Lecture8, crime in canada in the 1920s

Question 1

The 1920s were characterized by what

Answer 1

-it was a period of libertine marked by prosperity, increased urbanization, the automobile, new entertainments such as movies, live theaters, cabarets
-People started to become materialists, and preoccupied with living the good life. This hedonistic liberalization thereby resulted in an increase in criminal behaviours as people were more preoccupied with their desire for wealth than morality/rules/laws/codes

Question 2

Three most popular crimes in the 1920s in Canada

Answer 2

Drug abuse (opium)
Theft (car theft)
Prostitution

Question 3

Drug abuse and distribution

Answer 3

-During the 1920s drug abuse and distribution increased (especially opium)
-Mainly in Vancouver and in Montreal as they were the main center of drug distribution and it was home to organized gangs of drug dealers
-it was estimated that 10 000 Canadians were drug addicts ESPECIALLY in B.C and QC
-LED TO OTHER CRIMES SUCH AS PROSTITUTION AND THEFT AND SMUGGLING

Question 4

Theft

Answer 4

car thefts were a common crime in Canada in the 1920s especially in Montreal and Toronto

Question 5

Prostitution: ID: Red Light District of Montreal

Answer 5

the busy sector centered around the main intersections of Saint-Catherine and Saint-Laurent streets in Downtown Mtl which were infamous during the interwar period (1919-1939) for its high concentration of prostitution and brothels which were identifiable by the use of red light as a sign.

Question 6

Bootlegging (ID)

Answer 6

the illegal production and distribution of liquor that became widespread across North America in the 1920s was another popular crime thanks to prohibition

Question 7

What happened between 1920 and 1933 related to bootlegging

Answer 7

the production of drugs and alcohol was strictly prohibited in the USA leading to an increase in smuggling, organized gang wars, shootings, and other forms of violence

Question 8

In bootlegging ID: Al Capone (1889- 1947)

Answer 8

the 20th-century American gangster and powerful crime boss located in Chicago. He directed a crime in smuggling, bootlegging, and other illegal activities before his conviction of income tax evasion in 1931

Question 9

In bootlegging ID: St- Valentine’s day massacre

Answer 9

the notorious 1929 gangland killings of 7 Chicago mobsters masterminded by Al Capone’s syndicated members disguised as policeman, for which no one was ever brought to trial

Question 10

Crime in the DEPRESSION OF 1930S

Answer 10

-the stock market crash of 1929 marked the start of a worldwide depression as people were lost on Wall Street, as businesses collapsed, and as unemployment really increased.
-by 1933 which was the worst year of the Great depression about 20% of the Canadian workforce was unemployed
-Giving all of that situation, criminal activity increased
-During the 1930s, the number conviction increased by 35% especially for prostitution, gambling and theft
-It also resulted in clashes between unemployed demonstrators and police force

Question 11

*In the depression of 1930s” ID: The Regina riot

Answer 11

the full-scale riot that happened in Regina on July 1st, 1935. It erupted as the RCMP (supported by Regina police) clashed with unemployed demonstrators (about 400 to 500 trekkers). It resulted in 2deaths, hundreds of injured, and huge property damage in downtown Regina

Question 12

CRIME IN CANADA DURING WW2

Answer 12

-During ww2 years (1939-1945), criminal activity really decreased as people were going overseas to war, and as we returned almost to full employment as women also started joining the workforce
-However, with the difficult times, crimes related to the black market started to emerge (counterfeiting, smuggling, bootlegging, prostitution)

Question 13

CRIME IN POST-WAR (AFTER WW2) (1960-2001)

Answer 13

-the three most common crimes were drug abuse/distribution, violent crime especially homicide, and organized crimes (qc bikers war)
-Unlike the 1950s which were marked by strong family values and a stable crime rate, the 1960s were a period of rebellion and unfollowing of rules/morals/codes RESULTING in an increase in crimes
-crimes that were mainly committed by younger people who were challenging the authority and trying to create a more permissive society with the arrival of new fashion (jeans), morality, feminism, drugs, sexual revolution (birth control)
-lawbreaking also happening at universities such as UCLA, kent state, and Concordia as students burned down a new computer facility leaving 2millions $ in damage
-some dropped out of school starting to join hippies and communes (“rat race” for material success)

Question 14

CRIME IN POST-WAR (AFTER WW2)
DEVELOP ON DRUG

Answer 14

• The 1960s: increased of drug consumption +++ heroin
  -In the state of California it was weirdly legal to consume drugs before the election of Reagon as governor (1966)
  -the 1970s, with the arrival of cocaine + it was estimated that by 1981 over 250 000 Canadians have used it
  -The 1980s a more cheaper and potent form of cocaine named CRACK emerged
  -This prohibition of drugs led to other ranges of crimes such as drug and cigarettes smuggling
  -many drug addicts turned to theft and prostitution to sustain their habits

Question 15

CRIME IN POST-WAR (AFTER WW2)
DEVELOP ON violent crime

Answer 15

-the 1960s and 1970s were marked by an increase in violent homicidal crimes committed mainly by men
-between 1961 and 1977 the homicidal rate tripled and stayed high during the 1980s

Question 16

CRIME IN POST-WAR (AFTER WW2)
DEVELOP ON violent crime: ID: FLQ

Answer 16

A radical Quebec terrorist and non-conformist organization that between 1963 and 1970 were responsible for dozens of dynamite bombing, bank robberies, and the death of individuals especially the one of the cabinet minister Pierre Laporte.

Question 17

CRIME IN POST-WAR (AFTER WW2)
DEVELOP ON violent crime: ID: Victim of violence

Answer 17

an Ottawa-based support group for victims of violence put in place by Garry and Sharon Rosenfeld (the parents of one of Clifford Olson’s victims). They were both in favor of capital punishment when the offender’s guilt was proven by DNA evidences

Question 18

1.Who were the most infamous homicidal cases in the 1980s and 1990s?

2. Who was the most infamous hate crime cases in the USA in the 1990s?

Answer 18

Clifford Olson (1980-81)
Denis Lortie (1984)
Marc Lepine (1989)
Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka in the 1990s
Valerie Fabrikant 1992

LAPD killing of Roadney King (1991-91) and the violent LA riots
The killing of James Byrd jnr., an African American in Texas (June 1998)
The Killing of Matthew Sheppard, a gay uni student in Wyoming (October 1998)

Question 19

CRIME IN POST-WAR (AFTER WW2)
DEVELOP ON organized crime: ID: Quebec biker war

Answer 19

(1994-2001), the violent biker war that emerged between 2 rival criminal biker gangs: The hells angels and the Rock Machine. The war emerged in order to control Quebec’s drug trade. It resulted in the death of over 187 individuals including 30innocent victims

Question 20

CRIME IN POST-WAR (AFTER WW2)
DEVELOP ON organized crime: ID: Maurice Boucher

Answer 20

The 20th c. criminal gang leader of the Hells Angels who controlled Quebec’s profitable drug trade during the 1990s before his conviction in 2002 of 25years without parole for having masterminded the killing of two prison guards

Question 21

CRIME IN POST-WAR (AFTER WW2)
DEVELOP ON organized crime: ID: Daniel Desrochers

Answer 21

the 11yo boy who accidentally got killed by a car bombing in Hochelaga Maisonneuve in August 1995. He was one of the first victims of the Quebec biker war and his death resulted in public revulsion and in the creation of the Wolverine police anti-biker squad.

Question 22

Diane Lavigne

Answer 22

the first prison guards to be killed in 1997

Question 23

CRIME IN POST-WAR (AFTER WW2)
DEVELOP ON organized crime: ID: Pierre Rondeau

Answer 23

the second prison guard to be killed in September 1997 during the Qc biker war by Hell’s Angels prospect Paul Fontaine and Stephane Gagner under the orders of Maurice Boucher who was hoping to destabilize Quebec’s justice system

Question 24

CRIME IN POST-WAR (AFTER WW2)
DEVELOP ON organized crime: ID: Michel Auger

Answer 24

The veteran journalist (crime reporter for the JDM) who got shoot several times in September 2000 during the Quebec biker war. His miraculous recovery help to rally some people opinion against biker gang violence

Question 25

Francis Laforest

Answer 25

A young bar owner in Terrebonne who got killed by baseball bats by members of the Hells Angels because he did not wanted drug pushers to enter his establishment in 2000

Question 26

The high number of innocent victims resulted in what

Answer 26

public revulsion and government repression

Question 27

GOVERNMENT REPRESSION DUE TO THE QUEBEC BIKER WAR: ID: operation springtime

Answer 27

The largest one-day police intervention in Canadian history on March 28, 2001 that resulted in the arrestation of over 150members of the Hells Angels and their associates, effectively ending the Quebec Biker war

Question 28

GOVERNMENT REPRESSION DUE TO THE QUEBEC BIKER WAR: ID: C-24

Answer 28

The 2002 federal Canadian anti-gang law which made it easier to prove gang membership as they reduced the legal definition of criminal organizations to only 3members

Question 29

GOVERNMENT REPRESSION DUE TO THE QUEBEC BIKER WAR: ID: operation collise

Answer 29

The massive 21st c. police investigation on the MTL mafia which resulted in the arrestation of over 100 organized crime figures including the arrestation of Nicolas Rizutto under charges of drug smuggling, drug trafficking, money laundering and gangsterism