Terms Chapter 1 Flashcards
Criminal Code of Canada
A federal statute that lists the criminal offences and punishments
defined by Parliament, as well as justice system procedures
antisocial behavior
Conduct that can be disruptive and reduce our quality of life, but might
not be considered a criminal act
informal social control
When people conform to the law and other social norms because of
the actions and opinions of other individuals, such as praise or disapproval.
norms
Standards of acceptable behaviour that are based on tradition, customs, and values
public law
A type of law addressing matters that affect society, such as responding to a person
who commits a criminal act
private law
Legal matters that relate to the relationships between individuals or businesses that
involve contracts.
jurisdiction
The range of a government’s or court’s authority (e.g., provinces have jurisdiction
over non-criminal traffic matters)
malum in se
An act that is universally considered by the public as being evil or harmful to
society, such as homicide
malum prohibitum
An act that is defined as illegal or wrong by a government, but is not
considered wrong in itself, such as speeding on a highway
summary offences
Crimes that carry a less serious punishment in which judges can impose a
jail sentence of up to six months and/or a maximum fine of $5,000
indictable offences
Serious offences, such as homicide, where the defendants must appear in
court and cases are heard before federally appointed judges
dual offences
Offences that can be prosecuted as either summary offences or indictable
offences.
General Social Survey
An annual survey of Canadians that is conducted by Statistics
Canada about a range of social trends, with each annual survey addressing one theme in depth
contract policing
A form of policing where a police service, such as the RCMP or OPP, provides
policing to a municipality under a contract
inferior courts
Provincial and territorial courts that have limited jurisdiction and deal with less
serious adult and youth criminal matters, as well as civil, family, traffic, and municipal bylaw
cases.
Supreme Court of Canada
The highest court in Canada; it only hears cases that are being
appealed out of a lower court.
jails
Facilities where individuals are held awaiting their court appearances (called provincial
correctional centres in most provinces, but jails in Ontario).
detention centres
Facilities where individuals are held awaiting their court dates or serving
short periods of incarceration (called provincial correctional centres in some provinces
correctional centres
Facilities that hold inmates sentenced to terms of incarceration of two
years or less.
special handling units
High-security units within a maximum-security penitentiary where the
movement of prisoners is very controlled.
day parole
A type of release for federal prisoners who live in a community-based facility and
usually work, attend school, or participate in treatment during the da
probation officers
Provincial officials who prepare reports for the courts about sentencing
options for individuals convicted of crimes and monitor their activities if serving communitybased sentences
secure custody facilities
High-security youth custody facilities that are usually large and often
look similar to adult correctional centres. Also known as closed custody facilities
open custody facilities
Low-security youth custody facilities that are generally small and are
sometimes located in residential neighbourhoods
