Unit 3 - Criminal Law Part B

Question 1

What is the criminologist school of thought?

Answer 1

The belief that humans make decisions based on rational thought, so any crime is considered as a rational calculated activity. A flaw of this theory is that it ignores factors like mental disorders, poverty, or inability of individual choice.

Question 2

What is the positivists school of thought?

Answer 2

This theory uses science over philosophy to look at the causes of a crime. Biological factors undermine criminal activity, and criminals require treatment over punishment.

Question 3

What are the two components in the Sociological school of Thought? and what do they argue

Answer 3

a. Consensus Theory - assumes an understanding of right and wrong. Says that people in society is dependent on one another

b. Conflict Theory - Everyone in society is in a constant conflict because of competition for limited resources (Marx). Social cohesion or lack of identification with conventional values encourage crime.

Question 4

What is Section 8 of Charter?

Answer 4

Search and seizure - everyone has the right to protest against unreasonable searches

Question 5

What is Section 9 of Charter?

Answer 5

Arbitrary detention - everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned

Question 6

What is Section 10 of Charter?

Answer 6

Upon arrest everyone has the right to:
Know why they were arrested, be informed they have right to counsel, to have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus, and to be released if the detention is not lawful.

Question 7

What is Section 24(b) of Charter?

Answer 7

Exclusion of evidence

Question 8

What is Mens Rea?

Answer 8

The mental component of the crime, the mind’s ability to form the intent to commit a crime.
- It involves premeditation and intent
- It involves knowledge, motive, and wilful blindness.

Question 9

What is Actus Reus?

Answer 9

The physical act of the crime. Whether the action was voluntary or involuntary (if it was involuntary actus reus can be removed)

Question 10

What are the four objectives of Criminal Law?

Answer 10

Rehabilitate - to heal and restore
To deter - to prevent further crimes
To provide retribution - to punish
To segregate - put in jail/remove from society

Question 11

What is recklessness?

Answer 11

Behaving in an irresponsible way / taking risks that may possibly have negative consequences

Question 12

What is willful blindness?

Answer 12

Consciously choosing not to clarify the truth about a potential situation

Question 13

What is aiding and abetting?

Answer 13

Aiding - providing support or assistance to someone
Abetting - encouraging someone else to commit a crime

Question 14

What is a motive?

Answer 14

A reason to committee the crime, it also involves intent (specific or general)

Question 15

What is the idea behind the broken windows theory?

Answer 15

Visible disorder creates more disorder

Question 16

What are examples of causes of crime as suggested by the broken windows theory?

Answer 16

• Policing misdemeanours prevent more serious offences
• Conformity and social norms of community affects crime
• Boredom is a big cause of crime
• Lack of routine monitoring causes crime

Question 17

Where has the broken windows theory been tested?

Answer 17

Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lowell, Massachusetts, and the Netherlands

Question 18

What are criticisms of the broken windows theory?

Answer 18

There is no clear causal relationship between lack of order and crime. Rather, crime going down when order goes up is merely a coincidental correlation.

Question 19

What was Philip Zimbardo’s experiment in NYC and LA?

Answer 19

He put two cars in dirty and cleaner neighbourhoods. The car in the dirty neighbourhood was vandalised quickly — the cleaner one was left alone for weeks.

Question 20

Describe Albuquerque’s Safe Streets Program (Broken Window’s Theory)

Answer 20

• The Safe Streets Program was implemented to deter and reduce unsafe driving and crime rates by increasing surveillance in these areas. Specifically, the traffic enforcement program influenced saturation patrols (that operated over a large geographic area), sobriety checkpoints, follow-up patrols, and freeway speed enforcement.
• More policing on the roads prevents crime

Question 21

Describe what happened in Lowell, Massachusetts (Broken Window’s Theory)

Answer 21

• they pinpointed different crime hotspots, in half they cleaned up the area — that one decreased in crime – the other stayed the same if not worse

Question 22

What are the steps to the Reid Technique?

Answer 22

1. Police tell the suspect evidence is stacked against them, a hopeless situation. Imply that they have evidence from witnesses.
2. Often they do not let the offender speak or respond, suspects become desperate.
3. Police offer Plea Bargains. No court hearing, lesser sentence, no conviction.
4. Police ask the alternative question; however suspects respond he/she implies guilt that they were at the scene of the crime

Question 23

Where is Reid technique taught?

Answer 23

Thousands of police use REID, taught at Canadian Police College

Question 24

Reid technique can be considered a form of _______

Answer 24

entrapment, tricking suspects into confession, legal in Canada.

Question 25

What are the criticisms of the REID technique ?

Answer 25

• Police are picking on the weak, meaning the suspect has been interrogated for a long time and become mentally weak, no food, no water, potential Charter Violation.
• Police can be considered untrustworthy
  Often evidence is wrong
• Suspects are pressured into false confessions
  The actual offender is still at large

Question 26

What is disclosure?

Answer 26

The crown attorney has to provide all the evidence and witnesses to the defence to give the accused the fairest trial possible