Criminology in Forensics

FRSC 3110 Week 6

• Info about the Midterm

• Crimes against the Public Order

• Starting into: Theories of Crime

Midterm
 Where & When:
 Inperson, in the lecture hall
 Wednesday March 1st, 2023

 During class time (5-7pm)

◼ You will have the entire lecture time to complete the test
 What:
 Lectures
◼ Slides
◼ Information presented/discussed in class
 Textbook Chapters
◼ Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5
Midterm
 Ok, but what really…
 Big concepts, themes, questions, definitions, types
◼ Notmemorizing people’s names or dates
◼ Or minutiae from lecture or textbook examples

 Not exact numbers…

◼ Butapproximate percentages are fair game
◼ Most, least, order, range

 What would you ask?

 I am looking to evaluate your understanding, not
your ability to memorize
 Midterm
4

 How: 3 Sections to the test

 Section 1: Multiple Choice and True/False
◼ Answer on Scantrons

 Section 2: Short Answer questions

◼ Answer in spaces provided on test script
◼ Answer in complete sentences unless stated otherwise
◼ Only have to answer a subset of questions (e.g. “Answer
7 of the 9 questions presented”)
 Section 3: Long Answer question
◼ Answer in space provided (approximately one page)
◼ Select 1 of 2 questions
Crimes Against the Public Order
 Crimes Against the Public Order
6

 These are occasionally called “victim-less” crimes

 Violate prevailing morality, social policy, public opinion
 Counterfeiting – unauthorized reproduction of things e.g. art, intellectual
property, passports, with intention it be considered authentic
 Prostitution – not illegal, but associated activates are such as
communicating for the purpose of, living on avails of
 Controlled and Illegal drugs – opioids (heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, etc.),
methamphetamines, MDMA (ecstasy), ketamine
 Why is terrorism often considered as a crime against the public
order?
↳ widespread fear
generates
-
attacks social connections a
policies required
for a
functioning society
7

“Selling is legal…f$%#ing is legal…why isn’t

selling f$%#ing legal?!”

--Comedian George Carlin

 Eustachio Gallese
8

 In 2004, enraged by her decision to leave him he killed his ex-spouse

Chantale Deschênes
 he struck her on the head with a hammer and stabbed her several times

 Sentenced in 2006 to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years

 Granted day parole in March 2019 and had been allowed to meet women
to have his "sexual needs" met
 Released to a halfway house and deemed a “moderate” risk, he was
granted day parole by March 2019
 Viewed as a potential danger to women, Mr. Gallese was required to
report all relationships with women (sexual or not) to his parole officer
 However, he was allowed to meet sex workers, “only for the purpose of
responding to his sexual needs”

(in Canada)
 Legal context
9

 Why was Mr. Gallese permitted to see sex workers when deemed a risk to
women?
 “They identified that this man was a potential danger to women and wasn’t
ready to have proper relationships with women, but figured that he could then
go see sex workers. It really tells us what they think about us.” (Sandra
Welsey, head of Stella, a sex-workers rights organization)
 What sort of value signaling could this have caused/reinforced?

6.
 In 2014, the federal government criminalized the purchase of sex and
living off the gains of sex, while decriminalizing its sale
 What effects do you think this had on this industry? On views about sex
workers?
avoid
putsex workers in more dangerous
scenarios to
getting arrested
·

no
longercovered byany sort
of system
increased risk of victimized
being
*
labels them criminals feeds into discrimination
as
stigma
-

to workers
dehumanizing
sex

- deserve
don't to be "safe"(unworthy protection)
of
10

 Following Mr. Gallese’s release on day parole, he was allegedly banned

by management at a massage parlour after becoming violent toward
women there
 Why do you think this parlour did not report it to the authorities?

C
 Mr. Gallese’s ongoing violence against women was able to go unrecognized
until it escalated
 Had the massage parlour reported Mr. Gallese’s violence to the police…
 His parole board could have re-evaluated his risk for re-offense and taken
immediate action to keep all women – including sex workers – safe
Mi
if they
reportedit, theywould
trouble
getin too.

blatanthypocrasyoffed. laws
case
highlights
-

He
* killedanother woman ↳ claim to
protectsws as a vulnerable community
↳ Jan 3 parole board offender
violent access
encouraged
to
2020 a

&worked in parlor this marginalized group

↳ found in hotel room
13

 Role of the government in regulating sexual acts between

consenting adults?
 Role in the sale/exchange of drugs?
↳ safe sites
injection

 Why do you think these crimes continue to be such hotly

debated topics?
difficultto between criminal victim
distinguish
-

differentexperiences
very bturn
pptin communities
-

choice?
-

↳ whos
responsibilityis it?
14

As we move on to discuss theories of crime and criminal

behaviour (motivations, predictors, determinants)…

It’s important that we remember the effects of the

varying perspectives of what is/is not criminal
 GROUP 5 (BERNARDO REVIEW CH. 8,9,10)

Group Seminar Presentation date Membership

Thursday March Amanda Clotildes, Xinmiao Gao
5 W01
2nd Kenzie Pilon, Connor Wainberg
Thursday March Adam Cole, Yaniv Kobilianski
5 W02
2nd Avery Seegmiller, BethWestby
Thursday March Mark Clarey, Ashley Leighton
5 W03
2nd Madison Peer, Jaden Thompson
Thursday March Heta Chaudhari, Zsofia Hatvani
5 W04
2nd Angela Pewee, Carl Jacob Warner
Emma Bulmer, Amanda Howard
5 W05 Friday March 3rd
Israa Navas, Emily Yarascavitch
Kassandra Friesen, Kira Lloyd-Gareau
5 W06 Friday March 3rd
Shelby Pounder, Kieran Winkler
Daelyn Biendarra, Jenna Hogan
5 W07 Friday March 3rd
Mengfei Sun
Theories of Crime
17

As we move on to discuss theories of crime and criminal

behaviour (motivations, predictors, determinants)…

It’s important that we remember the effects of the

varying perspectives of what is/is not criminal
Theories of Crime
 We will now move into popular theories of why
people commit crime
 To help understand the present-day theories
 We will start with a historical view of crime that leads us to
the modern-day theories
 Early Schools of Criminology
 Pre- Classical, Classical, Positivism, Neo- Classical
 Pre-Classical Views
19

 Inquisition (12th – 19th

century)
 Opposition arose in Europe
against the authority of the
Church.
 Executions, torture, corporal
punishment, banishment
from society, and forced
labour in remote colonies
In one form of torture during the Inquisition,
the individual is stripped and bound in an iron
chain until it breaks through the flesh.
 Pre-Classical Views
20

 Those under influence of devil -> death by burning

 Punished for expressing dissenting views on

religious matters

 Tried individuals accused of engaging in a variety

of “immoral” acts (i.e. homosexuality, bestiality, and
bigamy)
 Pre-Classical Views
21

 Accused detained in prison for long periods

sometimes based on false accusations

 Property of the detainee was seized & used to

pay for the proceedings

 Torture to extract confessions

 Punishments – executions in public squares,

burning at the stake (carnival like atmosphere)
The Enlightenment
 Social movement that arose during the late 17th and 18th centuries
 Built upon ideas such as empiricism, rationality, free will, humanism, and
natural law
 Based on ideas developed by important thinkers:
 Thomas Hobbes
the role of gov't
◼ Social Contract * indiv. rights
indiv
gov has duty protect
to
·

 John Locke give up

-

some freedoms for some benefits

◼ Life experiences
◼ Checks and Balances

 Jean-Jacques Rousseau

↑petextbook
◼ Natural Law
for bet
 Thomas Paine

◼ Natural Rights
The Classical School
 Developed from the period of the Enlightenment
 Crime and deviance viewed as products of the exercise of free will
 Humans are rational beings * choices

 Punishment can be effective in reducing crime

 Negates the pleasure that committing criminal acts brings

 Cesare Beccaria’s philosophies on punishment

 Purpose of punishment should be deterrence rather than retribution

◼ Punishment prevents the offender from committing additional crimes

"eye for
I not an

 Punishment should be swift and certain, and fit the crime eye"
delay
-> no

◼ “Fit the crime”: Only severe enough to outweigh the personal benefits
derived from commission of the crime *ONLY ENOUGH

↳ otherwise
to balance E
disproportional
back to net 0
=

-very
operational (G 0)
The Classical School
 Hedonistic calculus or utilitarianism (Jeremy
Bentham)
 Behaviour holds value to a person according
to the amount of pleasure and/or pain that
it can be expected to produce for that
person
 Punishment should serve practical ends

 To reduce crime:

◼ The pain of crime must outweigh the

pleasure derived from criminal activity
◼ Punishment should be neither extreme nor
cruel, but sufficient to outweigh pleasure
of the crime
◼ Punishment should be swift and certain Statue of Jeremy Bentham outside
the Royal Academy of Arts in
London, England.
 Classical View
25

 Sentences should be set by legislators rather than by judges

 The role of the judge should be limited to determination of innocence or
guilt
 Once convicted, the penalty established for a crime would be automatically
imposed "Swift"

 Law should be applied equally to all citizens regardless of social class and
circumstances
 Since criminality is a choice (not circumstantial) consequences included the
↳ assumption
loss of liberty
 Not simply the physical pain resulting from corporal punishment
Heritage of the Classical School
 Five Principles of the Classical School:
1. Rationality
 Human beings have free will and the actions they undertake are the
result of choice
2. Hedonism
 Pleasure and pain, or reward and punishment, are the major
determinants of choice
3. Punishment
 Criminal punishment is a deterrent to unlawful behaviour, and
deterrence is the best justification for punishment
Heritage of the Classical School
 Five Principles of the Classical School:
4. Human rights
 Society is made possible by individuals cooperating together
 Society owes to its citizens respect for their rights in the face of
government action, and for their autonomy…
 Insofar as such autonomy can be secured without endangering the
others or menacing the greater good
5. Due process
 An accused should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise
 And an accused should not be subject to punishment prior to guilt
being lawfully established.
 Positivism
28

 Arose in the second half of the 19th century

 The original positivists completely rejected the notion of free
will
 Positivists believed in applying an impartial, scientific
approach to the study of crime
 Instead, adopted the notion of hard determinism
 Belief that crime results from forces beyond control of the
individual
 i.e. biology & social environment
↳ hardwired ↳experiences

*
Importance of context
 The Positive School
29

 Scholars in France and England conducted statistical studies of

crime for the first time
 Examined crime trends over time, across regions, villages &
sections of a city
 These geographical studies inspired debates
 Some attributing differences in crime to social factors (i.e.
education & poverty)
 Others related crime levels to the location of crime targets
& to the quality of policing
 Comparing the Classical
30
& the Positive Schools
Classical
 People choose freely between
conventional and CB
 Commit crime due to pleasure,
desire, greed
 Persons consider benefits and
risks
 Criminal sanctions will prevent
and instil fear of punishment
 Free will – people are similar
Positive
 CB due to biological, social, or
psychological factors.
 Crimes committed due to above
and external factors.
 Crimes motivated by compulsion
or desperate circumstances.
 Prevention by addressing
individual and social conditions.
 Science will explain crime –
people are different
 Neo-Classical Criminology
31

 North American crime rates grew dramatically in the late

1960s & early 1970s
 The assumption that crime was beyond an individual’s control
(a notion of the positivist school) was being challenged
 By the mid 1970’s these factors led way for the re-
emergence of the ‘free will’ belief that people who commit
crimes weigh the consequences of their actions
 Emergence of contemporary version of classical criminology
 Emphasizes deterrence and retribution ↑ punishment

 Reduced emphasis on rehabilitation ↓ rehab

 Rational Choice Theory
 Individuals make a conscious, rational, and informed choice to
commit crime
 Two varieties of rational choice theory
 Routine activities theory
◼ Lifestyle contributes significantly to volume and type of
crime
◼ Interactions of motivated offender & suitable victim
 Situational choice theory
◼ Criminal behavior is a function of choices and decisions
made within a context of situational constraints and
opportunities

freewill # opportunities
 The Rational Choice Perspective
33

 Evidence for crime being rational:

 Location of Offences
◼ Criminals select locations to minimize the chances of detection (i.e.
banks close to highways)
 Timing of Offences
◼ Offences do not generally follow a random temporal pattern (i.e.
residential burglaries during the day, commercial break-ins during the
weekend)
 Specialized Techniques
◼ Some offenders devote a fair amount of attention to developing their
modus operandi (i.e. disguises, escape routes etc.).
 Weighing the Costs & Benefits
◼ Proceeds of the crime may no longer be worth the risk of the harsh
penalties, or risk of detection
 Considering the Context
34

 Proponents consider the following to prevent crime (often referred to as

situational crime prevention):
 Raising the Risks – Increase level of surveillance etc.

 Reducing the Payoffs - Remove the incentive i.e. cash

 Increasing the Effort - Increase the effort, skill, & time required to commit
a crime (i.e. dead-bolt locks, fenced yards, & steering column locks)
 Increasing the Penalties

 Increase severity of criminal sanctions & the certainty of their imposition

(i.e. mandatory minimum sentences)
 Difficulty to -
target harden against shoplifting. Why?
3 prevent
-

costmore for protection

the "locked away" products the less
appealing things
are,
-

more
are customers
to
Critiques of Rational Choice Theory
 What are some critiques of this theory?
-
different
def. of rational

influence of
drugs/alcohol
-

sometimes rational
committing crime I
-

↳ best of some terrible options

↳ ex.self defence

assumes equal capabilities

~

disregards social factors

Punishment & Deterrence
 Classical school sees deterrence as purpose of punishment
 Neoclassical approach emphasizes the notion of retribution
 A person who knowingly chooses to violate the law deserves to be
punished and must be punished to curtail future criminal behaviour
 Just desserts

◼ Offenders deserve the punishment they get

◼ Punishment appropriate to type and severity of crime

 What qualities should a sentence have in order to achieve

deterrence?
 Is it possible to achieve deterrence through the current Canadian
criminal justice system?
Explaining Crime
Key questions:

1. Is a life of crime a rational choice someone makes

or are there unconscious influences on someone
that directs them to commit crime?
2. Are there physical, psychological or social factors
that compel people to commit crimes ?
3. Who is responsible for the criminal act –
individual or society?