Nous voulions, dans cette recherche, reperer les debats concernant la pertinence pour les policiers municipaux au Quebec de porter une arme a feu et analyser les arguments qui y sont contenus. Pour realiser cet objectif, nous avons procede en trois etapes. Premierement, nous avons examine la litterature traitant de la question afin de faire ressortir les principaux arguments qui justifient encore le port de l'arme pour tous les policiers municipaux, peu importe leurs fonctions. Deuxiemement, nous avons scrute dans la presse ecrite le discours tenu lors d'incidents commis par des policiers qui ont occasionne la mort de plusieurs personnes (68) entre 1975 et 1986 au Quebec. Troisiemement, nous avons rencontre les dirigeants policiers (patronaux et syndicaux) de l'Outaouais afin de connai tre davantage leur opinion sur le sujet. Le compte rendu de ces demarches nous a alors permis de constater qu'aucun debat n'a encore vraiment ete fait sur la pertinence du port de l'arme pour les policiers municipaux au Quebec. Une conclusion qui nous incite a croire que sans une volonte politique des gouvernements a restreindre le pouvoir d'homicide des policiers, et une meilleure sensibilisation de la population a la realite criminelle et des consequences d'une police armee sans restriction, ce debat n'aura jamais lieu. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Dans un premier temps, cette recherche propose de brievement presenter les differentes formes de violence masculine domestique, les elements qui participent a la reproduction de cette violence et les mythes qui y contribuent. Dans un deuxieme temps, differentes perspectives des cultures masculines sont presentees comme tentatives d'explication a la violence masculine domestique. Cette recherche exploratoire tente d'examiner les differentes explications fournies par les hommes sur la violence masculine domestique tout en tissant les liens avec les differences perspective. Il est souhaite que les entrevues aupres des participants permettent d'identifier des pistes de prevention et d'intervention sociale aupres des garcons et des hommes. Un premier objectif de cette recherche est celui d'analyser la problematique de la violence conjugale a partir du vecu des hommes. Un deuxieme objectif de cette recherche est celui d'explorer les valeurs, les attitudes et les roles masculins afin de voir s'il existe des liens possibles entre les masculinites et la violence masculine domestique. Il se degage trois grandes conclusions a partir des entrevues. La premiere implique le besoin d'un changement dans les facons et les moyens pour parler aux hommes de la violence masculine. La deuxieme conclusion est directement reliee au silence. Les hommes ne semblent pas percevoir cette problematique comme un sujet tres important ou pertinent a leur vecu si on en juge par le nombre toujours restreint d'hommes qui s'impliquent et qui la denoncent. La troisieme conclusion s'enchai ne avec la precedente puisqu'il s'agit de la peur des hommes a denoncer la violence masculien domestique. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Abstract Not Available.

The legal theory of crime causation postulates three main strategies for crime control: (a) increasing inhibitory factors (those which might prevent actualization of criminal behaviour). Here the death penalty plays a part. (b) reducing facilitating factors (decreasing the availability of the prerequisites for the offence). Gun control legislation may be employed to this end, since it decreases the availability of lethal weapons. (c) controlling predisposing factors. If these are known, medical intervention is supposed, in some points of view, to be able to rectify them. Prevention of criminal homicide, like the prevention of most crime, takes two forms: first, the offender may be prevented from repeating an act; second: the non-offender may be prevented from ever committing his first criminal act. Two different types of strategies may be adopted: specific deterrence, directed at the offender after the act, and general deterrence, directed at potential offenders before acts are perpetrated. The death penalty operates as specific deterrence. The principle of general deterrence rests on the assumption that all persons are similar, and that threat of the death penalty will affect all members of a society equally. Gun control legislation is a strategy of reducing facilitating factors, directed at the general population and designed to prevent the commission of the act. Here, again, is the assumption that all persons are similar and that non-availability of prerequisite weapons will prevent the homicide. Medical interventions have been utilized, for offenders as well as for potential offenders. In both cases, however, a diagnosis of the anomaly must be first made. In the case of potential offenders, such a strategy requires investigating entire populations, an unrealistic and unfeasible project. The intent of this study is to determine which of these strategies would be most suitable for the control of homicide in China. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

L'objet de cette etude est d'identifier le lien qui existe entre l'urbanisation (spontanee), l'industrialisation en tant qu'indicateurs de developpement, et la delinquance dans les societes subissant une transformation socio-culturelle. Cette etude tente de localiser dans la societe camerounaise, subissant des transformations socio-culturelles, le probleme de la deviance et de la criminalite dans un contexte sociologique et anthropologique mais aussi d'identifier les mecanismes de reaction sociale en jeu (formels et informels) ainsi que d'evaluer plus ou moins leur dynamique propre. Ainsi, nous tentons d'indiquer quelques directions dans lesquelles de futures enquetes criminologiques en Afrique Noire pourraient etre orientees afin qu'on puisse y concevoir des politiques criminelles approppriees. La presente etude souligne quelques aspects sociologiques particuliers et typiques des societes urbaines africaines, surtout des villes naissantes, qui "predisposent" celles-ci a certains comportements deviants et qui font de sorte qu'une comparaison entre la criminalite de ces societes du Tiers monde et celle des societes des pays occidentaux serait irrealiste. Les parametres de comparaison sont difficiles a definir. Notre etude examine egalement la contradiction nee des systemes de droit (droit positif et droit coutumier) en vigueur dans des societes urbaines africaines, ainsi que l'impact de cette contradiction sur la deviance et la criminalite. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

The principle objective of this study is to examine how penal codification was received and interpreted by the media. The media sources to be used are English newspapers and professional legal English Journals. With respect to the legal journals three journals were selected (two from Ontario, one from Quebec where they already experienced codification). The period examined is from each journal's founding date until 1900. Therefore, the examination of the Legal News was from 1886-1900, the Canada Law Journal was from 1855-1900, and the Canadian Law Times was from 1881-1900. It should be noted that the Canada Law Journal was the successor of the Upper Canada Law Journal beginning in 1868. The three newspapers examined for this study representing either the conservative, liberal or radical label were: The Montreal Gazette (conservative), The Toronto Globe (liberal) and The Toronto Mail (radical). The period examined was 1886-1893 for the two former newspapers and 1890, 1891 and 1892 for the latter newspaper. All articles relating to the criminal law, the criminal code and codification were analyzed for both sources of data. In examining what opinions were expressed this study attempted to establish whether the focus was on codification or specific topics of the code as well as whether the reactions to the code, if any, changed after its inception. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

The objective of this study is to examine the factors which might be related to escapes from correctional institutions. Static and dynamic/situational factors were analyzed. Data were collected on escapees and non-escapees. The escapee sample consisted of 35 inmates who had escaped from federal (medium and maximum security) correctional institutions between 1990-04-01 and 1992-03-31. The escapee sample was compared to a random sample of inmates (N = 35) who did not escape during the same period, so that static variables which might differentiate the two groups could be identified. Analyses of the results of static factors showed that significant differences were found between escapee and non-escapee groups. Escapees were more frequently found to have had a history of the following: property offences as the major offence, parole revocation, escape, federal term, drug/alcohol abuse, and institutional misconduct. Escapees were serving significantly longer sentences, were younger, and had more previous criminal convictions. They served an average length of sentence of 5.7 years prior to escape. Among some cases in which escapees and/or staff did identify the factors precipitating the escapes, the following factors were noted: family problems, parole problems, problems with other inmates, outstanding criminal charges, or institutional administrative problems. Moreover, approximately one-quarter of all escapees were under the influence at the time of escape. Slightly over one-quarter had recent parole revocations. Almost one-third had received recent transfers prior to escape. The majority of escapes were planned. Approximately three-quarters of the escapees fled with 1 or more other inmates. Most of the escapees absconded during the evening hours. Findings from this study showed that both static and dynamic/situational factors should be taken into account when explaining escape behaviour. Escape behaviour can be best explained by a combination of prisonization theory, rational choice theory, moral self-transcendence, and the cognitive model. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This study examined the efficacy of a classification system, Case Management Strategies (C.M.S.), for federally-incarcerated male offenders in Ontario penitentiaries. Three research questions were asked: (1) How appropriate are program recommendations made by Case Management Officers (C.M.O.s) using C.M.S.?; (2) To what extent are these recommended programs completed by the offenders?; and, (3) Is recidivism influenced by either (a) completion of recommended programs; (b) completion of recommended programs and degree of appropriateness of these recommendations; or, (c) completion of programs which actually address the offenders' needs? The results of this study found that: (1) only about half of the program recommendations made by the C.M.O.s were judged to be appropriate; (2) only a small proportion of the recommended programs had actually been completed by the offenders; and, (3) although there was a small statistically significant effect of the percentage of recommended programs completed on recidivism, recidivism was not affected by the percentage of recommended "treatment/training" programs which were completed; percentage of recommended programs which were completed and appropriate, nor by the degree to which the offenders' needs were addressed by the programs completed. These results raised some serious questions about the efficacy of classification as part of a rehabilitation process.

Cette recherche a pour objet d'etude le fonctionnement, et plus particulierement, la teneur des allegations faites devant une instance disciplinaire quasi judiciaire, cree au Quebec en 1968 et active jusqu'en 1990, soit la Commission de police du Quebec (CPQ). En nous basant sur l'analyse de contenu des rapports d'enquete publique de la CPQ produits en 1987, 1988 et 1989, nous avons identifie l'eventail des gestes, comportements et attitudes qui sont consideres comme dommageables et offensants par le public lors d'interventions policieres. De meme, nous avons identifie la teneur de ce que la CPQ considere, a son tour, comme gestes, comportements et attitudes dommageables et offensants de la part de certains policiers dans le cadre de leurs fonctions. Cette recherche nous a permis de constater que la CPQ pense et agit en fonction du statu quo et ne cherche aucunement a suggerer, encore moins a rendre operationnel, des changements qui aboutiraient a un veritable controle de l'inconduite policiere, controle qui ne peut que passer par une reorientation du mandat policier. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

The purpose of this research is to determine the factors predicting recidivism among a sample of 222 federally sentenced sex offenders. Based on social and criminal data, a number of predictor variables were significantly correlated with recidivism. These variables were regressed into models of recidivism which resulted in low levels of predictability. There were, however, three prominent factors found in each model for non-sexual offence recidivism, including age, extent of criminal history and number of geographical locations where previously convicted. The results also indicated a number of trends based on correlational data. In particular, a distinction was found between sexual and non-sexual offence recidivism. General non-sexual offence recidivism was found to be associated with extent of prior criminal history and age, while sexual offence recidivism was found to be associated with extent of sexual offence history and not influenced by age.