NCJ Number
142117
Date Published
1991
Length
532 pages
Annotation
Providing a comprehensive overview of crime and criminality from a Canadian perspective, this text is organized into six parts, each focusing on a crucial dimension in the study of these topics.
Abstract
The first section provides a broad framework, presenting a historical overview of crime and criminal justice in Canada, the basic tenets of Canadian criminal law and policymaking, and the amendments to sexual assault laws as an illustration of the relationship between law and policy. The second part examines the issues surrounding the potential and real limits of criminal law and crime policy in regulating morality in Canadian society, using drug abuse, prostitution, and gambling as illustrations. The third section examines theories and research on the causes of criminal behavior, including the relationships between mental disorders and crime and issues related to sex offenders. The fourth section examines the role of societal factors in crime and criminality in Canada and includes analyses of major sociological approaches, female criminality, crime among indigenous people, and crime in a religious sect. The fifth section covers the measurement of crime, the strengths and weaknesses of methods for studying crime, and the patterns and trends in crime in Canada. The concluding section focuses on four types of criminality that have recently become the subject of criminological inquiry: professional misconduct, corporate criminality, crimes committed by and against the government, and illegal behavior among the general public. Figures, tables, photographs, discussion questions, chapter reference lists, glossary, and name and subject indexes