Search

The majority of police departments today in the United States and Canada claim to "do" community policing on some level. Community policing has become central in the manner police agencies define and promote themselves. The purpose of this paper is to first examine the apparent promotion and centrality of "community policing" in two large urban police departments (one in the U.S. and one in Canada). The second part of the paper examines the gendered experiences that female officers encounter, and critically explores the possibility of using Community Policing initiatives as feminist tools to encourage social and structural changes within the occupational culture of policing which continues to reflect, for the most part, the traditional, paramilitarisic, crime control model that does not support gendered justice goals. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on intimate partner violence (IPV) has traditionally centered on women, as they are disproportionately the victims of this crime. Men's experiences as victims of IPV are often disregarded. Critics of this oversight have suggested that men are just as likely to be victimized by their partners as women - a phenomenon known as "gender symmetry." The gender symmetry argument has sparked heated debates in the literature from a range of scholars who argue the importance of considering the nature and context of the violence. This paper contributes to this area of study by comparing the correlates of men's and women's police reporting behaviours. Reporting IPV to the police is one way that victims can access support services and involve themselves in formal justice systems. This paper uses data from the Canadian General Social Survey (Statistics Canada, 1999) to examine gender differences in the reporting of IPV. Results illustrate important differences in the correlates of reporting behaviours. Particularly, the effect of severity of violence on the decision to report a violent incident is substantially higher for men than women. These findings reinforce the need to develop research that considers how men and women experience this crime differently. Such research is necessary in order to develop victim assistance programs that address victim needs appropriately. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA), employees in specific industries that deal with cash transactions are responsibilized into reporting all transactions that are deemed suspicious to the appropriate authority. What is deemed suspicious or unusual is to be decided by the individual employee submitting the report. As the legislative guidelines are minimal, how employees come to view a cash transaction as 'suspicious' is unclear. This paper analyzes the implementation of the PCMLTFA in one of Canadas major retail financial institutions, examining how the expert knowledge of financial institutions and on-the-job knowledge learned by retail branch employees combine with legal obligations to influence Unusual Transaction Reporting by tellers in this particular bank. By examining internal documents, interviewing individuals whose type of employment makes them responsible for identifying transactions that may be indicative of money laundering or terrorist financing, and examining those reports generated by employees, this paper attempts to shed light onto an area of policing and organized crime research that, in the Canadian context, has generally gone unnoticed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The provisions of the Canadian Criminal Code that pertain to gambling have undergone numerous revisions, most notably in 1969 and 1985. These changes were pivotal in the transition of gambling's status from criminal prohibition to legalization and in consolidating provincial authority over an activity that now has considerable economic significance. The national Criminal Code, once uniform in its application, can now be seen to have regional interpretations. This paper will identify and discuss the operational and regulatory models that have appeared across Canada as a result of differing provincial interpretations of the Criminal Code with respect to gambling. We will examine the role public attitudes have played in the legalization of gambling and discuss several theoretical perspectives that may account for this transformed status of gambling in Canadian society. A number of unintended consequences that have appeared in the wake of gambling's widespread availability within Canada will also be identified. The paper with conclude with a discussion of several contentious public policy issues, such as the legal validity of certain gambling operational and regulatory models now evident in certain provinces and the potential conflicts of interest that arise from provincial governments' authority to conduct, manage and regulate gambling while they simultaneously appropriate the largest share of the substantial revenues from gambling operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a review and critique of mental health strategies for federally sentenced women in Canada. The context is set with a brief historical account of womens imprisonment in Canada. In addition, the paper presents a portrait of women imprisoned in the Canadian federal correctional system, including current statistical information related to admissions, type of offenses, length of sentences, classifications, age, race, marital status, experiences of violence, mental health, as well as educational attainment. More specifically, current statistical information related to admissions, type of offenses, length of sentences, classifications, age, race, marital status, experiences of violence, mental health, as well as educational attainment is presented. A description of the treatment models currently employed by Correctional Services Canada is given and implications of the mental health treatment models, such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Psychosocial Rehabilitation, are highlighted. In an effort to expand on current treatment practices, suggestions are made for adopting community-based interventions and programming as an alternative to treating women with mental health issues within a prison setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will explore various hate crime information and data gathering techniques employed by Canadian police, community groups and the state. Increased surveillance of hate crime activities has led to the development of data gathering processes which have generated new knowledge about the incidence of hate-motivated crime in Canada. There has however been little critical examination of these processes of surveillance in terms of a cause as well as an effect of intensified forms of social monitoring and information gathering. The aim of this paper is to comment on various aspects of hate crime data collection with a focus on police and community-based data collection processes as well as the recent Statistics Canada report entitled, Hate Crime In Canada: An Overview of Issues and Data Sources. The report documents the findings from the 1999 General Social Survey (GSS) that for the first time, measured self reported hate crime victimization incidents at the national level. In this paper I discuss some of the more salient findings, provide a critique of the methodological and theoretical issues underlying hate crime data collection, and conclude with a discussion of implications for future social justice research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black intra-violence has recently become a subject of public discourse in Toronto. Hitherto regarded as an American problem, this phenomenon, has since the mid-1990s, become a common occurrence in Canadas biggest city, Toronto. Following an increase in the number of violent street crimes in Toronto since the 1990s, often attributed by the media to members of the citys black community, a number of claims have been made with respect to the causes and social policies for controlling this phenomenon. Among the major claims makers are members of the citys black community. This paper documents the various ways different groups of Torontos black community construct black intra-racial violence in the city. Following Dorothy Smiths (1987) standpoint epistemology, the paper privileges the epistemology of members of the citys black community as knowers located in the actual lived situations. Unlike most researches in North America, which present the black population as a homogeneous category, this study is premised on the understanding that black people in Canada come from heterogeneous backgrounds and that their different cultural orientation might affect the way they construct the phenomenon of black intra-racial violence in the city. The paper argues that any policy that will effectively address the problem of black intra-racial violence in Toronto should take the community perspective into consideration, since members of this community have experiential knowledge of the problem and their social realities are implicated in the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is evidence for the US and Canadian cases that immigrants do not increase crime rates, but may - in fact - be a net contributor to crime reduction (see Sampson 2006, Hagan et al. 2008). European societies, however, seem to experience the opposite with a high numbers of crimes committed by second generation immigrants. Looking at the immigration-crime nexus in European countries in the public discourse, much focus is given to the Islamic background of immigrants that is believed to impede their social integration and may, thus, have influence on criminal behavior. Very often, the discourse neglects to examine the social exclusion experienced by 2nd generation immigrants. This paper seeks to redress this lack of attention. For a total of five years, the author conducted ethnographic and qualitative research with a gang of 55 young male 2nd generation Muslim migrants who specialized in drug trafficking in Frankfurt. Drawing on an extensive amount of field notes and over 100 in-depth interviews, the paper analyzes the relationship between the status of migration and informal economies (especially the drug market). In this context, the economic considerations of the group and their economic exclusion from the formal labour market are specifically of interest. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While immigrants cum minorities' (non)involvement in crime and perceptions about law enforcement agents are a well-researched area in the U.S., it is yet to garner as much attention in Canada. However, rather than utilizing the analytically useful, but praxiologically useless concept "Black," which pervades the American literature, this paper identifies a specific group of "Blacks" to investigate how agents of the state from the police on the street to the judges in law courts and the prison system are perceived. This paper utilizes postcolonial theory and legal pluralism to examine the perceptions of immigrant Nigerians about the Canadian criminal justice system. Using a historical approach, the paper seeks to establish whether Nigerians are wont to perceive state agents of law enforcement in Canada as fair considering their background from a country now widely regarded as a "failed state" particularly in terms of law enforcement. How do Nigerians in Winnipeg relate with law enforcement officials? Is there any form of non-legal ordering among immigrant Nigerians? How does their background of tripartite system of laws influence order in the Nigerian community? Answers are sought via in-depth interview of a sample of immigrant Nigerians in Winnipeg. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the penalties associated with child support enforcement, compared with the penalties involved with other prosecutions. Child support non-payment, while not technically a crime under the criminal code is prosecuted in Canada with a variety of penalties, including incarceration. While some of these penalties, such as the removal or restriction of driving licenses have no equivalent in the criminal justice system, except as part of a conditional sentence intended to protect the community. Other penalties, such as fines, prison and loss of passport are consistent with typical sentencing alternatives in a criminal case. This paper also explores how the use of criminal-like penalties for child support non-payment has evolved. This evolution has resulted in a greater variety of penalties, the wider use of these penalties and a curious legal adaptation by both the courts and legislatures to enable the legal framework. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homicide rates are often said to reflect the quality of life in a specific space and time. Canadian homicide rates have demonstrated temporal fluctuations. There are many factors which appear to affect these changes, and it is important for both academics and policy makers to understand both the stability and diversity in homicide rates. This paper examines the causes and correlates of homicide variability over both time and space. Using the Homicide Microdata from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics from 1970 to 2005 this paper employs Latent Curve Models (LCMs) to geographical and temporal change in homicide in Canada. The focus examines different regional trajectories of homicide rates and teases out stable and changing attributes. Specifically, this paper looks regional homicide trajectories and examines both aggregate and individual level characteristics, such as victim, offender and offence characteristics as well as demographic variables. Results support previous research but expand and compare relative influence of various factors. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homicide rates are often said to reflect the quality of life in a specific space and time. Canadian homicide rates have demonstrated temporal fluctuations. There are many factors which appear to affect these changes, and it is important for both academics and policy makers to understand both the stability and diversity in homicide rates. This paper examines the causes and correlates of homicide variability over both time and space. Using the Homicide Microdata from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics from 1970 to 2005 this paper employs Latent Curve Models (LCMs) to geographical and temporal change in homicide in Canada. The focus examines different regional trajectories of homicide rates and teases out stable and changing attributes. Specifically, this paper looks regional homicide trajectories and examines both aggregate and individual level characteristics, such as victim, offender and offence characteristics as well as demographic variables. Results support previous research but expand and compare relative influence of various factors. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1992, the Canadian Corrections and Conditional Release Act established the Correctional Investigator's role as an independent Ombudsman for federal prisoners. In providing an accessible avenue for redress for offender complaints as well as for offender inquiries concerning the legitimacy of their treatment in prison, the Correctional Investigator is said to be a public watchdog, and to uphold federal prison law by ensuring that correctional policies and procedures associated with individual complaints are in keeping with the law. Thus, Canadian legislation arms the Correctional Investigator with operational tools as well as significant authority to carry out investigations, and to bring most prisoner complaints to a timely closure. A study of 123 complaint files related to segregation (solitary confinement), and received by the Correctional Investigator between 1995 and 2003 indicates that, contrary to what would be expected in the case of such disguised and secretive forms of confinement, investigations tend to be cursory. In this light, the paper will discuss the mechanisms by which positive attempts to render conditions of segregation visible tend to be short-circuited, hereby contributing inadvertently to the ongoing invisibilization of segregation. The efficacy of the Correctional Investigator as a watchdog of legal rights, and as a governmental self-surveillance mechanism will also be addressed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School violence in Canada and the United States is a topic of public and media concern following recent shocking incidents of student killings by their classmates in Canada and the United States. These recent school shootings have resulted in a moral panic. The focus of this paper is an analysis of various factors that have driven this moral panic. The main focus of this analysis includes society's negative portrayal of youth; zero tolerance school policies in both Canada and the United States; interest groups such as the media, educational organizations, and victims' groups; and society's concern with youth violence generally and the youth criminal justice system. As a response to public concern, zero tolerance policies have been implemented in some schools in Canada and the United States. These policies have the effect of validating the public's concern and panic which exacerbates the problem. School authorities are denied any discretionary power and mitigating factors or extenuating circumstances are often viewed as irrelevant. The media sensationalizes school violence, based on isolated events, which creates widespread fear among the public that schools are unsafe places. The media provides a distorted image regarding the nature and prevalence of school violence. Contrary to these perceptions, school-related homicides are extremely rare events. It is argued that policies and programs designed to reduce school violence must be informed by well-designed research and, at the same time, such policies and programs and the assumptions upon which they are based should be subjected to close scrutiny. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Creating Choices:the Report of the task force on federally sentenced Women'' was published and accepted by the government of Canada in 1990.The Task Force's work demonstrates the unintended consequnces of penal reform within the women's estate.This paper draws parallels between the efforst of the first American maternal prison reformers and the endeavours of their 20th century Canadian counterparts.It explores the possibility that attempts to recognise the diversity of Canada's peoples and provide a distinctly Canadian solution and style of imprisonment may have have been a distraction from the consequnces of the reformers' actions.Could these unforeseen outcomes have been predicted if more attention had been paid to penal history? ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a case study of a Dangerous Offender trial in Canada, and is unique since the convict in question, Karl Rowlee, was found to be dangerous in 1998. In Canada, Dangerous Offenders are subject to an indeterminate life sentence. He appealed and secured a new trial on his dangerousness, and in 2005, a Superior Court vacated his DO designation and ordered that he become a long-term offender subject to a special parole term of 10 years. This occurred only after a highly contested re-trial. Using insider knowledge of the court process and trial transcripts, we reconstruct the evidence put forth in the courtroom for a "ring-side" seat to the construction of criminal dangerousness. We frame this analysis within the critical criminology of Richard Quinney (1970, 1974, 2000) and others. What emerges is the following: (a) the formulation and application of criminal definitions is influenced by status and power relationships; (b) the behavior of the "dangerous" is shaped by stratification patterns; and (c) the construction of criminal conceptions functions as a form of hegemonic ideology on behalf of state elites. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role played by new law and enforcement machinery in the post-Enron crackdown on stock market fraud. Interviews with stock market regulators, senior administrators and law enforcement teams in two key regulatory sites in Canada (Ontario and British Columbia) reveal the contradictions and challenges of controlling, preventing and enforcing new and old measures against corporate fraud. Regional and philosophical differences between regulators as well as differences in the targets of regulation underline the importance of understanding and theorizing the specificities that differentiate between sites, as well as the general features that unite regulatory practices and perspectives. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of the Youth Criminal Justice Act of 2003 (YCJA) on police discretion with apprehended young offenders in Canada. Using an interrupted time series design, data from the 1986 to 2004 Uniform Crime Reporting Survey are analyzed. The data suggest that the YCJA was successful in achieving its objective of reducing youth court referrals by structuring police discretion. Implementation of the YCJA caused a substantial change in the exercise of police discretion with apprehended youth: a substantial decrease in the use of charges and a corresponding increase in the use of alternatives to charging. The substitution of extrajudicial measures for charges occurred in all four regions of Canada, and, as predicted given the legislative direction, was much greater with minor offenses than with serious crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade several European countries, and Canada and Australia, have moved towards "harm reduction" drug control policies, while the United States has continued with stringent policies that result in the arrest and incarceration of large numbers of drug users. This paper examines drug policies in a select number of countries, with a focus on comparisons of Britain, Canada, and the United States. We also address the efforts of the United States to influence the drug policies of other countries, focusing on Canada and South American countries. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Failure to Comply (FTC) offense involves breaching a probation condition, such as curfew, non-association, reporting to a youth worker, etc. Although these are victimless offences, and are classified as relatively minor in Canadian legislation, previous research has found that they are more likely to be referred to court and to receive a custodial sentence than most predatory offences. However, very little is known about the way that the youth justice system processes youth who are apprehended for breaches. Using quantitative and qualitative data from the police and the youth courts in Ontario in 2001-02, this paper investigates under what conditions a police officer will charge a youth with FTC, what conditions are normally breached, and the judicial responses to these charges. We examine the impact of offender and offence characteristics, the prevalence of certain conditions attached to probation orders, and whether these charges and convictions occur in conjunction with an additional substantive offence. One of the most interesting findings to emerge is that the conditions of probation that youth are charged with and convicted of tend to be vague and minor in nature. However, the police and courts appear to define these offences as serious and consequently treat them as such. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent theorizing and research addressing victimization has centered on lifestyle, routine activities, and opportunities theories. These efforts have proven to be insightful for understanding non-bias victimization. However, bias victimization poses a unique case for this type of theorizing, which up until this point has remained unexplored in any detail. Using a sample of Canadian high school students we compare the antecedents of racial/ethnic victimization with those of non-bias victimization focusing on lifestyle choices and self-reported delinquency. Our paper also aims to expand on the disproportionate harm arguments advanced in response to the increased psychological damage hypothesized to result from bias victimization as compared to non-bias victimization. We explore the consequences of racial/ethnic victimization on perceptions of the equality of opportunity, social justice, police fairness, fear of public spaces, and fear of crime in comparison to non-bias victimization. The results indicate important differences between the antecedents and consequences of racial/ethnic victimization and non-bias victimization. Our results suggest that bias victimization is indeed a unique case that challenges many of the assumptions of routine activity, lifestyle, and opportunity theories. Our results also provide additional support for arguments of disproportionate harm, and expand the impact of bias victimization beyond psychological well-being to include perceptions of social justice, inequality, and fear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization involves the creation of an ideology, put forward by both government and corporate interests, that has changed the way Canadians view the need for social programs and the governments ability to provide them. In recent years policy changes implemented by the government have included the proportionate reduction of monies spent on health, education, and social programs and have directly impacted the youth criminal justice system in Canada. In this paper, we argue that these policy implementations have had a direct impact on Canadian youth who are the most disenfranchised citizens in Canadian society. We begin by exploring the motivations behind the creation of these policies and trace the roots of decentralized economic policies in Canada. We continue with a discussion on the historical creation of the Canadian youth justice system and discuss the implementation of the Youth Criminal Justice System. We use the YCJA as an example of how public policy and public sentiment work together to legitimate the identification and management of specific groups targeted as problematic. In the end we theorize on the place that children and youth hold in the global corporate world and argue that global capital creates a context in which the labour of children and youth is vital to many multinational corporations but devalued in the eyes of the world. We relate the ideological condemnation of children and youth by the justice system to their exploited place in the global labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we used a monthly calendar data set to analyze the legitimate and illegitimate earnings of a sample of 204 Canadian federal inmates during the three years prior to their admission. Our main finding is that their social class background has a direct and positive effect on offenders illegal earnings throughout the window period: the more resourceful their background, the higher the odds that offenders will reap substantial net benefits from their involvement in crime. Various attainment models are explored to account for this robust finding. Analyzing criminal achievements emerges as a useful approach that provides new insights on current and past controversies over the myth of the social class and crime relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past twenty years, the mechanisms that ensure the production of security on behalf of communities and corporations have been shown to involve a broad range of actors, that extend far beyond the public police. The growing literature on the pluralization and multilateralization of security, as well as nodal governance, provides a useful theoretical framework to understand the new configuration of public, private and hybrid security actors. One approach that is gaining currency is the notion of networked security, to explain how various actors forge and maintain mutually beneficial partnerships, or exclude competing interests. However, most of the contributions mentioned above rely on scattered factual examples. With a few exceptions, the systematic observation and analysis of the structure and operation of security networks has not yet been undertaken. This paper will address this issue by presenting the results of a research project carried out in a large Canadian city. Using social network analysis tools, we have attempted to identify the various clusters of security that protect citizens, public transport users, students, shoppers, hospitalized patients, corporations, international entities such as consulates, etc We will show how the various spheres of human activity are secured, how they are connected through a complex web of personal and organizational relationships, and the implications of these networks for democratic policing. Through this case study, we hope to better understand the conditions that permit the creation of security in late modern societies, and to provide an ambitious empirical research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on a close textual analysis of the decisions rendered in legal cases pertaining to racial profiling at the Candian border. It will examine the ways in which discussions of race are supplanted in the courts by considerations of discretion, expertise and reasonableness. These considerations are themselves informed by the logic of "targeted governance", which is deployed as a means of regulating risk at Canadian ports of entry. I will also consider the enabling role of law in relation to the practice of racial profiling at the border - that is, the ways in which the absence of discussions of race actually sets out ways in which racial profiling can be carried out legally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After decades of continuously increasing crime rates, Canada has now experienced its first prolonged period of drop in crime. Criminologists are just starting to look at the reasons that may explain such a turnabout. In the U.S., many factors have been invoked to explain the trend, including increases in the number of police officers, more aggressive policing, and increased incarceration. Although Canadas crime trends are similar to those found in the U.S., there has been little or no change in policing practices or incarceration trends. This paper suggests that the causes of the drop in crime rates lie elsewhere, namely, in demographic shifts, improved employment opportunities and changes in collective values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New youth justice legislation was implemented in England and Wales in 2000 and in Canada in 2003. In both countries, this has led to substantial changes in the delivery of youth justice services. This paper draws on analysis of the new laws and interviews with youth justice personnel in the United Kingdom and Canada to compare the new systems and their underlying philosophies. It will illustrate a number of areas of contrast, for example in the degree of central control of policy and practice, in the place of rehabilitation and treatment in work with young offenders, and in attitudes towards the use of custodial sentencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the concepts of 're-entry' and 're-integration' for women prisoners leaving federal prisons in Canada. Data gathered from in depth interviews with previously incarcerated women will be used to examine what it means to transition from prison to the community. Foucault's concept of 'governmentality' and Roses (2000) notions of circuits of inclusion and excusion will be used to argue for a reconceptualization of correctional transition services and the process of 're-integration' of women back into their communities. Policy reccomendations that follow from this analysis will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that for a substantial proportion of female victims of intimate partner violence, violence and threats do not end with marital separation. Women are often assaulted, threatened and killed by jealous and possessive partners (Block, 2000; Tjaden & Thoennes 2000; McFarlane et al, 1999). According to Statistics Canadas General Social Survey on Victimization (GSS), approximately 40% of women with a former violent partner reported violence after the couple had separated. Some research has shown that stalking can also occur while the relationship remains intact and forms part of a pattern of emotional abuse and mate guarding. A module on stalking was added to the GSS in 2004 (N = 25,000) to address important questions about the connections between intimate partner violence and stalking. This paper will examine predictors for verbal threats, physical and sexual assaults, emotional abuse, and stalking by male and female intimate partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2001, police departments across Canada, including the RCMP, OPP, and the Windsor Police Service have begun adopting an intelligence-led approach and philosophy. The US-led war on terrorism has hastened this development. The adoption of this model of public policing in Canada potentially represents a significant shift away from community-based policing touted during the 1990s as a core raison dtre. Community-based policing is a reflexive model whereby public police agencies resolve conflicts through public consent and local partnerships. While ILP shares much in common with community policing, it is an obvious departure from a community-based modus operandi. Simply put, rather than emphasizing the resolution of community problems through local partnerships, ILP embodies a vision of policing premised upon the brokerage of knowledge within an integrated network of agencies and firms. Communities become significant sources from which to draw intelligence, and (perhaps ironically) become the targets of police action that stems from it. Its adoption suggests a transformation in the method of Canadian public policing and governance. Thus, this paper aims to shed light upon how Canadian public policing is realigning in ways consistent with an intelligence-led model and the implications of this realignment to community policing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines efforts by Canadian fathers rights advocates to discredit feminist concerns about violence against women and children in child custody and domestic violence policy arenas. Based upon media statements and testimony presented to governmental committees between 1998 and 2003, I argue that the strident language and tactics of fathers rights advocacy situates its supporters as anti-citizens (Rose, 1999) against whom legislative safeguards are warranted (Bill C22). Minority parliamentarians on the right, however, demonstrate support for fathers rights claims that womens shelters and other feminist-supported services encourage false allegations, and that public funding of these initiatives should be withdrawn. This suggests that future policy prioritizing safety for women and children is contingent upon the continued political viability of the left in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern criminology, theories such as Routine Activities Theory have shifted the focus from the possible motivations of the offenders to structural or situational factors. In this paper I compare structural and social-psychological approaches to explaining violence. Specifically, I look at each theory's utility for creating a model that can identify factors that promote or mediate violence across cases. The study cases are detailed accounts of conflicts taken from 31 interviews with current and former racist skinheads in the United States and Canada. These accounts were used to create models of events with violent outcomes and events with nonviolent outcomes. I find that a structural approach seems to provide a better explanation of outcomes across cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Youth Criminal Justice Act, which came into force April 2003, institutes a preventative partnership strategy which mandates warnings, cautions, and diversions to community-based programs and services for all but the most serious and incorrigible of youth offenders. At the same time, the Act creates a presumption in favour of non-custodial sanctions for charged and convicted youth, and prohibits the use of custody to meet child protection, social welfare, or mental health needs. These measures are resulting in dramatic reductions in the numbers of charged and incarcerated female youth in Ontario. Drawing upon interviews with professionals and youth recruited through justice-affiliated social welfare, childrens mental health and correctional services, schools, and a participatory research initiative for girls and young women in the sex industry, this paper addresses positive and negative implications of this radical non-interventionist strategy for female youth at-risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate regarding the role of victims in the criminal justice system has always avoided the question of co-victims. However, it seems now that in Canada and even internationally, newly created groups of families of homicide victims, including spouses, are pressuring social agencies and the criminal justice system, demanding to be included in the definition of a real victim. The intent of this paper is to lay the foundations of new perceptions concerning these people, and to question what scientific theories think about the soundness of their demands. But that would not be possible except we examine two major ambivalences concerning the definitive state and status conferred on these people. First of all, the question of their state: If medical, psychological and criminological texts and authors all agree to grant the sufferings of these people worrisome enough to be seen as a real victimation, legal works however still refuse to come to this conclusion. Then, the question of their status: one has to admit from now on the two facets of their demand. Unlike any other victim, they ask both for the recognition of the personal prejudice resulting from the loss of the loved ones but furthermore for the right to represent the murdered persons in the justice system since they cannot do it for themselves. Scientific theories about this subject are currently conflicting. These reflections will highlight the concept of co-victimation in its current acceptations, by questioning the rationality and compatibility of scientific theories concerning this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1990 the Task Force on Federally Sentenced Women published Creating Choices, which recommended the building of an Aboriginal Healing Lodge and four other women's prisons. What made the Healing Lodge unique was the fact that, while it was built by the Correctional Service of Canada, its conception and planning largely arose from the efforts of a small group of determined Aboriginal women. In agreeing to be part of this planning process these women co-operated with a criminal justice system to which Aboriginals had never formally assented, and which disproportionately criminalized their peoples. Aboriginal perspectives heavily influenced the Task Force's final report and were apparent throughout the document. Today the Healing Lodge incorporates Aboriginal culture and spirituality into its daily programme, which means that Aboriginal 'language' has been incorporated into the official language of corrections. This paper asks what have been the consequences of Aboriginal women's engagement in planning an 'Aboriginal' prison. It assesses the possibility that Aboriginal federally sentenced women are expected to assume greater responsibility for their own rehabilitation than are non-Aboriginal women prisoners, because of this engagement. It finally explores the possibility that Aboriginal culture and spirituality might have been expropriated for correctional purposes, and asks what might be the costs for Aboriginal prisoners and the Aboriginal communities hosting such prisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, public inquiries are increasingly regarded as a panacea for dealing with wrongful convictions. Since 1989, five commissions of inquiry have been struck to investigate individual miscarriages of justice in respective Canadian provinces. This paper looks retrospectively at the collectivity of these inquisitorial approaches to wrongful convictions. Key areas of investigation include the incongruency between public expectations and legislative realities; jurisdictional limitations; and the contributions of the public inquiry process to the penal industrial complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Canadian data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) this study seeks to examine: (a) the impact family, peer exposure, and school experience have on the development of Identity Styles of adolescents; (b) whether Identity styles are associated with adolescent delinquent and deviant behaviors; (c) whether Identity Styles mediate the relationships between family characteristics adolescent delinquent and deviant behaviors. While identity-processing styles have mostly been analyzed from an identity studies perspective, this paper conceptualizes identity styles within criminological theories of self-control (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990). Specifically Identity Styles are viewed as the psychosocial processes responsible for individual variation in the level of self-regulation/control displayed. Therefore, we hypothesize that some parenting strategies and family situations will promote the development of Identity Styles that emphasize higher self-regulation and self-discipline, which in turn will be associated with less delinquent and deviant behaviors. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thriving Hawala systems in Canada is one of the challenges that the government faces in combating money laundering, which is the life blood of terrorism and organized crime activity. There are three stages in the money laundering process: placement, layering, and integration. However, a closer look at Hawala systems reveals that illicit funds do not always go through the 3 stages, thereby reducing the chance of detection by skipping the placement stage.The focus of this research will be on Hawala systems used widely by the ethnic communities in Vancouver, Canada to transfer funds internationally. This paper takes a critical look at the somewhat neglected role of Hawala systems in money laundering and evalutes whether Canadian policy adequately responds to the problem. Further, through a series of interviews with Hawala operators and their customers, we can better understand not only its usefulness to ethnic communities but also the lack of oversight, reporting, and control by the government, which are traditionally imposed on formal banking systems.. The aim of this research is to put forward concrete policy suggestions that will improve Canada's response to Hawala systems and promote dialogue regarding its importance in the fight against terrorism and organized crime financing. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sikh turban has been a powerful symbol of ethno-religious diversity, contestation and struggle in Canada over the last quarter century. Recently, Ontario's mandatory motorcycle helmet law has become one such site for the articulation of resistance. In March 2008 an Ontario judge ruled against a Toronto man's right to ride a motorcycle with his turban and did not provide with him an exemption from a helmet. Perhaps fearing a snow-ball effect, but citing public safety and potential costs to the national health care system the court contended that the Highway Traffic Act takes precedence over a baptised Sikhs' religious rights and the Ontario Human Rights Code. This paper examines the roles and contradictory behaviour of the State under the conditions of late modernity through an analysis of court documents and media reports. It will specifically address the rule of law in maintaining the marginal status of ethno-religious minority groups and trivialising identity under the auspices of risk management and public welfare. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hobbema Community Cadets Corps Program (HCCCP) is a combination of the 'best practices' of a variety of other programs developed to reduce crime, violence, bullying, drug abuse and gang association among youth. Initially developed to address concerns of First Nations and Metis youth at risk in the community of Hobbema, Alberta, Canada the program has increased positive relationships between youth, police and community members. Initiated by two police officers, HCCCP had by the end of its first year attracted over 900 youth between the ages of 6 and 18 years. In a community marked by poverty, violence, substance abuse, gang violence, and an overall crime rate seven times Canada's national rate, HCCCP offers young people hope in an environment described by many as a 'war zone'. This paper offers a description of the program, as well as a preliminary evaluation based on interviews with program staff, members, parents, and community members. We link this evaluation into existing theory and literature on gangs, and in particular on Aboriginal gangs, investigating the apparent success of the program, possible future roadblocks for HCCCP, and whether other communities can or should adopt a similar approach to youth gang involvement and youth crime. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies indicate that governmental agencies in Canada sponsored a variety of illegal, harmful, or unethical experiments with the psychiatric research drug LSD. These experiments were conducted within the confines of mental hospitals and prisons during the 1950s and 1960s. They involved unknowing and vulnerable citizens as research subjects. Since the 1980s, a succession of victims of these experiments have been going public with their claims of victimization and suing the government. These cases have been silently settling out-of-court as the Canadian public remains blissfully unaware of this state crime. The three main goals of this paper are to (1) to locate experimental LSD research in Canada within the studies on state sponsored human experimentation, (2) situate human experimentation within the burgeoning criminological literature on state crime, and (3) explain the role the state has played dealing with its own criminality. The research is grounded in the experiences of Dorothy Proctor as a victim of state crime and her struggle for justice. The primary finding of this research is that the crime of experimental LSD research as well as the process of seeking justice from the state are both sources of victimization. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responding to calls for comparative scholarship on juvenile justice in the context of policy transfer and an emergent risk penology (Muncie 2005, 2006), this paper examines proposals in Canada and Spain to lower the age of criminal responsibility, from 14 to 12 in Spain and from 12 to 10 in Canada. Drawing on recent research on "at risk" youth and justice affiliated interventions in these two jurisdictions (e.g., Alberola & Molina 2003; Cervelló-Donderis & Orts 2006; Mann, Senn, Girard & Ackbar 2007; Maurutto & Hannah-Moffat 2006; Welsh, & Farrington 2005), we argue that the efficacy of justice system responses to "early onset" offending is contingent upon and secondary to the objectives of juvenile justice. A longstanding and increasingly bitter right-left dichotomy on what these objectives are or should be underpins debates on juvenile justice reform across western jurisdictions. Hanging in the balance is the future of United Nations inspired new millennium legislation that prioritizes prevention and rehabilitation, and the promotion of efficacious "what works" strategies conducive to these outcomes. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In comparison to the United States, Canada's sex offender policy is often regarded as guarded, restrained, and seemingly successful in balancing the rights of offenders with public safety concerns. In the past decade, however, there have been significant reforms in Canadian sex offender policy. In 1997, Bill C-55 was implemented, allowing the imposition of long-term supervision orders on offenders who are deemed likely to reoffend, but who do not meet the criteria for a dangerous offender designation. More recently (2004), Bill C-16 came into force, requiring that all convicted sex offenders register with a national database. This legislation allows police personnel to notify communities of known sex offenders who are living or traveling nearby. Despite these important changes, critical considerations of Canada's policies are scarce. This paper will explore these recent changes in more detail, focusing on both the substantive content of the legislation and the ways in which it has been carried out. I argue that Canada's sex offender policy increasingly reflects an aggressive approach centered on the management and control of offenders, rather than their treatment and reintegration. These shifts are evidence of a movement towards American style penal policy. I conclude by considering the implications of this movement. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, if an individual is considered at risk to offend violently or sexually, the courts can request a peace bond order under sections 810.1 and 810.2 of the Canadian Criminal Code, for up to one year requiring the individual to follow strict conditions. The individual does not have to be convicted of a crime to be considered for the order and if they fail to agree to an order, they can be imprisoned for up to one year. The idea behind the orders is to closely monitor the individuals to prevent offending. Very little is known about how these orders are used. This paper examines multiple facets of these orders across Canada, including a profile of those who receive them, the nature of the conditions, and the success rate. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homelessness is a growing concern in rural and urban areas across Canada. It is estimated that at least 250,000 Canadians are homeless every year (Toronto Disaster Relief Committee [TDRC], 1998). The number of homeless is difficult to determine due to the transient nature of this population. Figures often underestimate the nature and scope of the problem. Jasinski et al. (2005) found that homeless men are more likely than homeless women to be victimized by assault, whereas homeless women are more likely than homeless men to be victimized by intimate partner abuse. Additionally, homeless men and women are victimized more in one year than the non-homeless population will experience over a lifetime. Women who become homeless are the focus of this study. A qualitative analysis was undertaken using women's responses to the question "How did you become homeless?" Overall, it was uncovered that victimization features prominently in the lives of women who were surveyed. This paper will examine the stories of women who offered their victimization experiences as one principle factor on their pathway to being homeless. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For this paper, we use Max Weber's (1930) theory of law to examine the Canadian Arbitration Act of 1991. Weber stated that western law would become a formal-rational system because of the rise of western democracy and capitalism. Courts need to dole out consistent legal decisions (rational law) and allow no external goals in court cases (formal law). This is necessary to ensure that judicial decisions are fair, equitable and free from emotional response to legal matters. By passing the Arbitration Act, Canadian lawmakers allowed substantive-rational legal systems to settle family disputes for specified populations. However, when faced with a backlash against the establishment of Islamic Courts, Premier Dalton McGuinty dismantled the tribunals. We contend that, when faced with a hard decision of addressing the backlash against an established law, Canadian lawmakers framed their argument in a way which coincides with the foundations of western thought, grounded in the idea of civil liberty and equal protection. In this sense, lawmakers are adept at making decisions which resonate with established norms and idealized political beliefs. To a large extent, the principles of formal-rational law appeal to those living in modern western democracies. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the popularity of evidence-based crime prevention, many challenges still exist for the successful implementation of evidence-based strategies to prevent crime. Although these challenges are occasionally a result of the difficulties inherent in defining what is considered evidence, they are more often a result of the complexities associated with collecting, analyzing, synthesizing and translating that evidence into practice (Cook & Heath, 2007). This paper will explore the inherent difficulties in translating knowledge on crime prevention into effective crime prevention practice on the ground, and present various ways in which these challenges can be overcome by those working in the area. Specifically, the National Crime Prevention Centre will be discussed as an example of an evidence-based organization that has developed a number of practical innovations to move past these challenges, in an effort to help practitioners implement successful evidence-based crime prevention programs in communities across Canada. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the initial findings of a two year study of fear of crime and victimization in a high crime, inner city neighborhood in Winnipeg, Canada. Face-to-face interviews were carried out in May and June of 2006 and May and June of 2007 with a sample of approximately 400 neighborhood residents. Respondents provided qualitative, quantitative and spatial data on levels of fear, related attitudes and behaviors, and patterns of victimization. Initial analysis of these data suggests that overall levels of fear and victimization are significantly higher than figures in the Canadian General Social Survey (GSS). While this result is not surprising in and of itself, the qualitative and spatial data provide valuable contextual information on the impacts of high levels of fear and victimization on the pattern of community life in the neighbourhood. In combination, these spatial and qualitative measures suggest new ways of both measuring and conceptualizing fear and victimization. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings from the International Self-Report study in Canada ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines internet-posted government and advocacy group texts on three recent Canadian domestic violence policy moments. Drawing on governance, feminist poststructuralist, and social movement perspectives, it examines participating men's advocates and feminists' discursive actions and their impacts on officials. The research aim is to explore the provisional, intrinsically incomplete (Hunt and Wickham 1994), and indeed questionable (Minaker & Snider, 2006) success, to date, of feminists' strategies of resisting men's advocates' efforts to substantively degender domestic violence policy in the Canadian context. At the level of political action, it contributes to efforts by feminists internationally to safeguard protections and supports for abused women and children in a political context marked by the increasingly prominent influence of men's rights and associated anti-progressive backlash. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]