Pols 3300

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Political Science

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Oct 30, 2023

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Pols 3300 The Canadian Criminal Justice System The formal criminal justice system is a complex network of independent, but procedurally connected police, prosecutors, courts, correctional agencies, and parole boards. It costs government at all levels at least $10 billion a year. Key responsibilities:  prevention of crime  law enforcement and crime investigation  administration of justice and court processing  punishment of offenders the criminal justice system is a complex network of independent actors (such as the police) and agencies (such as the Correctional Service of Canada), that have diverse goals and mandates, but also must work together. The different goals and mandates of the actors within the criminal justice system can create problems. It can mean that information is not shared between actors or it can mean that the system operates at a slow pace. But,

this division between actors is for a reason. Consider the many different interests that exist within the criminal justice system. For example: the interests of the victim or the victims' family, the Charter rights of the accused, or the community interest in the prevention of crime. The system must take these competing interests into account. Legislators (members of parliament, members of the provincial legislature) are in the :Formal System Police are Formal System Courts are in the formal System Crown/prosecution are in the: Formal System Parole boards (e.g. National Parole Board) are in the: formal System Correctional services are in the: formal System Media are in the: Informal System Bureaucracy (e.g. Department of Justice) are in the: formal System Victim’s groups are in the: Informal System Defense counsel are in the: :Informal System Criminal justice advocacy groups (e.g. John Howard Society) are in the :Informal System

There are several sources of criminal law in Canada Criminal Code Youth Criminal Justice Act Various statutes: Firearms Act, Canada Evidence Act, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Quasi-criminal law (regulatory offences, provincial offences) Crime Statistics in Canda is important to be a critical and informed consumer of crime statistics. First, not all crimes are reported to police. The crime rate reflects only what is reported to police, and may not be a true measure of the actual occurrence of crime.

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A higher rate of crime may mean that police are more effective at law enforcement. A higher rate of crime may also reflect that the public has faith in their police and is willing to report crime. Crime statistics can be used as a political tool. Canada’s Crime Rate

the top line (light blue) provides the total number of police reported crimes, the second from the top (dark blue) line provides the rate of property crimes, the third line from the top (red) provides the rates for other crimes, and finally the bottom line (green) provides the rate of violent offences. The data demonstrate that Canada’s Crime Severity Index in 2016 Canada’s Crime Severity Index has been a steady decline Guelph has lowest crime rate in country and beri but now its on 4 th place Characteristics of the offence  Overrepresentation of violent offences, and underrepresentation of property offences  Focus on homicide and sexual offences  Emphasis on ‘new’ or unusual crimes

Characteristics of the offender  Overemphasis on upper—middle class offenders  Crimes committed by women disproportionately covered  Social or celebrity status important factor Characteristics of the sentence  Focus on rare and usual sentences  Sentences that are deemed lenient Characteristics of the victim  Media more likely to report stranger-on-stranger crimes  Innocent bystander victims  Some victims deemed less innocent because of their background, lifestyle, or race/ethnicity Public Policy and the Policymaking Process Public policy is “a course of action or inaction chosen by public authorities to address a given problem or interrelated set of problems.” Policymaking is a political process:  Agenda setting: identifying the problems that require government attention, deciding which issues deserve the most attention and defining

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the nature of the problem. There are many different influences on this step, such as political parties, interest groups, social movements and media – different crises (real or not) affect the level of attention given to a problem by the media. Also, various departments and agencies from within the government bureaucracy can influence agenda setting.  Policy formation: setting objectives, identifying the costs and estimating the effect of solutions, choosing from a list of solutions.  Decision-making and legitimation: choosing among a small number of different options – usually made at the executive level in cabinet, cabinet committee or by prime minister alone  Policy implementation: taking measure to put a policy into effect, such as developing rules and regulations. Establishing an administrative structure, providing a budget, may involve the cooperation and coordination between different governments/agencies/actors  Policy evaluation: determining the extent to which a policy is achieving its objectives and how it can be made more effective. This can lead to change starting the cycle all over again, or scrapping a policy all together (see assigned reading by Pal, 2006 for more information on the various ways that policy can be evaluated).

Legislative/Parliamentary Process  First reading: any idea for policy must be written in the form of a bill. It is printed and read in the Chamber (either the House of Commons or the Senate) where it is introduced.  Second reading: the bill is read for a second time. This is where parliamentarians debate aspects of the bill, ask the government questions about the bill and decide if they will support the bill. The Chamber takes a vote on the bill – if it passes this stage, it then goes to a committee.  Committee: a committee of parliamentarians meet and discuss the bill in greater detail. The committee will hear testimony from expert witnesses and interested parties. The committee is responsible for reviewing the bill clause-by-clause and voting on the bill.

 Report: the committee reports the bill back to the Chamber and all parliamentarians can now debate and suggest amendments to the bill.  Third reading: the bill is debated for the final time and parliamentarians vote on the bill for the final time.  Process is repeated in other Chambers: once the bill passes the Chamber in which it originated, it is sent to the other Chamber to repeat steps 1 through 5.  Royal Assent: once the bill has passed the process in both the Senate and the House of Commons, the bill is sent to the Governor General for final approval and Royal Assent. The bill is now law. Criminal Justice Policy Two group  sub-government: the government agencies and institutionalized associations responsible for the policy. Example prime minster , municipal actors  attentive public: government agencies not directly responsible for the policy, private institutions, interest groups and individuals. example : media

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Punishment Policy Pre-2006 crime is understood as socially determined policymakers attempt to understand the underlying causes of crime policymakers are not focused on the moral character of offenders there is an understanding that most offenders will return to the community mr big documentary the accountability for police is -

. The SIU has jurisdiction over all police in Ontario, except for First Nation’s Police and the RCMP, as they are under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The SIU is responsible for investigating whenever a police officer is involved in circumstances that have resulted in serious injury, death, or allegations of sexual assault.] Police in Ontario are subject to oversight from three different bodies – the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the Office of the Independence Police Review Director (OIPRD), and the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) Week 6 Crown prosecutors and the Ministry of the Attorney General have several responsibilities, such as: administering approximately 115 statutes providing legal advice to, and conducting litigation on behalf of, all government ministries providing advice on, and drafting, all legislation and regulations coordination of court services and most importantly, conducting criminal proceedings throughout Ontario

The most important responsibility of the Crown for the purpose of our course is the obligation to conduct all criminal proceedings in Ontario . While the Crown has the responsibility to prosecute, the Crown does not have the responsibility of obtaining a conviction . Instead, the Crown’s primary goal is to ensure justice is done through a fair trial . Thus, Crowns should not have any notion of winning or losing in court. The Crown cannot do anything to prevent the accused from being represented by counsel or communicating with their counsel. Similarly, the Crown must present all credible evidence before the court, that is relevant to the crime, regardless if it might undermine its prosecution . Because of this responsibility, one of the most important functions of the Crown is to provide disclosure to the defence in a timely manner. This disclosure must include all relevant facts, regardless if they show guilt or innocence. The decision to prosecute must be made in consideration of two factors: 1. the reasonable likelihood of conviction 2. whether the prosecution is in the public interest

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When considering the reasonable likelihood of conviction , the Crown will consider a variety of factors, such as: the availability and credibility of witnesses, the strength and admissibility of the evidence, the possible defences that may be argued by the accused, and other factors that could affect the conviction, such as the existence of Charter violations that could lead to the exclusion of evidence. When considering if the prosecution is in the public interest , the Crown will consider that a more serious offence will require a prosecution, compared to less serious offences. The Crown should also consider the resources required for prosecution and that resources should not be wasted on inappropriate cases Prosecutorial Accountability in Canad aactions. However, the court ruled that the attorney general in a personal capacity and Crown attorneys were not absolutely immune from civil suits in that they were liable for malicious prosecution. It would threaten the individual rights of citizens who have been wrongly and maliciously prosecuted.

The inherent difficulty in proving a Don Stuart 341case of malicious prosecution, combined with the mechanisms available. within the system of civil procedure to weed out meritless claims, was sufficient, according to the court, to ensure that the attorney general and Crown attorneys would not be hindered in the proper execution of theiri mportant public duties. When thinking about the role of the prosecution from the perspective of governing criminal justice, one of the most pressing concerns is prosecutorial independence and accountability . Although Crown prosecutors are answerable to the Attorney General, we would not want the Attorney General to play an active role in the daily work of the Crown. The desire for prosecutorial independence is similar to the necessity of police independence, in that we do not want politics and partisanship to influence the daily operations of Crown prosecutors. The parameters for prosecutorial independence are informed by the Shawcross doctrine (named after Lord Shawcross who was an English Attorney General). Essentially, the Shawcross doctrine holds that prosecution must be done in the public interest (as discussed above) and that the decision to prosecute is solely made by the Attorney General and cannot be subject to direction or partisan influences from Cabinet.

One suspects, however, for the reasons already given,that such concerns will turn out to be largely groundless. Crown prosecutors are subject to legal oversight through civil law. Indeed, prosecutors do not have absolute immunity against civil suits and can be sued for malicious prosecution. It is important to note that the threshold for malicious prosecution is quite high to promote public trust in the fairness and impartiality of the criminal court system and to ensure that Crown prosecutors are not subject to frivolous lawsuits by the criminally accu sed. More specifically, malicious prosecution requires that a Crown counsel had an improper motive and lack of reasonable and probable cause for pursuing a prosecution, and a lawsuit under malicious prosecution cannot be brought by those convicted at trial. another important mechanism of constant oversight for Crown prosecutors is through judicial review and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom s.The most significant form of accountability for the discretion and power held by Crowns is through judges who have the responsibility of admitting evidence and ensuring that criminal trials proceed in a fair manner. The judicial review of the Charter also acts as a strong form of oversight for the actions of

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prosecutors at trial, most significantly through section 11(b) the right to be tried within a reasonable time and s.7 (principles of fundamental justice), which informs the right to discovery. The Supreme Court case , R v. Nixon highlights how these tensions can arise in the prosecution of criminal offence s. In this case, the Supreme Court was asked to consider when it is appropriate for the Crown to renege on a plea agreement with the accused, and if it is appropriate for the Assistant Deputy Minister to weigh in on the decisions made by the prosecutor at trial. Unit 4 The police have a key role in the relationship between citizens and the state. Indeed, the police are the main symbol of the state in the daily lives of citizens. Additionally, the police hold the power to wield force on citizens , which can include lethal force. When thinking about policymaking, the perspective of the police is well respected by legislators and often viewed as more legitimate than other actors in the criminal justice system. The police can play an important role in setting the policymaking agenda for governments (think back to the stages in the policymaking cycle that we discussed in Unit 2). Finally, it is important to remember that the operation of the police is a central concern for

public administration. Not only do the police exist entirely on public money, their relationship with other governments and government entities is one that should be subject to scrutiny. There are three types of government police organizations in Canada: Federal- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Provincial - Sûreté du Québec, Ontario Provincial Police, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (select areas), RCMP on contract Municipal (select examples)- Guelph Police Service, Toronto Police Service Calgary Police Service, Halifax Regional Police All police are responsible for enforcing the Criminal Code of Canada , provincial laws and municipal by-laws . All police in Ontario (Ontario Provincial Police and municipal police services) are governed by the Ontario Police Services Act, RSO 1990, c. P.15. The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services is responsible for the Act.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2016 there was 68,773 police officers in Canada; this is a rate of 190 officers per 100,000 population in Can ada. Ontario has the most police officers with 26,168 officers. When the number of officers is averaged by 100,000 of the population, the Northwest Territories has the greatest ratio of 450 officers per 100,000. Women account for over 21 percent of all police officers, and are increasingly becoming represented in the higher ranks of police departments. For example, in 2016, female police officers accounted for an all-time high of 13 percent of senior officers, compared to only six percent of senior officers in 2006. For more information on trends regarding policing across Canada visit: Statistics Canada Police Resources in Canada, 2016 In the quotation above, Roach describes the fundamental tension between police independence and accountability , a key concern in a democratic state like Canada. We want our police to be independent from the government so that police operations are not directed by any one member of the government and open to abuse. For example, we would not want the Mayor or the Prime Minister to call the Chief of Police and ask them to investigate a political opponent. At the same time, we also do not want the police to be so isolated from the government that they are not subject to any form of democratic

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oversight. In other words, we do not want the police to be a law unto themselves. In the assigned readings by Roach and Sossin, the authors provide theoretical models to help navigate the relationship between the police and the government. Sossin promotes a model of apolitical and autonomous policing. He explains that the police should not be subject to a single form of oversight. Instead, the police should be subject to “multiple and overlapping” forms of oversight, which include a role for police oversight bodies (like the Special Investigations Unit) and a role for the courts. Roach discusses four models of police independence, which include: full police independence, core police independence, democratic policing and governmental policing. Each model has its own strengths and weaknesses, and one model may be more appropriate

for the routine aspects of policing, while another model may best serve the occasions when the police are involved in the policing of political events. Finally, is it best to think of Roach’s models of policing on a spectrum ranging from the utmost independence for the police in the full police independence model, to the greatest amount of oversight in the governmental policing model, as demonstrated in the diagram below. https://quizlet.com/484228686/pols-3300-midterm-flash-cards/ https://quizlet.com/ca/462481576/pols-3300-de-flash-cards/ https://quizlet.com/ca/201462643/pols-3300-final-exam-flash-cards/