NCJ Number
73239
Journal
Annales Internationales de Criminologie Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: (1979-80) Pages: 53-69
Date Published
1980
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Criminological research in Canada, especially Quebec, during the seventies is reviewed.
Abstract
Five of the six centers of criminological research in Quebec are at the University of Montreal in the criminology and psychology departments and the International Center of Comparative Criminology. The sixth center in Quebec is located at McGill University. Studies of juvenile delinquents cover classical clinical assessment of juveniles in reeducational institutions to determine stages of education, the nature of the criminal personality, and the role of the educator; diagnosis of severe delinquency and dynamics of delinquent behavior; and sociologically oriented descriptions of juvenile values, juvenile law, detention of minors, and juvenile protection and crime prevention. Other studies relate to police mortality, attitudes towards the death penalty, victimology, crime and criminal justice in Latin America and Africa, and criminal psychiatry. Interesting research on women in crime, sanctions, violence and homicide, the social cost of the justice system, white-collar crime, and public attitudes toward crime are in progress. Outside Quebec, research is written up in English and follows British and American traditions. Research centers are the Universities of Ottawa, Toronto, Alberta, and Simon Fraser. The centers have produced a number of textbooks and readers on criminology, criminal law, and administration of justice. Research publications pertain to police inspectors, various aspects of sentencing and attitudes toward sentencing, labeling, the effectiveness of the corrections system, parole criteria, the relationship between violence and the media, and violence in various social contexts. Other studies investigate the history of organized crime and white collar crime in Canada, burglary from the victim's perspective, and evaluation of prevention program efficiency. Studies conducted in Quebec are likely to be devoted to juvenile problems and to use psychological rather than sociological approaches, while general Canadian studies are diversified and sociologically oriented. Compared to European studies, Canadian research is less developed theoretically and more sophisticated methodologically. A major shortcoming of literature in both Quebec and Canada as a whole is the inexperience of many student researchers, which frequently affects the interpretation of data. A bibliography of Canadian literature from 1970 to 1980 is supplied.