Module 8: Issues in Canadian Policing and Sharia Law Flashcards
Define/explain: Tazir Crimes
- offences against society and individuals
- not crimes against God
- ex. murder, manslaughter
- the state is a forum for the trial and sets punishment
3 Levels of Islamic Courts
Level 1
-hears cases involving serious crimes/punishments, ex. death penalty, amputation
Level 2
-relatively minor offenses, ex. traffic violations, city bylaws
Level 3: Specialized Courts
-ex. in Iran after revolution of 1979 when conservatives took over
-crimes against government, narcotics offenses, state security, ex. spying
Critiques of Sharia Law
- appeals to the court are only possible under very rare circumstances
- if a judge lacks moral competence (does not pray, have religious beliefs) his judgement can be reversed
- government does not provide defense lawyers to defendants
- some say Islamic law is used by the powerful elite to oppress the poor masses
- if Islamic law is God`s given code of justice, then it cannot be appealed, criticized
- in a theocracy, you don`t have democracy
Sources of Islamic Law:
- The Koran (the Holy Book of Islam)
- the word of God - The Sunnah (the teachings of prophet Mohammed)
- A consensus of clergy
- in cases where neither the Koran or the Sunnah directly address the issue - Logic (reason)
- used when no solution can be found in the other three sources
Define: Hudud Crimes
-crimes against God/Allah based on religious strictures
3 Hudud crimes in Koran, punishment is not specified:
- drinking alcohol
- highway robbery
- corruption, ex. embezzlement, revolution against lawful authority, fraud, weakening the society of God/Islamic culture
4 crimes for which punishment is specified in the Koran
- Theft
- Adultery
- Making war against Allah or his messengers
- False Accusations of Fornication or Adultery
Define: police discretion
the wide latitude police have in deciding how to handle offenders
Factors that Influence Police Discretion
- Legal Factors
- Seriousness of offence
- Type of Offense
- Prior criminal record (police contact)
- Evidence
- The presence of audience/a victim
- Extra-legal Factors
- Age, below the age of 12 few juveniles are detained unless they have committed a serious crime, are not criminally responsible for their behaviour
- Gender
- women are considered less suspicious than males, are less likely to be stopped by police, unless they have been seen committing the crime
- when women violate traditional gender roles, they may be treated more harshly by police, ex. when the runways from home, become involved in sex work etc. - Race/ethnicity
- those from certain racial/ethnic minorities are more likely to be stopped, interrogated, placed under arrest, shot, handled roughly etc. by the police
- there is systemic racism involved in police encounters with Black and Aboriginal suspects, system tolerates discrimination - Socioeconomic status
- juveniles from lower economic status are more likely to have contact with police and be sent to courts- Appearance/attitude of the offender
- neatly dressed, cooperative and well-mannered youths are rarely looked at with suspicion
- unusually disrespectful youths are more likely to be questioned and arrested
- Appearance/attitude of the offender
Percent of women police officers in 1970s vs 2005?
early 1970s: only 2% of women were police officers in Canada
-2005: over 20% of women were police officers in Canada
Types of Corrupted Police Officers
- Grass eaters; accept small payoffs from citizens, the majority of corrupt policer officers, accept free goods/services from small businesses, ex. free meals from restaurants (not in exchange for favors), accepts bribes from traffic violators
- Meat eater; police officers who spend most of their time looking for big payoffs, becoming involved in the protection of illegal activities in the community, ex. gambling, narcotics operations, loan sharking, organized crime could not survive for a long time without the protection of law enforcement agents
Examples of deviance by police officers:
Violations of Departmental Rules
-ex. sleeping/drinking on duty, taking wives/girlfriends to work, damaging police vehicles, falsifying police reports, discharging firearms, fornicating on duty
Violations of Criminal Law
-applying street level justice
-illegal search and seizure, verbal abuse and harassment, unnecessary use of force including deadly force, ex. pepper spray, taser gun, tear gasses
Factors that Contribute to Police Corruption:
- The Rotten Apple Theory
- only a few officers are corrupted, the majority are doing fine, but a study in New York City found that police corruption was widespread in police department and included the upper level of management, Knapp commission - Structure and norms of the law enforcement system
- police discretion, the discretionary power of police officers to arrest or not arrest someone contributes to police corruption
- police solidarity; police departments are just like fraternities, and have loyalty to one another
- Westley study, US, 73% of police officers would not report their partners for committing theft, 77% would not testify against fellow officers in court - Failure of police administrators to suppress corruption
- the fish stinks from the head down - Business ethic
- many criminologists say, that in modern industrial societies, the selfish/competitive business people searching for profits go out of their way to corrupt business people - Other factors
- legislation of morality; criminal laws that legislate against vices that are in high demand by the public
- the location of police departments/division in the community, if they are located near crime, some police officers can be enticed to involved
- police officers who have financial problems
- low salaries of police officers, especially in the US
Early Warning Indicators for Problem Police Officers:
- receiving citizen complaints, ex. using excessive force
- discharging firearms when chasing offenders
- being involved in resisting arrest incidents
- high speed pursuits and damages to police vehicles
- civil lawsuits against the officer by citizens in the community
- doing traffic stops based on racial profiling
