Soc 225 - Criminology Chapter 8

As taught by Chris Hay and taken from his textbook: Criminology in Canada

Retributive Justice

Retributive Justice

A system of justice based on the punishment of offenders far more than the rehabilitation of offenders. Canada’s current model of justice wherein those who break the law must serve a punishment.

• Victim is the state, who’s role is to report the crime and give evidence

• Community has no role and focuses primarily on the past

• Guilt is absolute and permanent

Retribution

A problematic concept based on punishment: to impose harm in response to harm done is revenge, not resolution; difficult to distinguish from vengeance

• morally impractical

• practically immoral

Similarities between Canadian and American Justice System

• focus on the past

• employ strict standards of law

• focus on punishment to deter and correct offending behaviour

• little regard for victims/community

• often fail in pursuit of their goals

• racial minorities are overrepresented in the system

Differences between Canadian and American Justice System

• US has greater institutional problems

  • US accounts for nearly 25% of global incarcerated population

Policing

Serve to enforce the law. Its effectiveness is hard to measure. They may…

• release the individual

• issue a warning

• release custody of an adult/refer to a program if youth

• question the person

• lay charges

  • given PTA in court or remanded into custody

Courts

Objective is to establish case resolution of criminal charges; determination of guilt or innocence and then appropriate punishment if guilt is determined

• if guilt is determined, then next step is sentencing

Corrections

Agencies that supervise sentenced individuals. Established as a means for punishment and rehabilitation for those convicted of crimes

Community Corrections

A correctional stream allowing individuals to complete their sentences in the community. Can either serve their entire sentence in community (through community work/probation term), or will serve at least 1/3 of their sentence in the community following incarceration

• must report to a probation/parole officer regularly

• more autonomy and responsibility for individual - less responsibility for government

Institutional Corrections

A correctional stream that removes individuals from the community for a term of incarceration (prisons)

• responsibility if significant

• provides lodging, food, programming, medical services, mental health services

Remand

A person who has been charged with an offence and is issued custody while awaiting an appearance in court.

Prevention

Preventing crimes before they have been committed; the ideal approach to crime as it mitigates the potential for…

• victimization

• traumatization

• drain of resources

Saves significant costs to society over lifetime of individual (up to $2 million)

Preventative Approach

Follows the approach of mitigating the factors that make an individual likely to engage in crime; difficult to fully measure prevented crimes

• difficult to implement - geared towards a population that is hard to access (unstable transportation, means of communication, time & resources)

Risk Factors for Crime

Some of the most prevalent and pressing social issues in Canada

• low-socioeconomic status

• drug/alcohol abuse

• traumatization

• victimization

• poor mental health

• negative family

• peer influence

• low education

• lack of employment

• colonial/intergenerational trauma

Proactive Approach

Deals with crimes that are likely to occur sometime in the near future based on previous crime data

• policing efforts do not address root cause of crime; causes crime to relocate

Two Key Elements:

1. Approaches a crime that is anticipated to occur to stop it as it happens or immediately apprehending individuals when crime occurs

   • True approach is to create healthier families, safer environments, enriched school systems, etc. to deal with root causes of crime

2. Approaches low-level offenders and prevents them from escalating to more severe crime (through alternative or restorative justice practices)

   • participation only occurs once a crime has been committed and perpetrator is directed to program

Intelligence-Led Policing

An information-organizing process that allows policing agencies to better understand their crime problems - enables them to make informed decisions on how to best approach specific crime challenges

• not ideal long term, doesn’t address root cause of crime

Reactive Approach

Most widely utilized by police: only deals with crimes after they have occurred (ex: corrections)

Punishment

Sanction set out by the court to make the offender pay for the crimes he/she has committed; offender will pay for what they have done

• has little impact as an initial deterrent for crime

• public misunderstands crime - politicians have no choice but to align policy with interests of their voters (ex: creations of mandatory minimum sentencing)

• may harm more than it helps (ex: contributes to traumatization and institutionalization)

Restorative Justice

Also includes alternative justice; A system of justice which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large; harm caused by the offence is addressed

• gives offender time to make amends with the victim and right the wrong committed

• victims are individual/community, where restoration of victim is encouraged

• focuses on the present/future

• guilt is removable (NOT permanent) once full reparations are made

• goal is to repair harm to the victim/community and change offender behaviour

Also lowers costs associated with incarceration and gives victims a sense of justice, and fair treatment to offenders

• crime is not a crime against the state but a violation of one person by another

Good Lives Model

A holistic rehabilitation method used by nations around the world and one that focuses less on punishment and more on rehabilitation and reintegration; a highly individualized and rigorous rehab process

• very restorative justice model centered around human rights to dealing with crime

• focuses on building offenders’ strengths to rehabilitate them (offenders become the best versions of themselves and are given the tools needed to achieve what is important to them)

• recognizes offending is a product of trying to obtain a goal that they lack the means for

Primary Goods

Intrinsically desired states which individuals pursue willingly for their inherent benefit and enriching qualities

1. Life

2. Knowledge

3. Excellence in Play

4. Excellence in Work

5. Excellence in Agency (autonomy, power, self-directness)

6. Inner Peace (freedom from stress)

7. Relatedness (intimate, romantic, familial relations)

8. Community (connection)

9. Spirituality (finding meaning/purpose in life)

10. Pleasure (feeling good now)

11. Creativity (expression through alternate forms)

Secondary Goods

Instruments or available means of fulfilling how we attain priorities set by primary goods

ex: living a healthy life (primary good) involves the secondary good of improving physical health

GLM Beliefs

People create lives that are influenced by their core values - everyone has some form of a good life plan

• when someone is unable to achieve primary goods due to a poor plan, this results in offender behaviour

Challenges to Good Lives Model

• Fails to address primary goods that should be of value

• Use of inappropriate methods to achieve a primary good

• Disconnect between primary and secondary goods

• Inability to achieve primary goods because of lack of ability or resources

Risk, Needs, and Responsivity (RNR) Model

Aims to manage the risk of offenders by applying intervention and programming based on that risk; the Canadian approach

• a theory based form of rehab and is based on social psychology

3 Core Principles:

1. Risk Principle: match the level of service to the offender’s risk to re-offend

2. Need Principle: assess criminogenic needs and target them in treatment

3. Responsivity Principle: maximize the offender’s ability to learn from a rehab intervention by providing cognitive behaviourial treatment and tailoring the intervention to the learning style, motivation, abilities, and strengths of the offender

General Responsivity

Calls for the use of cognitive social learning methods to influence behaviour

• cognitive social learning strategies are most effective regardless of type of behaviour

Specific Responsivity

A “fine-tuning” of the cognitive behavioural intervention

• considers strengths, learning style, personality, motivation, and bio-social characteristics of individual

Risk Principle

Tailor the level of intervention to correspond with the level of risk of the offender

• ex: higher the risk of the offender, greater intervention - assumes criminal behaviour can be predicted

Need Principle

Individuals have needs that contribute to their criminal behaviour. Must identify and address these needs

Responsivity Principle

Intervention must be tailored to the individual’s culture, learning styles, motivations, etc.; how the intervention is implemented NOT what the intervention is