood of engaging in criminal behaviour.
What is a case where younger youth committed more offences than older youth?
Sexual assault and other sexual offences.
What youth gender and age group is most likely to commit sexual offences?
12-15 year old males.
A great debate in the youth criminal justice system is whether or not contact is a predictor for…
Adult criminality.
There is a recognition that institutionalizing youth may commence the…
Degradation ceremony, where the youth become set on a path of criminality.
Those who commit crime are what gender?
Male (3/4). Females commit about 1/4.
The gender that commits crime holds true…
Across societies.
What crimes are female youth most highly represented in?
- Fraud.
- Disturbing the peace.
- Failing to appear.
What crimes are female youth least represented in?
- Sexual assault.
- Other sexual offences.
- Homicide.
- Weapons offences.
What is the general trend in the provinces as far as the guilty cases completed in court goes?
- Ontario is below the Canadian average.
- Western provinces and territories are typically higher.
What is the sentence most commonly handed down to youth?
Probation, followed by community service, then custodial sentence.
Most youth sentences are a length of…
1 month or less.
It is very rare that a youth gets a sentence of…
More than a year.
In many cases, a sentence that would be a life sentence for adults would be…
2-3 years for youth.
The youth criminal justice system recognizes the ___ ___ of our young persons.
Limited maturity.
Which crimes take the longest to adjudicate in youth court?
Homicide, taking nearly 400 days.
What are court dispositions?
Patterns, trends, and regional variation in probation, secure custody, extrajudicial measures, and court case completion time.
Court case completion time is taking ___ to process.
Longer.
How does cultural and political environments affect sentences?
If people fear crime, you may get a harsher sentence.
Can you be transferred to an adult court under the YCJA?
No.
The ___ allowed for a youth to be tried in an adult court.
YOA.
What is the welfare model of sentencing?
Informal, focused on individual needs, and indeterminate.
What does an indeterminate sentence mean?
The judge could say you have “x” years, but the Crown could apply to keep you there.
What is the modified justice sentencing model?
Focus is on due process with a bit of informality, and determinate sentences.
What is a determine sentence?
Actually given an “x” number of months in custody, similar to what adults have.
Is adult sentencing possible under the YCJA?
Yes.
How does adult sentencing happen under the YCJA?
Youths are sentenced as adults in youth court.
In what category of offences are youth most likely to be charged as adults?
Presumptive category offences.
What are presumptive category offences?
Offences for which an adult sentence may be given to a youth.
What are the 5 presumptive offences?
- Murder in any degree.
- Attempted murder.
- Manslaughter.
- Aggravated sexual assault.
- Repeated serious violent offences (usually the third).
When a youth is charged for a presumptive offence as an adult, is there a limit?
No.
What is the minimum age of eligibility for adult sentences?
14.
What is the minimum age of eligibility for adult sentences?
Varies across provinces.
The presumptions means that youth must demonstrate…
Why they should not get an adult sentence.
In the case of presumptive offences, the ___ must demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt.
Youth.
Adult sentences should only be used when there is…
No youth sentence long enough to hold the young offender accountable.
If the Crown wishes to charge a youth as an adult for non-presumptive crimes, they must demonstrate…
Why the youth should get an adult sentence.
What are some reasons that the Crown may argue for an adult sentence for a youth in the case of non-presumptive offences?
- Youth is a repeat offender.
- Youth demonstrates a level of maturity or criminal maturity.
- Recidivism.
Recidivism
Rate at which convicted individuals reoffend.
Recidivism is often used as a measure of…
Success or failure.
Is recidivism data on young offenders in Canada regularly recorded?
No.
The ___ the rate of recidivism, the more the agents of criminal justice feel they are performing better.
Lower.
Give a limitation on the recidivism rates as reported in Canada.
What seems to be recidivism can be technical violations/new violations. Failure to show up in court.
Why would probation officers be reluctant to report breaches of probation?
It reflects poorly on their own performance.
What are the unofficial sources of crime statistics?
Self-report and victimization surveys.
What are self-report surveys?
Social science questionnaire survey designed to ask respondents to report on their involvement in criminal and delinquent activities.
What is a limitation of self-report surveys?
Inconsistent methodologies limits ability to compare/extrapolate data from these sources.
What are victimization surveys?
Social science questionnaire surveys designed to measure experience of respondents as victims of crime.
Who is most likely to be the victims of crime?
Young people.
What age group is most likely to be the victim of crimes?
15-24 years. The proportion is 37%, vs. 24% for all age groups.
Victimization is higher for which gender?
Males.
Young persons attending school are ___ likely to be victimized.
More.
Why are young people attending school more likely to be victimized?
- Sheer concentration of people of same age.
- Propensity to take risks.
What are the greatest predictors of victimization among youth?
- Peer group.
- Weak family relations.
- Socializing more with youth of a similar age than adults.
The problem of difficulties in school translating to victimization risks is mainly in…
Those high school aged and lower.
How do psychological challenges among students affect rates of victimization?
Those who have psychological challenges are more likely to be victimized.
Young ___ are more likely to be victims of sexual assault than ___.
Females, males.
Sexual victimization of young females is more likely to be at the hands of…
People known rather than strangers.
Triangulation
Research methods technique that uses more than one source of criminological data to assess validity of what is being observed.
What uses multiple methods to arrive at an effective study and analysis of the same social phenomenon?
Triangulation.
What sources of crime data can triangulation use?
Both official and unofficial.
Can one source of information give a clear picture?
No.
What is a problem with court records?
They do not cover unreported crimes, and they do not cover crimes that do not make it to court.
