Volume
46, no. 4
July/juillet 2004
Articles
Classification without Validity
or Equity: An Empirical Examination of the Custody Rating Scale for
Federally Sentenced Women Offenders in Canada
Cheryl Marie Webster and Anthony N. Doob
Safe Streets
for Whom? Homeless Youth, Social Exclusion, and Criminal Victimization
Stephen Gaetz
Commentary
Inflammatory Rhetoric on
Racial Profiling Can Undermine Police Services
Thomas Gabor
Forum
The Role of the Victim in
Plea Bargaining / Rubrique spéciale
sur le rôle de la victime dans les négociations de plaidoyer
Editor's Introduction /
Introduction du rédacteur en chef
Julian V. Roberts
Four Models
of Victim Involvement during Plea Negotiations: Bridging the Gap between
Legal Reforms and Current Legal Practice
Simon N. Verdun-Jones and Adamira A. Tijerino
Commentary
Donna Hackett
Commentary
Allen Edgar
Commentary
Nevina Crisante
Obituary / Notice nécrologique
: Richard Michael Zubrycki
Mary Campbell
Book
Reviews / Recensions de livres
Books
Received / Livres reçus
Coming
Events / Prochaines manifestations
Abstracts
/ Résumés
Safe Streets
for Whom? Homeless Youth, Social Exclusion, and Criminal Victimization
Stephen Gaetz
This article explores the victimization
experiences of street youth living in Toronto, Canada. It is argued
that street youth are much more likely than domiciled youth to be
victims of a broad range of crimes. In particular, young women who
are homeless face increased vulnerability to specific forms of violent
crime, including sexual assault. The circumstances that produce such
high levels of criminal victimization among street youth are myriad
and complex. While background variables (a history of violence), lifestyle,
and routine activities theories have been used to explain criminal
victimization, it is argued here that the conditions that place street
youth at risk are connected to their experiences of social exclusion
in terms of restricted access to housing, employment, and public spaces.
Four Models
of Victim Involvement during Plea Negotiations: Bridging the Gap between
Legal Reforms and Current Legal Practice
Simon N. Verdun-Jones and Adamira A. Tijerino
In recent years, there has
been a clear trend towards recognizing the right of victims to participate
more fully in the criminal justice process. In Canada, significant
steps have been taken to ensure that victims are granted the right
to participate formally in the sentencing and parole processes through
the use of victim impact statements. However, to date, comparatively
little attention has been paid to the question of whether or not victims
should be accorded a meaningful role in the process of plea negotiations.
In Canada, plea bargaining has not been officially recognized and
has not been subjected to judicial supervision. Indeed, plea negotiations
occur behind closed doors, and victims have no right of participation.
In the United States, however, plea agreements require judicial approval,
and, in certain state jurisdictions, victims are accorded the right
of participation in the judicial hearings that are held to determine
whether or not a proposed plea agreement should be accepted by the
trial court. This article identifies four potential models for the
participation of victims in the plea negotiation process in Canada.
The recommended model requires that plea negotiations be officially
recognized by the Parliament of Canada; that plea negotiations be
subjected to judicial regulation; and that victims be granted the
right to make oral or written presentations to the trial judge concerning
their opinions about the terms, and ultimate acceptability, of any
proposed plea agreement.
