Typologies and Patterns of Crime

Indigenous Peoples and Criminal Justice: Overrepresentation and Criminalisation

• Overrepresentation: Indigenous peoples are consistently overrepresented in the criminal justice system in Canada as both victims and offenders (Monchalin, 2016).

  • The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada included several calls to action aimed at eliminating this overrepresentation and ensuring proper funding for alternatives to incarceration for Indigenous offenders.

  • Research indicates Indigenous youth receive longer sentences than non-Indigenous youth, even when criminal and offence histories are comparable (Corrado & Cohen, 2011; Corrado et al., 2014).

  • Many measures designed to divert youth from the criminal justice system have not been effective for Indigenous youth.

• Context of Overrepresentation: Critical analysis requires considering the historical context and experiences of Indigenous peoples.

  • Colonisation and the Indian Act: The horrors legislated under the Indian Act (e.g., loss of land, forced displacement, residential schools, forced assimilation, repetitive human rights violations including genocide and cultural genocide, criminalisation of cultural activities, institutionalised racism) directly contribute to Indigenous overrepresentation as offenders and victims.

  • Residential Schools: These institutions caused a profound breakdown in family structures across generations. The abuse suffered by children removed from their homes negatively impacted healthy family life (Monchalin, 2016).

  • Control Theories: Family factors are central to control theories, which are well-supported explanations of criminal behaviour (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990).

  • Stress and Strain: Situations arising from colonisation cause stress and strain that can lead to criminal behaviour.

    • Trauma and Drug Use: There is a clear link between trauma and both drug use and associated offending behaviour (Maté, 2008).

    • Stimuli and Strain: Exposure to negative stimuli (e.g., sexual abuse, poverty, lack of opportunity) or loss of positive stimuli (e.g., family, culture, sense of self) can exacerbate strain and increase the likelihood of involvement in various crimes (Agnew, 1992).

• Historical Criminalisation of Indigenous Culture: The overrepresentation is tied to a history of laws criminalising Indigenous cultural practices.

  • 1867 Indian Act: The federal government criminalised Indigenous mobility over traditional territories, the use of language, and cultural activities like the potlatch ceremony.

  • Potlatch Ceremony: This ceremony involved feasting and gift-giving but was viewed by the Canadian government as a challenge to assimilation and was suspicious because it opposed capitalist values of wealth accumulation and property ownership (Monchalin, 2016).

Thinking about Crime: Classification and Typologies

• Defining Crime: Crime is commonly viewed as harmful acts "against the law," but criminologists advocate for a more complex perspective.

  • Law as Social Construction: The law is a social construct; many significantly harmful acts are legal, while acts causing minimal harm are criminalised. Focusing solely on legal violations risks overlooking harms outside the law and misinterpreting relatively harmless illegal behaviour as problematic (Beirne & Messerschmidt, 2011; Agnew, 2011).

  • Violation of Conduct Norms: Some criminologists suggest viewing crime as a violation of conduct norms (Sellin, 1938), understanding that what a culture or group deems normal or deviant can vary by geographic location, history, and other factors.

  • Deviance: Deviance refers to behaviours that depart from or violate social norms. These behaviours are not necessarily criminalised but might be in the future due to cultural shifts (e.g., adultery is deviant in monogamous cultures but rarely criminalised).

  • Dynamic Definitions: Definitions of crime and deviance change over time and differ across cultures.

• Typologies and Classification Systems: Criminologists use typologies and classification systems to apply a systematic and objective approach to studying crime.

  • Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Typology: Classifies crimes into violent crime, property crime, other crime, traffic offences, federal drug offences, and other federal law violations.

  • Common Approaches: Other common classifications include dividing crimes into victimless crimes (e.g., drug use, prostitution, illegal gambling) and crimes with clear victims (e.g., robberies, physical assaults).

  • Socioeconomic Classifications:

    • Street Crime / Blue-Collar Crime: More common types of property and minor violent crime.

    • Suite Crime / White-Collar Crime: Financial and occupational crimes committed by those with status or power (e.g., politicians, legal officials, corporate executives, celebrities, athletes).

• Classification System for this Reading: To address gaps in existing typologies, this reading employs a specific classification:

  • Violent crime (homicide, sexual assault, assault, robbery)

  • Property crime (breaking and entering, theft, identity fraud, identity theft)

  • Crimes of morality/public order (drug use, prostitution)

  • Organised crime

  • Hate crime and terrorism

  • White-collar crime

  • Corporate crime

  • White-Collar Crime Definition: Crimes committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupation for their own benefit.

  • Corporate Crime Definition: Crimes committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupation for the benefit of their business or corporation.

  • White-collar and corporate crime are discussed further in Chapter 15.

Violent Crimes: Definitions and Patterns

• Homicide

  • Reporting: Homicides are generally well-reported (Nivette, 2011) and less susceptible to the "dark figure of crime" (Tonry, 2004).

    • Dark Figure of Crime: Refers to unreported crimes that go unnoticed because nobody notices or reports them (e.g., drug possession where both parties are willing).

    • A "criminal" act is not necessarily "deviant" if it's typical behaviour in a local population.

• Definition: Homicide is an umbrella term for one human killing another. Murder is a specific type of intentional homicide.

  • Criminal Code of Canada Classifications (based on culpability and intent):

    • First Degree Murder: Planned and deliberate.

    • Second Degree Murder: Intentional but lacks pre-planning; may occur "in the heat of the moment."

    • Manslaughter: Non-intentional homicide resulting from intoxication, recklessness, or negligence (e.g., accidental death during a bar fight).

• Canadian Homicide Statistics (2019):

  • Rate: $1.8$ per $100,000$ population (Moreau et al., 2020), an increase from $1.78$ in 2018. This rate remains relatively low compared to the past.

  • 1993 Homicide Rate: Approximately $3.75$ per $100,000$ population (Roy & Marcellus, 2018).

  • Indigenous Victims: In 2019, police reported $174$ Indigenous homicide victims (up from $141$ in 2018).

    • The rate for Indigenous victims was $8.82$ homicides per $100,000$ population, approximately $6.5$ times higher than the non-Indigenous rate of $1.34$ per $100,000$ (Moreau et al., 2020).

• Geographic Patterns: Western Canadian provinces tend to have higher rates of violent crime and homicides compared to Eastern and Maritime provinces (Trussler, 2010).

  • Explanations are inconclusive, and little research exists (Andresen, 2009).

  • Possible Factors: Milder weather in the West could create more opportunities for crime. Alternatively, differences in crime reporting and recording among provinces might create an illusion of regional variance (Andresen, 2009).

• Offending Patterns (Intentional Homicides):

  • Serial Murder: Killing several victims in three or more separate events (e.g., Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls cases).

    • Public perception of frequency is often inflated due to media attention (Schildkraut, 2016).

    • Statistically rare, accounting for less than $1\%$ of all murders (Bonn, 2014).

    • Canada has convicted $106$ serial killers since its founding. The U.S. has produced $3,204$ serial killers historically (Sheth, 2020).

  • Mass Murder: Killing more than three people in a single event.

    • As of 2019, Canada experienced $12$ mass shootings in the prior $30$ years (Saminather, 2018).

• Sexual Assault

  • Historical Definition (Pre-1983 Criminal Code): "Rape" was defined as a male having intercourse with a female who was not his wife. This definition had significant flaws, including implying spousal rape was impossible and overlooking male and female victims/offenders.

    • Despite Canada's archaic law, it took until 1993 for all $50$ U.S. states to change their rape laws to include married couples.

  • Current Definition (Criminal Code of Canada): Uses the term "sexual assault" with three levels:

    • Level One: Least serious, involving unwanted touching and/or fondling.

    • Level Two: Involves weapons or some type of bodily harm (e.g., penetration).

    • Level Three: Most serious, involves long-term physical injuries such as maiming, wounding, or disfigurement.

  • Canadian Sexual Assault Statistics (2019):

    • Police-reported rate: $82$ incidents per $100,000$ population, a $7\%$ increase from 2018 (Moreau et al., 2020).

    • This rate is still below the mid-1990s peak of $120$ incidents per $100,000$ population in 1993.

    • Reasons for Recent Increase: Speculated to be a result of initiatives and improved laws encouraging women to come forward, suggesting a drop in the "dark figure of crime" for sexual assault (Beitsch, 2018; Levy and Mattson, 2019; Moreau et al., 2020).

  • Reasons for Underreporting: Traditionally, sexual assaults are heavily underreported due to guilt, shame, hesitancy to have cases made public, victim knowing the offender ($70\%$ to $80\%$ of cases are by acquaintances, friends, or family), and victims sometimes blaming themselves (e.g., due to alcohol, cultural/peer pressure, or mental health issues) (Schmalleger & Volk, 2014).

  • College Campus Sexual Assaults: Significant attention has focused on rates on college campuses, particularly associated with athletics like football (Wiersma-Mosley & Jozkowski, 2019).

    • University of Montana Missoula Case: John Krakauer's (2015) book Missoula chronicled widespread non-stranger sexual assaults, mishandling by the university and justice system, indifference from police, and accused high-profile football players evading charges. This highlights how powerful institutional interests can affect crime reporting and prosecution until an exposé forces change.

• Assault

  • Criminal Code of Canada Classifications (3 levels):

    • Level One ("Simple Assault"): Least serious; punching, pushing, shoving, or threats by act/gesture; no bodily harm required.

    • Level Two ("Assault with a Weapon" or "Assault Causing Bodily Harm"): Offender uses a weapon or causes some type of harm (e.g., a black eye).

    • Level Three ("Aggravated Assault"): Most serious; occurs when the offender seriously wounds, maims, or disfigures the victim.

  • Canadian Assault Statistics (2019):

    • Level One: $500$ per $100,000$ population.

    • Level Two: $158$ per $100,000$ population.

    • Level Three: $10$ per $100,000$ population.

    • Overall rates of major assaults (Levels 2 and 3) had steadily decreased from a peak of approximately $180$ per $100,000$ in 2008 until recent increases in 2019.

  • Reasons for Recent Increases: Moreau (2019) speculates that changes in how assaults are classified and counted, including events with no evidence or third-party reports, may contribute.

  • Context: Assaults often occur at night, in the presence of alcohol or near establishments serving alcohol. They are typically emotional, impulsive events with little to no planning (Felson & Eckert, 2018).

• Robbery

  • Definition: An offender uses force or violence (or threats) during the commission of a theft.

    • Misconception: Often confused with breaking and entering; legally, one robs a person, not an object. It is a violent crime due to the use or threatened use of force.

  • Canadian Robbery Statistics (2019): Approximately $62$ robberies per $100,000$ population, relatively unchanged from 2018 (Moreau, Jaffray, & Armstrong, 2020).

  • Patterns: Tends to occur later at night and is more common in urban settings.

  • Offender Types (Wright & Decker, 1997):

    • Commercial Robbers (target businesses like banks): Tend to do more planning and research, less impulsive.

    • Street Robbers: More likely to use force and act based on opportunity.

Non-Violent Crimes: Definitions and Patterns

• Breaking and Entering

  • Definition: Formerly known as burglary; involves entering someone else's property with the intention of committing an indictable offence (e.g., theft or property destruction).

  • Canadian Statistics (2019): Rate was $429$ per $100,000$ population, a $1\%$ reduction from the previous year (Moreau et al., 2020).

  • Patterns: Burglars target unoccupied homes, preferring night but will target during the day if residents are at work (Felson & Eckert, 2018).

    • Seasonal Spikes: Often increase in summer months when people are on vacation and leave windows/doors open (Lauritsen, 2014).

    • Target Selection: Do not necessarily target wealthy homes (too much security); prefer middle-upper class neighbourhoods with less security but valuable items (money, jewelry, electronics) (Wright & Decker, 1994).

• Theft

  • Criminal Code of Canada Classifications:

    • Minor Theft: Theft of property up to $5,000.

    • Major Theft: Theft of property over $5,000.

    • Special Category: Motor vehicle theft.

  • Canadian Statistics (2019, per $100,000$ population) (Moreau et al., 2020):

    • Theft under $5,000: $1,129$.

    • Theft over $5,000: $57$.

    • Motor vehicle theft: $232$.

    • These rates were virtually unchanged from 2018.

  • Gender: Women constitute a notable proportion of theft cases at $33\%$ (Schmalleger & Volk, 2014).

  • Prevention: Most theft, especially minor theft, is based on easy opportunities and can often be remedied by crime prevention tactics like alarms or lights (Felson & Eckert, 2018).

• Fraud

  • Definition: A special category of theft involving deception or trickery to gain material benefits (e.g., unauthorized credit card use, telephone scams) (Boyd, 2015).

  • Canadian Statistics (2019): Incidents increased to $378$ per $100,000$ population, up from $351$ in 2018.

• Identity Theft

  • Identity Fraud: Offender uses a person's personal information (e.g., credit card info) to make purchases or evade law enforcement.

  • Identity Theft: Stealing another person's identity to commit an indictable offence, including fraud or falsehood. This ranges from mail theft to database breaches.

  • Canadian Statistics (2019): The rate stayed approximately the same compared to 2018 (Moreau et al., 2020).

  • Increased Commonness: These crimes have become increasingly common in the last decade, especially among organised crime groups, due to often going undetected, difficulty in prosecution, relatively low risk, and potential for large payouts.

Crimes of Morality and Public Order: Definitions and Patterns

• Prostitution

  • Legal History in Canada: Confusing and inconsistent.

    • For many years, exchanging sex for money was technically legal, but communicating the intention was illegal.

    • 2014 - The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act: Officially made buying sexual services illegal. Most public aspects (brothels, public communication) remain illegal.

    • Independent Sex Workers: Can communicate privately (phone, email, text, social media) with clients without violating laws.

  • Statistics: Reliable statistics are difficult to acquire due to inconsistent enforcement, rare reporting, and local variances in law enforcement practices.

    • Canadian Statistics (2019): $135$ police-reported incidents (up from $115$ in 2018) (Moreau et al., 2020).

• Drug Use

  • Drug Use and Crime: A well-known and documented correlation exists, but correlation does not imply causation, as numerous variables are at play (Bennett et al., 2008).

  • Ineffectiveness of Criminalisation: Drug criminalisation has been shown to be an ineffective method for controlling or preventing drug use (Miron, 2004; Reinarman et al., 2004; Reinarman, 2009).

    • Prohibition's Negative Impacts: Evidence indicates that prohibition has exacerbated problems associated with drug use and addiction (Baum, 1996; MacCoun & Reuter, 2001; Alexander, 2008; Maté, 2008; Robinson & Scherlen, 2014).

      • Widespread Use: Drug use has become more widespread under prohibition, with young people using drugs at younger ages.

      • Increased Potency: Drugs have continuously become more potent under prohibition (Robinson & Scherlen, 2014), exemplified by the proliferation of fentanyl and other potent opioids driving the overdose epidemic.

      • Designer Drugs: Created in underground labs by altering chemical properties of existing drugs (e.g., MDMA, MDA, GHB, synthetic stimulants/cannabinoids). These become increasingly potent with each generation.

      • Cannabis Potency: Even natural cannabis has increased in potency (stronger strains), with advent of concentrates like butane hash oil, wax, and shatter (Cowan, 1986; Beletsky & Davis, 2017).

  • Prohibition and Community Relations: Prohibition may aggravate community problems with police.

    • When drug possession is criminalised, users and dealers hide activities, increasing demand for potent, concealable substances over weaker versions (similar to alcohol prohibition where hard alcohol became more available than beer/ciders) (Heidt & Wheeldon, 2021).

    • Enforcement Disparities: Drug laws are enforced against Black and Indigenous minorities at much higher rates and with more severe consequences (Mitchell & Caudy, 2014; Owusu-Bempeh & Luscombe, 2020).

  • Decriminalisation: Poised to become a major issue.

    • International Success: Portugal and other countries have seen success.

    • Canadian Initiatives: Vancouver and Montreal have requested federal support for municipal drug decriminalisation shifts (Canadian Press, 2021; Crockett, 2021).

    • Outcomes: Cannabis legalisation and drug decriminalisation do not appear to increase drug use, overdoses, mental illness, or crime (Heidt & Wheeldon, 2021).

      • Addiction and overdose rates have fallen in areas that decriminalised drug possession (Greenwald, 2009; Hughes & Stevens, 2010, 2014).

      • No indication of increased youth cannabis use in legalised jurisdictions; increases have occurred among older people (Heidt et al., 2018; Heidt, 2021).

  • Canadian Statistics (2019): The rate of drug offences per $100,000$ population was $187$, a decrease from $229$ in 2018 (Moreau et al., 2020).

    • This plummeting in official statistics may be due to reduced enforcement rather than a true drop in drug use.

Organised Crime

• Criminal Code of Canada Definition: A group of three or more people whose purpose is the commission of one or more serious offences that would "likely result in the direct or indirect receipt of a material benefit, including a financial benefit, by the group" (Canadian Criminal Code, 1985).

• Activities: Most commonly involved in drug and gun trafficking, but human trafficking and computer-based crime have become increasingly common.

• Group Demographics: Organised crime groups in Canada and the U.S. exist, some based on race or ethnicity, but there is a new trend towards multi-ethnic or more diverse groups (Beare, 2018).

• Distinction from Street Gangs: Organised crime groups have a high level of internal organisation and structure, focusing on profit-making activities. They should not be confused with loosely structured street gangs and "wanna-be" youth gangs that are less focused on profit (Gordon, 2000).

Hate Crime, Extremism, and Terrorism

• Hate Crime Definition (Section $319(2)$ Criminal Code of Canada): It is a crime to promote hatred against any group by making a public statement (does not apply to private conversations). These statements typically target race/ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.

• Classification: Not easily classified as violent or non-violent. Hateful statements can be considered aggravating factors in physically violent incidents, increasing the severity in the eyes of the criminal justice system.

• Canadian Hate Crime Statistics (2019):

  • Rate: $1,946$ hate crimes per $100,000$ population (Statistics Canada, 2020).

  • Targets:

    • Race or ethnicity: $876$ incidents.

    • Religion: $608$ incidents.

    • Sexual orientation: $263$ incidents.

  • The overall rate has been steady in recent years, but there was a significant spike from $1,409$ in 2016 to $2,073$ in 2017, an increase of $47\%$ (Moreau et al., 2020).

• Explanation for the Spike in Hate Crimes:

  • Proliferation of Right-Wing Extremist Groups: Growing concern over homegrown terrorist groups, many associated with right-wing extremism (e.g., Boogaloo Movement, Blood and Honor, Oathkeepers, QAnon), which received increased attention from law enforcement after previously focusing on foreign threats post-9/11.

  • Inflammatory Political Rhetoric: Attributed to highly inflammatory rhetoric from politicians (e.g., former President Donald Trump) directed at immigrants and African-Americans. Examples include derogatory statements about Mexican immigrants, "shithole countries," and racist terms for COVID-19.

  • Violence Against Asians: Increasing reports of violence directed at Asians in the U.S. and Canada, presumably linked to rhetoric connecting them to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Canadian Extremism: Canada has also seen an increase in political extremism (Perry & Scrivens, 2016, 2018).

  • Terrorist Designations: In February 2021, the Canadian government labelled the Proud Boys and two other Neo-Nazi organisations as terrorist groups for their role in the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol (Tasker, 2021).

Crime Patterns Over Time

• 1950s: Low Crime Rates: Society felt relatively safe with easy economic opportunities and newfound wealth in North America.

• 1960s: Rising Crime and Unrest: Crime rates began to climb alongside social and political unrest (Tonry, 2004).

  • Shift in Crime Patterns: Household theft and burglaries dramatically increased due to two main reasons:

    • More homes were left unattended during the day as more women entered the workforce and pursued education.

    • A proliferation of high-value, lightweight household appliances and smaller electronic items due to technological innovation, making theft easier, more profitable, and more attractive (Cohen & Felson, 1979).

• 1980s and 1990s: Decrease in Crime Rates: Rates increased throughout the 1980s, then surprisingly decreased significantly in the 1990s.

  • Explanations for Decreases:

    • Obvious Factors: Stricter gun-control laws, more jobs, and economic opportunities.

    • Less Obvious Factors:

      • Access to Abortion: Greater access to abortions and birth control led to a drop in unwanted and neglected children, who are at higher risk for gang involvement and criminal activities.

      • Reduced Lead in Environment: Regular exposure to lead causes developmental and cognitive issues, especially in early ages, leading to higher risk for criminal activities. Policies like widespread adoption of unleaded gasoline significantly reduced environmental lead, potentially contributing to lower crime rates (Blumstein & Wallman, 2006; Farrell, 2013).

  • Impact of the Internet: The internet's rapid growth in the 1990s created new opportunities for crime and changed how crimes were committed (Byrne & Kimball, 2017).

    • Face-to-face robberies were replaced by lower-risk online cons and scams, which are harder to detect and prosecute.

    • The internet and other technological shifts (e.g., cellphones) may have increased the "dark figure of crime" while driving official crime rates down (Hall, 2012) (e.g., illegal downloading vs. physical theft).

• Recent Years: Increases in Certain Crimes: Both Canada and the U.S. have seen some increases, mostly property-related, partially attributable to growing political and social unrest.

  • Social Movements: Illustrated by movements like Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, protests against logging and pipelines, conspiracy groups (QAnon), and the proliferation of Right-Wing militia groups.

  • Historical Parallel: Similar trends were observed in the 1960s, an era of significant conflict and social change that also saw increases in certain forms of crime and violence. This parallel supports the principle that crime occurs in cycles over long periods (Zimring, 2007).

• COVID-19 and Crime Patterns: The pandemic and associated lockdown orders had a monumental impact on daily life and routine activities, dubbed "the largest criminological experiment in history" (Stickle & Felson, 2020).

  • Initial Data: Suggested little change in serious violent crimes.

  • Reductions: A small reduction in residential break and enter and motor vehicle thefts in some cities, driven by drops in crimes typically committed in groups (Bowman & Gallupe, 2020).

  • Unchanged Rates: Violent offences committed alone (homicide, sexual and domestic assault) remained largely unchanged.

  • Speculations: Rates of drug use (including alcohol consumption) likely spiked.

  • Future Research: The overall effect of the pandemic on crime patterns is still unclear but will be a significant area for future research.

Conclusion

• Skepticism Towards Crime Definitions and Statistics: It is crucial to be skeptical of how crime is defined and classified, as well as official crime statistics. Many crimes are criminalised for moral and political reasons rather than solely public safety concerns.

• Offence Disparities: This skepticism is particularly important when considering offence disparities that emerge in minority and Indigenous populations.

• Shaping Crime Patterns: Crime patterns and rates are shaped over time by various factors, including environmental changes, technological advances, social unrest, and global pandemics.