1. Crime in Canada

Ch.1

Intra- vs. Inter-Individual Differences

Intra-: variations in criminal conduct within an individual across time

Inter-: variations in criminal conduct b/w groups of individuals

Define: Forensic Psychology

application of psychology to the legal system, intended to guide legal decision-making

Define: Correctional Psychology

application of psychology to the understanding of the assessment & management of individuals who engage in criminal behaviour

There are a variety of definitions & explanations of crime.

List four types of definitions

1. legal → acts prohibited by the state & punishable under the law

2. moral → violation of norms of religion & morality that are punishable by supreme beings

3. social → violation of certain norms & customs that are punishable by the community

4. psychological → acts that are rewarding to the perpetrator but harmful to others

Bartol & Bartol Definition of Crime

crime is intentional behaviour that violates a criminal code, intentional in that it did not occur accidentally or w/o justification or excuse

What is the Criminal Code of Canada (CCC)?

is federal law that defines criminal offences → conduct, determining guilt, defenses if charged, punishments if convicted, powers/procedures for investigation & prosecution

List the Six Types of Offences Under the CCC

1. offences against the person

2. offences against property

3. offences against the administration of law & justice

4. sexual offences

5. terrorism offences

6. hate propaganda offences

Provincial/Territorial Courts Deal With…

most criminal offences (except the most serious ones

family law matters (child support, adoption, etc. → not divorce)

young persons (12-17) in conflict w the law

Role of Superior Courts (King’s Bench)

courts of inherent jurisdiction → hear cases in any area except when a statute/rule limits that authority

hear the most serious cases

act as court of first appeal for the provincial/territorial courts

Role of the Court of Appeal

hear appeals from the superior & provincial courts

usually heard by panel of three judges

also hear constitutional questions that may be raised in appeals involving individuals, gov’ts, or gov’t agencies

General Trend in Crime Rates

Crime peaked in the 90s → dec. → slight inc. 2012-2020 → dec.

likely underestimates crime b/c only reflects what was reported

Define: Incidence Rates

the number of criminal incidents reported to the police as a function of the population

e.g. X number of [incidents] per number of people

Define: Prevalence Rates

the proportion of the population found to be involved in crime

e.g. X% arrested for [incident]

In 2020, 76% of crime reported was ____ violent

non-violent

e.g. technical offences (failure to comply or attend), property-related crimes (theft), mischief/fraud

Crime Severity Index

tracks changes in the severity of police-reported crime from year to year → considered the change in volume of a particular crime & the relative seriousness of that crime

• more serious → heavier weight → more impact on index

Two Factors Determining the Weight of an Offence for the Crime Severity Index

1. incarceration rate → proportion of those convicted who are sentenced to prison time

2. average length of a prison sentence (in days)

The Crime Funnel

a way to consider crime rates & severity based on how many people eventually go to prison following a police-reported criminal incident
total reported offences > estimated convictions > provincial sentence > federal sentence

Length of Sentences & the Implications of this for Assessment/Treatment

• majority of sentences carried out in community

• ~47% adult custodial sentences are <1month

• sentences for men usually > women

• only 3.2% federal sentences (2+ years)

thus limits time to assess & treat → limits comprehensiveness

General Trend in Variation Across Provinces

(2)

crime increases as you move further west & north

there is an over-representation of Indigenous in the Canadian criminal justice system

International Context of Canadian Incarceration Rates

2020 → incarceration rate: 104 per 100,000

modest compared to the USA

above the median observed in 223 Western & European countries (143 out of 223)

Crime Victimization Surveys

gives an idea of the crime rate not reported to police

is administered to a random sample every 5 years

typically yielder higher rates than police-reported

Two General Findings of the 2019 Crime Victimization Survey

1. few people report crime (only 30%) → even lower for certain crimes (e.g. 6% sexual assault)

2. certain groups have greater risk of victimization (youths, women, indigenous)

Direct & Indirect Costs of Crime (6)

direct: (1) police costs (2) court costs (3) corrections costs

indirect: (4) victim (5) victim’s family & friends (6) perpetrator + their families

Provincial/Territorial vs. Federal Corrections

Provincial: < 2 years → includes remand centers, provincial jails, conditional sentence, probation & responsible for youths

Federal (CSC): > 2 years +1 day → includes maximum, medium, and minimum security prisons & parole

General Population of Incarcerated Individuals Under the Correctional Service Canada (CSC)

(1) serving life (2) serving for violent crimes (3) race

1. 25% (not majority) serving life or indeterminant sentences

2. 72% serving in custody & community for violent crime(s)

3. Indigenous incarceration still increasing → make up 26% of those in CSC but only 5% of pop (very high %)

A majority of provincially sentenced individuals are serving in/on…

probation

General Personality & Cognitive Social Learning (GPCSL) Perspective (Bonta & Andrews)

is an integrative & situational model of criminal cause

recognizes the influence of both historical & immediate factors on an individual who decides to engage in a criminal act

Define: Meta-Analysis 

use of statistics to aggregate the results of individual studies to develop one averaged effect size for all the studies combined

combining & synthesizing summaries and conclusions to detect/evaluate trends

Define: Effect Sizes

outcome measure indicating the degree of the relationship b/w two variables OR the impact of an intervention

info about the magnitude of diff b/w groups

Measuring Predictive Accuracy: Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Analysis 

measures the accuracy of risk assessments by examining false and true positives across decision thresholds

for each possible cut-off value (score) → can plot the false pos. rate (x-axis) as a fxn of the true pos. rate (y-axis) then can measure the AUC to get measure

good b/c less influenced by decision thresholds & base rates

Area Under the Curve (AUC) Values

values range from .50 (chance accuracy) to 1.00 (perfect accuracy)

e.g. AUC of .80 indicates that 80% of the time, a randomly selected recidivist will have a higher risk score than a randomly selected non-recidivist

AUC >.80 considered very good

Define: Cross-Sectional / Correlational Research Design

diff groups of people who differ on variable of interest (involvement in crime) are observed at one point in time to determine how they differ on other variables

looks at factors at one point in time to see if they are correlated to crime at that same point in time

Define: Longitudinal Research Design

a particular group of individuals are followed over time & repeatedly observed

Define: Risk Factors

measurable constructs that predict criminal offending

Define: Risk Assessment

the determination of risk or probability of reoffending through the systematic review of static & dynamic factors (criminogenic needs)

Define: Protective Factors

pos. attributes a person possesses that dec. the probability of reoffending or inc. the likelihood of success

internal (e.g. high intelligence) or external (e.g. prosocial supports)

Define: Specific Responsivity Factors

non-criminogenic facilitators & barriers

Define: Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) Model

model of offender rehabilitation used throughout Canada & the world

• intervention & supervision strategies should be matched to recidivism risk

• greater risk → more program hours/supervision

• prioritize criminogenic needs

• responsivity principle = general + specific responsivity

General vs Specific Responsivity Principle

General: interventions work best when they are matched to the learning styles of justice-impacted people → usually CBT

Specific: recognized that individuals are unique → treatments should be tailored to address individual diffs (e.g. gender, race, culture, personality, age. etc.)