Unit 3 - Criminal Law Part B Flashcards
What is the criminologist school of thought?
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.
What is the positivists school of thought?
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.
What are the two components in the Sociological school of Thought? and what do they argue
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.
What is Section 8 of Charter?
Search and seizure - everyone has the right to protest against unreasonable searches
What is Section 9 of Charter?
Arbitrary detention - everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned
What is Section 10 of Charter?
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.
What is Section 24(b) of Charter?
Exclusion of evidence
What is Mens Rea?
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.
What is Actus Reus?
The physical act of the crime. Whether the action was voluntary or involuntary (if it was involuntary actus reus can be removed)
What are the four objectives of Criminal Law?
Rehabilitate - to heal and restore
To deter - to prevent further crimes
To provide retribution - to punish
To segregate - put in jail/remove from society
What is recklessness?
Behaving in an irresponsible way / taking risks that may possibly have negative consequences
What is willful blindness?
Consciously choosing not to clarify the truth about a potential situation
What is aiding and abetting?
Aiding - providing support or assistance to someone
Abetting - encouraging someone else to commit a crime
What is a motive?
A reason to committee the crime, it also involves intent (specific or general)
What is the idea behind the broken windows theory?
Visible disorder creates more disorder
What are examples of causes of crime as suggested by the broken windows theory?
- 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
Where has the broken windows theory been tested?
Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lowell, Massachusetts, and the Netherlands
What are criticisms of the broken windows theory?
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.
What was Philip Zimbardo’s experiment in NYC and LA?
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.
Describe Albuquerque’s Safe Streets Program (Broken Window’s Theory)
- 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
Describe what happened in Lowell, Massachusetts (Broken Window’s Theory)
- 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
What are the steps to the Reid Technique?
- Police tell the suspect evidence is stacked against them, a hopeless situation. Imply that they have evidence from witnesses.
- Often they do not let the offender speak or respond, suspects become desperate.
- Police offer Plea Bargains. No court hearing, lesser sentence, no conviction.
- Police ask the alternative question; however suspects respond he/she implies guilt that they were at the scene of the crime
Where is Reid technique taught?
Thousands of police use REID, taught at Canadian Police College
Reid technique can be considered a form of _______
entrapment, tricking suspects into confession, legal in Canada.
What are the criticisms of the REID technique ?
- 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
What is disclosure?
The crown attorney has to provide all the evidence and witnesses to the defence to give the accused the fairest trial possible
