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CONVENTIONAL CALCULATIONS OF HOMICIDE RATES LEAD TO AN INACCURATE REFLECTION OF CANADIAN TRENDS
Martin A. Andresen
Department of Geography
University of British Columbia
Greg W. Jenion
School of Criminology
Simon Fraser University
Michelle L. Jenion
School of Criminology
Simon Fraser University
The published Canadian homicide rate indicates a steady downward trend since the mid--1970s. The conventional homicide rate inaccurately reflects the nature of homicide when used as a social barometer and should be supplemented with a new homicide rate calculated using available demographic information about offender characteristics. This paper uses recent advances in statistical techniques to show that an age-adjusted homicide rate exhibits a significantly different trend than the conventional rate: 1) there is no structural break in the trend until the late--1980s; 2) the trend of the homicide rate increased until the early--1990s; and 3) though the trend of the homicide rate has been decreasing since the mid--1990s, there is insufficient statistical evidence to suggest a new downward trend. These findings suggest that demographics and time series analysis are required to properly assess homicide trends, helping to isolate social variables so their effects on homicide rates can be more accurately determined. Homicide rates have a substantial affect on social policy and public opinion and therefore should be critically calculated. Finally, this paper demonstrates the benefits of cooperation between academic disciplines and the utility of taking advantage of the latest theoretical and empirical techniques to reach a better understanding of social phenomena.
PARENTS AND YOUTH JUSTICE
Doug Hillian
Youth Justice Consultant, Central/Upper Vancouver Island
Ministry of Children and Family Development
Marge Reitsma-Street
Faculty of Human and Social Development
University of Victoria
This article examines parents in the youth justice system, based on a conceptual analysis and a phenomenological inquiry of parents with a son convicted of convicted of crimes in the youth justice system of a district in Western Canada. The difficult task of parenting a young offender is made more onerous by the societal tendency to blame parents or ignore their need for support; yet policies and practices expect parents to be the primary sources of supervision, care and rehabilitation pf youth in difficulty. The findings chronicle parental experiences of stress and loss and the hard work parents do to respond to the difficult and contradictory expectations of the youth justice system. Even when they did "all the right things" parents encountered systemic injustices and exclusion from meaningful participation in important decisions that affected their sons and themselves. The discussion explores implications, taking parental experiences into account, and proposes systematic changes, based in a community approach to youth justice, to facilitate enhanced parental support and empowerment.
THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE: DANGEROUSNESS AND SEX OFFENDER POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
Michael Petrunik
Criminology Department
University of Ottawa
In both the United States and Canada, a community protection approach to the perceived enduring dangerousness of sex offenders has emerged since the 1980's, in response to several high profile cases involving the sexual assault and murder or mutilation of young children. The key elements in this community protection has taken in the United States and in Canada and offers an explanation for the relatively slower and more cautious approach taken by the Canadian federal government, compared to the rapid, aggressive approach taken in the United States at both a federal and state level.
IT'S ALL IN THE DENOMINATOR: TRENDS IN THE PROCESSING OF GIRLS IN CANADA'S YOUTH COURTS
Jane B. Sprott
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
University of Guelph
Anthony N. Doob
Centre of Criminology
University of Toronto
This paper uses nine years of youth court data to understand two different trends: increases in the proportion of youth court cases involving girls and few changes in the rate of finding girls guilty in youth court. It appears that the increased proportion of girls is due more to a decrease in the rate of finding boys guilty as opposed to an increase in finding girls guilty. Thus, in understanding trends in the use of youth court, explanations should explore why it is that the rates for girls are relatively stable whereas the rates for boys, for property offences in particular, are decreasing. An explanation that assumed that rates of offending (or apprehension, or imposition of guilty findings) were increasing for girls would not, we suggest, fit the existing data.
LA THÉORIE DE L'ABUSÉ- ABUSEUR EN DÉLINQUANCE SEXUELLE: QUI DIT VRAI?
Bruno Pellerin
Service correctionnel du Canada
Centre d'intervention en délinquance sexuellle (CIDS)
Michael St. -Yves
Sûreté de Québec (service d'analyse du comportement)
École nationale de police du Québec
Service correctionnel du Canada
Jean-Pierre Guay
Chercheur post-doctoral
Brandeis University
Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montréal
The purpose of this study is to compare sex offenders who claim to have been sexually abused in the past (n=137) to sex offenders who report never having been sexually victimized (n=141). The results show that a greater number of sex offender-victims were exposed to dysfunctional family dynamics, demonstrated some behavioural problems before the age of 18, or have a previous history of sex crimes. In addition, they were more sexually precocious and consider themselves sexually less competent than do sex offenders who have no previous history of sexual victimization. Despite the differences observed between the two groups of sex offenders, covariance analyses reveal that behavioural problems and sexual development are influenced more by exposure to dysfunctional family dynamics than by sexual victimization. Furthermore, whether or not they have been victims, the sex offenders in this study exhibit many common traits. These similarities appear to play a greater role than sexual victimization in the development of sex offenders and therefore deserve increased attention by researchers and clinicians.
QUELQUES ÉLÉMENTS DE COMPRÉHENSION DES LIBÉRATIONS D'OFFICE RÉUSSIES
Marion Vacheret
Centre international de criminologie comparée
Université de Montréal
Montréal, Québec
Marie-Marthe Cousineau
Centre international de criminologie comparée
Université de Montréal
Montréal, Québec
This starting point for this study is the finding that people who have to wait for their statutory release date to be paroled are considered by the National Parole Board to pose such a high level of risk that they cannot be released any earlier. Yet the facts show that many of them make a success of their statutory release. Indeed, 10 years after their release, a number of individuals remain outside the Canadian penitentiary system. So how can we identify these individuals and ensure that they are no longer considered as posing an undue risk and can be paroled before their sentence expires? The author draws on two data sources to answer the question: (1) the Correctional Service of Canada's Offender Management System, and (2) interviews with offenders who have made a success of their statutory release.
