This study examines the needs of all offenders being released to Toronto during a three month period; July 1 to September 30, 1988. It's purpose is to identify any needs which may exist in Toronto both in terms of a need for halfway house beds and programming needs within the houses. From the data we gathered, we were able to conclude that there is currently no policy which requires that offenders be matched to halfway houses according to their individual needs. We also found that: (1) Mandatory Supervision cases are the highest in terms of risk and need, yet they receive the least structure release of all early releases. Day Parole releases, on the other hand, have the fewest needs and present the lowest risk, yet they receive the most structured form of release, with mandatory halfway house residence. (2) There is a lack of structured programming in Toronto halfway houses, and the programs which do exist are often duplicated, where other needs are not met through any type of programming. (3) There does appear to be a small shortage of beds for Day Parole releases and a great shortage of beds for Mandatory Supervision releases. From these conclusions we were able to make recommendations concerning release policy and how it relates to halfway houses. These recommendations are designed to make the release and treatment of offenders more cost effective as well as to reduce the chances of recidivism. They require both policy and legislative changes in order to be implemented. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Au Canada, de l'institutionnalisation des sciences sociales au cours des années 1950 et 1960, naîtront une série de disciplines hybrides, croisant des savoirs déjà constitués répondant a des besoins de spécialisation provoqués, entre autres choses, par l'expansion de l'appareil d'État. La criminologie émerge comme discipline scientifique dans ce contexte. Le criminologue s'inspire du médecin-curateur, remenant la "criminalité" a un quelconque virus qui circulerait surtout au travers les couches les plus defavorisées de la société. Ce travail de recherche se propose d'analyser le discours criminologique en le considerant comme une institution. Il s'agit de reconstituer l'institutionnalisation de la criminologie québécoise dans le contexte politico-pénal canadien, de manière à en faire ressortir les conditions de production. Hypostasier la notion de crime permet d'évacuer l'aspect politique des définitions de crime. La criminologie créé le "criminel" et le "comportement criminel" comme entités existantes, vraies. En voulant synthétiser en un savoir eclectique des approches singulières, la criminologie ne cherche pas a réfléchir et théoriser sur le phénomène du crime, elle cherche à expliquer un "mal" déjà conjure par le droit et la morale. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Our understanding of criminal victimization in Canadian penitentiaries is quite limited because little research has been conducted in relation to this phenomenon. As a result, it is quite difficult to determine with any degree of certainty the true extent of inmate victimization in Canada. This paper examines the occurrence of victimization in Canadian penitentiaries to shed light on this phenomenon. Using information derived from the 1995 National Inmate Survey (N = 4,381 male federal inmates), the thesis examines the prevalence of inmate victimization in our federal penitentiaries and its relationship to a variety of institutional and individual indicators, as well as testing the relative usefulness of the importation and deprivation theories in explaining the patterns observed. Instances of physical assaults, assaults with weapons, sexual assaults, staff assaults, and gang activity show that violent behaviors are a fairly common occurrence in federal correctional institutions. Bivariate and multivariate analyses revealed some support for the existence of a relationship between institutional and individual indicators with inmate victimization in Canadian federal penitentiaries. Theoretical and policy implications of the data are suggested.

Academics and policy makers have taken note of what appears to be a decline in violent crime in the early 1990's in North America. In Canada, by 1999, the violent crime rate had decreased for the seventh consecutive year. Research has failed, to date, to fully account for this decline. In fact, there are many competing explanations found in the literature. With the exception of research by Kennedy & Veitch, (1997) Carrington, (2001) and Ouimet (2002), most of the research examining the decreasing levels of violent crime has been undertaken using American data. The purpose of this study is to answer the following research question: Which proposed explanations for the decline in rates of violent crime decline are most plausible? This paper examines four possible explanations for the recent decline in the violent crime including changes in the unemployment rate, demographic patterns, police staffing levels and reporting rates. This thesis concludes that the best explanations for the violent crime rate decline between 1993 and 1999 are the changes in the unemployment rate and the changes in demographic patterns as well as changes in the police workforce. Reporting rates have remained stable and thus cannot account for the violent crime rate decline. However, even these explanations fail to account for variation in crime rates over a larger period. Clearly, more sophisticated research is needed.

This thesis explores the relationship between attitudes and knowledge, and assesses the impact of factual information on attitudes on the topic of prison conditions in Canada. A questionnaire, distributed to a non-representative sample of volunteer first year criminology students, forms the basis of this research. The questionnaire incorporated an attitude scale, measuring respondent "punitiveness", and a knowledge scale, measuring the accuracy of factual information concerning prison conditions at the disposal of respondents. The questionnaire was comprised of both global and specific questions and included an experimental manipulation (i.e., case scenarios). Respondents were supportive of both punitive and progressive penal policies and practices. Study participants were familiar with the general facets of prison life, but lacked information on penal policies, prisoner health issues, prisoners' rights, and release from prison. The results of this research do not support a relationship between attitudes and knowledge. Respondents held particular attitudes concerning prison conditions regardless of the amount or accuracy of factual information at their disposal. Participant assessments of penal severity were positively associated with their perceptions of sentencing severity. However, this research indicates that this relationship is spurious. An underlying individual trait, "punitiveness", influenced both attitudes towards sentencing and attitudes towards prison conditions. Respondents favouring punitive penal practices were more likely to appraise prison conditions and sentencing practices as lax. This research also indicates that providing participants with factual information via case scenarios does not alter their opinions. Respondents receiving global questions and those receiving case scenarios expressed statistically similar perceptions of prison conditions. Further, manipulating offence severity within the case scenarios did not alter participant perceptions of prison conditions. However, factual information, in the form of case scenarios, strengthens the relationship between "punitiveness" and perceptions of criminal justice leniency.

Abstract Not Available.

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.)