Volume
45, No. 1
January 2003
Editorial
Conventional
Calculations of Homicide Rates Lead to an Inaccurate Reflection of
Canadian Trends
Martin A. Andresen, Greg W. Jenion, and Michelle L. Jenion
Coming
Events
Parents and Youth Justice
Doug Hillian and Marge Reitsma-Street
The
Hare and theTortoise: Dangerousness and Sex Offender Policy in the
United States and Canada
Michael Petrunik
It's All in the Common Denominator: Trends in
the Processing of Girls in Canada's Youth Courts
Jane B. Sprott and Anthony N. Doob
La
théorie de l'abusé-abuseur en délinquance sexuelle:
Qui dit vrai?
Bruno Pellerin, Michel St.Yves et Jean-Pierre Guay
Quelques
éléments de comprehension des libérations d'office
réussies
Marion Vacheret et Marie-Marthe Cousineau
Books
Received
Book
Reviews
Astracts/Résumés
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Research notes and commentaries are usually not summarized into abstracts.
Readers who need the complete texts should contact the CCJA and subscribe
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that are still in stock.
CONVENTIONAL
CALCULATIONS OF HOMICIDE RATES LEAD TO AN INACCURATE REFLECTION OF
CANADIAN TRENDS
Martin A. Andresen
Department of Geography
University of British Columbia
and
Greg
W. Jenion
School of Criminology
Simon Fraser University
and
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
and
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
and
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)
and
Michael St. -Yves
Sûreté de Québec (service d'analyse du comportement)
École nationale de police du Québec
Service correctionnel du Canada
and
Jean-Pierre Guay
Chercheur post-doctoral
Brandeis University
Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montréal
L'étude
vise a comparer des délinquants sexuels qui affirment avoir
été abuses sexuellement dans le passe (n=137) avec des
délinquants sexuels qui ne rapportent aucune victimisation
sexuelle (n=141). Les résultats montrent que les délinquants-victimes
sont plus nombreux à avoir manifeste certains troubles du comportement
avant l'age de 18 ans et à avoir des antécédents
judiciaires pour des crimes sexuels. Ils ont également connu
une vie sexuelle plus précoce et se considèrent moins
compétents sur le plan sexuel que les délinquants-non
victimes. Malgré les differences observées entre les
deux groupes de délinquants sexuels, des analyses de covariance
revelent que les troubles du comportement et le developement sexuel
sont davantage influencés par l'exposition à des modeles
familiaux inadéquats que par la victimisation sexuelle. De
plus, qu'ils aient été victimes ou non, les délinquants
sexuels de notre étude présentent Ces similitudes semblent
d'ailleurs jouer un rôle délinquants sexuelles et, par
conséquent méritent plus d'attention des chercheurs
et des cliniciens.
QUELQUES
ÉLÉMENTS DE COMPRÉHENSION DES LIBÉRATIONS
D'OFFICE RÉUSSIES
Marion Vacheret
Centre international de criminologie comparée
Université de Montréal
Montréal, Québec
and
Marie-Marthe Cousineau
Centre international de criminologie comparée
Université de Montréal
Montréal, Québec
Le
point de départ de la recherche dont il est question dans le
cadre du présent article part du constat que les personnes
qui n'obtiennent pas de libération conditionnelle et ne sortent
qu'au moment de leur libération d'office, sont considérées
par la Commission nationale des libérations conditionnelles
comme présentant des risques indus ne permettant pas qu'elles
puissent être libérées plus tôt. Or plusieurs
d'entre elles " réussissent " leur libération
d'office. Il s'avère même que plusieurs ne se seront
pas retrouvées dans le système carcéral fédéral
dix ans après leur remise en liberté d'office. Comment
identifier ces personnes et faire en sorte qu'elles ne soient plus
considérées comme des risques indus et qu'elles puissent
bénéficier du privilège de se voir accorder une
libération conditionnelle avant l'expiration de leur sentence?
Deux sources de données sont mises à contribution pour
répondre à cette question : d'un côté le
Système de gestion des détenus du Service correctionnel
du Canada, de l'autre des entrevues menées auprès de
contrevenants ayant réussi leur liberté d'office.
