Term Test 3

Complex regulatory climate

characterized by various formal and informal sources of regulation

Regulation

to control or direct others by rules and standards

Police

frontline agents of social control

Complexity of laws

due to growing pluralism and more regulation

Non governmental sources of regulation

companies, institutions, individuals, NGOs

Norms and values

extended as a representation in regulations

Prescriptive regulations

narrowly-defined and highly rigid regulations; easy to enforce due to little discretion but difficult for organizations to abide by

Performance-based regulations

focus on setting policy objectives while allowing regulated groups more discretion in deciding how to meet regulations; government enforces whether goals are met

Process-based regulations

focus on allowing regulated groups to set their own regulations and then monitoring those regulations

Informal regulation

something we all engage in when we intervene purposefully in any social world

State centered regulation

abiding by state laws

Society centered regulation

coming from individuals in a social sense

Narrow framework

legislation

Broad framework

any mechanism used to excerpt social control and influence over our behaviour

Formal regulations

build off of or reinforce informal regulations

Regulatory regime

used to understand how state takes action to regulate our daily lives

Governance perspective

allows us to consider the different forms of regulation that encompass our lives (formal and informal)

Goal of regulation

promoting behaviour change and reinforcing compliance

Hard actions

formal regulations

Soft actions

informal suggestions and nudges that are rooted in the power of legislation

Legislation

gives ability to non-state actors to enact and enforce regulations

Cooperation

outcome used to measure success of regulation

Compliance

social process that defers to the wishes of an authority figure

Alignment

with authority figure increases compliance

Motivational posture

how we view our social world may cause us to reject regulations or shape our willingness to comply

Fair treatment

must be emphasized over outcomes to secure willing compliance from the public

Police respect

should live in the neighbourhoods thar they serve; allows cooperation of the public

Instrumental model

in order to secure compliance we have to offer sufficient threat of punishment that makes rational calculus not make sense

Harsher punishments

does little for deterrence and contributes to recidivism because most people think they will not get caught

Mandatory minimum punishment

just deserts, let the punishment fit the crime

Penal populism

political process that drawl on public fears of crime (draws on power figures that exert influence on society)

Normative perspective

helps us understand why people obey the law in the absence of the threat of sanctions

Normative compliance

people obey the law when we are not being watched because it is right to do so

Procedural justice

seeing the CLS as legitimate makes it more likely we follow it

Outcome-based measure

tell us how well people are doing their jobs (ex. Clearance rates)

Clearance rate

degree police officers can identify suspects in their investigation and lay a charge

Respect, neutrality, trustworthiness, voice

components of procedural justice

Respect

want to be treated in a respectful manner, therefore we also have to treat others with respect

Neutrality

law should be enforced without bias or favour (consistent and impartial)

Trustworthiness

believe police act in our best interest, care for our well being, and are doing everything to produce the best possible outcome

Voice

we are being allowed to share our concerns and an officer is listening to those concerns

Process-outcome perspective

procedural justice allows you to manipulate your interactions with the police

Social identity

group position in society and people in our social group

Socially just

strengthens our connection to dominant groups as it seems they share our interests, laws, and values

Negative experience with police

more impactful than positive experience

Anticipatory injustice

no direct negative experience with police but belief of negative interaction

Anti-snitching codes

crime reporting intentions and compliance linked to direct and vicarious experiences with policing

Controversies in procedural justice research

police should treat us fairly as it is the right thing to do, not because it causes compliance; lack of consistency in how researchers operationalize procedural justice; does little more than reinforce that status quo

Voluntary compliance

we abide by the law even when police are not around because we believe they are in our best interest

Role of police

not simply to enforce law but rather to maintain order

Consent of the public

needed for police to be able to do their jobs

Discretion

use by the police must be seen as procedurally just

Enforcing the law

is not always helpful as sending everyone to jail would buckle the CLS

Policing in contemporary society

RCMP, Campus Safety, Security guards, Fare inspectors, Military police, CBSA, Special constables, Electronic surveillance

Social contract perspective

we agree to live by society's rules in exchange for protection from impartial police; we give the state the right to use force to enforce laws in exchange, state will protect us and our property

Conflict perspective

Police act in the interests of powerful groups in society and focus their attention on groups with less social power and privilege

Primary source of crime data

police, as they are deemed experts on how to deal with crime (dismissive of narratives that there are problems with policing)

Complexity of police role

involves responding to challenging situations with diverse groups of people (terrorism, white collar, etc.); have differing views on laws and police

Police as social agents

enforce the law

Police officer's daily tasks

20% crime fighting and law enforcement, 80% administrative and service

Police role conflict

complex and competing demands that cause overload, withdrawal, load dissatisfaction, depersonalization, and low self esteem

Role ambiguity

happens when police rely on discretion to do their jobs and when there is a lack of clarity as to what they should do and how they should do it

Key discretionary decisions

to make an arrest and use of force

Abuse of discretion

when judges or lawyers violate their role, diminishes legitimacy, racial profiling

Influence on police discretion

characteristics of the situation, demeanour of attitude of the person, race, age, gender, characteristics of the neighbourhood, organizational factors

Community policing

seeks to move the focus of the police from a more reactive role to crime prevention

Courts

represent a system designed to produce legally consistent, fair, and transparent outcomes

Procedural fairness

legitimize decisions so people are more likely to accept decisions

Legitimacy of courts

important in CLS throughout history

Common law

sets precedence, legitimacy because universal and fair; basis for torts

Function of courts

process to formally resolve disputes as an extension of the law and our social contract

Court actors

judges, lawyers, claimants

Claimants

people with problems/disputes

Society

structure will inevitably lead to disputes

Neutral party

how courts should act as to review the facts of a dispute before coming to a legally consistent outcome

Disputes

occur when people cannot come to a mutually agreeable outcome verbally

Impact of prisons

bad for rehabilitation and people cause stigma

Formal authority

to be legitimate, state must have a monopoly on it - multiple competing systems would negatively impact the legitimacy of the law and the ability to establish precedents

Reactive body

to have the court resolve our disputes we need to bring that issue to the court a party needs to make a claim

Claims

damaging my individual interests; harm or injury;

Damage to interests

my interests override yours (no damage or fault)

Claims for harms

contributed to me being harmed or injured

Adversarial system

lawyers act as intermediaries who represent the interests of their clients

Judges

decide whose evidence is best by interpreting the law

Provincial/territorial courts

family law

Provincial/territorial superior

serious forms

Provincial/territorial courts of appeal

highest in province, deal with charter in province

Supreme court of Canada

general for all of Canada, leave the provincial courts and deal with constitutional rights in government

Social and structural inequality

reflected in the workings of the court

Torts

intended to address harms, but structural and social factors may limit our ability to claim our rights; wrongs committed against the private interests of someone

Private interests

not the interests of society

Criminal cases

brought from state against individual

King's court

meant to represent society

Sentencing

addresses interests of the whole public

Costs of harm

tort determines and ensures that these fall to the people who caused them

Personal harms

must be translated to legal claims

Torts concern

cost of harm (minimized to victim, those who caused it are held accountable), determining cost

Torts include

an act or omission by the defendant, done or failed to do something causing harm, the claimant has experienced a harm that the law protects against, it must be proven under the law that the defendant caused the harm, the defendant must be at fault

Actionable per se

torts without harm - does not cause harm or damage to individual or group but law believes it is necessary to uphold person's legal rights (trespassing)

Strict liability

torts without fault - no need to prove fault on behalf of wrongdoer - your dog leaves your yard to bite someone, employees cause harm to others (you're the employer)