Violent Crimes

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Violent Crimes

• To all of us crime seems like violence K.
  Menninger, 68157.

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Introduction

• Media a barometer of public interest
• Violent crime a type of conventional crime
• Offences know to the police
• Traditional forms vs. new forms of violence
• Involves emotional and/or physical harm of
  another person

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• Violent crime (VC) increase or decreasing? (Table
  9-1)
• Internationally VC rates generally
• Lower, but WHY?
• Demographics, economics, homogeneity, legislation
  (guns), and social structures

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Homicide

• S. 222 and four sub-categories
• 1st degree
• 2nd degree
• Manslaughter
• Infanticide
• Rates vary little 1.25 66 vs. 3.02 75
• Etiology escalating manslaughter rate vs.
  increasing number of males?

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Why do people kill?

• Social interaction and conflict vs.,
• Social disorganization and inequality, vs.
• Psychiatric disorders on the increase, vs.
• Biological factors.
• Need to recognize complexity of human behaviour

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Patterns, Trends, and Characteristics

• Nearly 80 solution rate
• Nearly 90 by someone known to the victim
• Nearly 50 of homicides involved
• Consumption of alcohol
• Domestic violence
• Males commit 2/3 of all homicides, but
• Women and infanticide (Ch. 13)

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Homicide and Method

• Your answer is
• Stabbing and beating
• ? Role of gun control legislation (Marc Lepine)
• Role of capital punishment. What do you think?

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Other facts

• Homicides by youth fluctuating
• Represent approx. 11 of all homicides
• Explanations unclear
• Regional variations
• British Columbia vs. Newfoundland
• Why?
• Role of economic deprivation and inequality?

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Sexual Assault

• S. 266 and three levels
• Common assault
• Degree of force or threatened force
• Aggravated assault
• Level 1 up while levels 2 and 3 down why?
• Social, economic, political status reporting
  patterns Lobby groups, etc.

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• Role of alcohol
• Women under 18 yrs of age
• Date rape and date drugs (Box 9.9)
• casual acquaintance
• Influence of social attitudes and social policies
• Data still requires refinement

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• Does violence breed violence
• Parents and their off-spring?
• Role of social learning model
• Biological predisposition
• Varied explanations
• Social policy!?
• New forms elderly abuse date rape adolescent
  sex offenders, etc.

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Robbery

• one of the most feared crimes common to large
  urban centres
• S. 343 violence or property?
• Declining in recent years
• Popular target
• Commercial establishments
• Private residence
• Role of a weapon

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Etiology

• High unemployment
• Reduced opportunities
• Opportunistic vs. impulse robberies
• Rational choice theory
• Regular alcohol and/or drug use
• Robbery double edged sword loss of property
  and risk of injury
• Robin Hood phenomena

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New Forms of Violence

• Abduction
• Kidnapping and hostage taking (ss. 280-283,
  179.1.
• Rate stable (3-4/100,000)
• Contravening custody orders
• Divorce and social problems
• Hate crime
• Ss. 318-320
• Thrill-seeking vs. reactive hate vs. mission hate
  crimes

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• culture conflict
• Stalking
• S. 423(1) as of 1993
• Types of stalkers
• Celebrity to scorned and political
• ? Cyberstalkers
• 1997 proposed new legislation

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• Terrorism
• NO specific section in the Criminal Code
• Relative and evolutive concept
• convictional criminal
• Typologies
• Dichotomous vs. three-tiered model
• Control!? (FLQ, IRA, PLO, etc.)

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Summary

• Wide and varied in their methods and means
• Common denominator element of violence
• Descriptive information must be met with
  theoretical understanding
• Single disciplinary perspectives and legalistic
  approaches - limited

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Bye for now.