Transcript Chapter 12 Crimes Against Public Order

Chapter 11
Crimes Against Public Order
“I see there is a people risen and come up
that I cannot win either with gifts, honors,
offices or places…”
Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)
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Learning Objectives
Recognize the relationship between law and
morality.
Be familiar with the various types of public order
offences.
Be familiar with the characteristics and nature of
public order offences such as gambling,
prostitution, pornography, and substance abuse.
Have an awareness of the implications of public
order offences on society.
Appreciate the difficulty in regulating public order
offences.
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Are these crimes “victimless”?
Relative and evolutive concept
Consensus vs. conflict perspective
Law and Morality
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Who’s doing the deciding? the “ruling”
morality
Are church & state separate?
Homosexuality vs. lottery tickets or VLT
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Gambling
Sec. 197-210
Role of tolerance and morality
“Catch-22” – revenue increase but more
addiction & treatment costs
Trends:
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Who benefits from the legalization (e.g.,
Atlantic provinces, First Nations’ reserves)
Males, late 30s, employed, less than
college education
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Causes
Parenting issues
Impulsive disorder
Learned behaviour
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Prostitution
Sec. 210-213 - Technically ‘legal’
Badgley Report and Fraser Report
Trends:
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Social outcasts = women, drug habits,
poverty, abuse history, low self-esteem….
Socially ignored = men, buyers, abuse
history, economics, balance of power….
Economics as the driving force and/or
drugs as the pimp
Barriers to exit – housing & economics
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Types of Prostitution
Streetwalkers
Bar & MassageParlours
House prostitutes
Call girls & Escorts
Male prostitutes gameboy(s) study in
AB and BC
Causes the same?
Legalisation the
same effects?
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Prostitution
Does legalisation make it “better”?
Make violence go away?
What keeps prostitution going? The
“oldest profession” – CAUSES/WHY?
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Biology to feminist interpretations
Socio-psychological
Functionalism and economic gain
Among Canadians no consensus
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Pornography
As Justice Stewart said in Jacobellis v. Ohio
(1994), a case dealing with hard-core
pornography, “I can't define it, but I know it
when I see it.”
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What is it?
Plato once asked…. ‘what is the proper
role or function of art.’
porno =“prostitute” & graphen =“to write”
Obscenity derived from Latin for “filth”
How to decide? Who decides?
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“Playboy” vs. “Playgirl”
Chic vs. Swank
“Stone Angel” vs. MTV
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Pornography and the Law
Sec. 163-169
Anti-culture, anti-conscience, anti-God,
anti-family?
Literature vs. feminists and
fundamentalist groups
Facilitate expressions of violence?
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Substance Abuse:
A Brief History
Since the dawning of time
most societies have used
mind/mood altering
substances
Downfall of the Roman
Empire?
Varying degrees of being
socially acceptable until…
Late 1800s and regulations
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Drugs and the Law
Weekend binge vs. overuse or physical
and/or psychological dependency
The Controlled Drugs and Substance
Act ’96
1997 1st cannabis café
Hemp stores… what is the trend
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Characteristics and Trends
Alcohol socially accepted vs. others?
Young males; with higher incomes; college
drinking
Health Canada’s “normal” rate of
consumption = 14 drinks/week (Scurr,
AADAC, October 2004)
Alcohol consumption down but most problem
drug for adults according to AADAC
75% Canadians support prevention programs
Link between substance abuse and violent
crime high
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What does it do for ya?
Hypocrisy?
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Smoking and drinking by adults vs. their children’s
behaviour
Psychological and psychiatric effects well
documented
False sense of well-being
Illicit Drugs
CNS: stimulants, depressants & hallucinogens
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Explaining Addiction
No one theory able to address ALL
factors
Biology? Psychology? Sociology?
Need to distinguish between:
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Factors that contribute
Factors causing to maintain
Reasons for relapse
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Is it a Moral Issue?
Tobacco….
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First Nations consider its use sacred in
rituals (relative)
Vitamins vs. drugs
Right to choose
Values and beliefs constantly changing
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Summary
Public order offences an “age-old” problem
Is behaviour a matter of free will or
(soft) determinism?
Public order a form of victimless crimes?
Athenians: Do it but just don’t get caught…
prepared to face the consequences?
Where do we draw the lines of social control
vs. personal rights?
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