Unit 3: Criminal Law and Criminology What is crime? Who are criminals?

The Sand Brothers Robert (b. 1978) and Danny Sand (b. 1980) Albertan family Father (Dennis), Mother (Elaine) Father spent time in jail when he was young- after became a productive law abiding citizen (runs a business, member of community groups etc…) As youngsters, were constantly in trouble (along with their friends)

The Sand Brothers only mixed-race boys in their town difficulty in school, frequently suspended at 15 Danny beat up another student- spent time in youth custody *see description by Staples 2002

The Sand Brothers 1998 Robert- 7 year jail sentence for armed robbery Danny also spent years in jail for several crimes, all violent (attacking a police officer) Danny joined Robert in the same jail after ramming a police officer with a truck Danny has a tattoo on his belly that reads “Fearless, Painless, Senseless” and on his knuckles- TCOB

The Sand Brothers Oct. 2001 Robert released to a halfway house- reunited with gf (Laurie Bell), who was a heavy drug user Dec. 2001, Robert, Laurie and Danny, all on parole, left for the maritimes Initiated a crime spree: robbing banks, B+Es, theft of vehicles The spree led them to the town of Russell, Man.

The Sand Brothers Dec. 21 2001 Danny is stopped in his truck, with Robert and Laurie by RCMP As the constables approached the truck, Robert fired several shotgun blasts at them The RCMP fled to their car and attempted to get away- Danny chased them into town Danny rammed the RCMP’s SUV in front of their headquarters, Robert jumped out, and fired at one of the constables who was trapped in the SUV- killed RCMP tracked the trio to a motel back in Sask.- police sniper killed Danny; Robert and Laurie were captured

The Sand Brothers Robert is serving a life sentence for first degree murder (see diary entry)- he attacked his own lawyer in the court room Laurie Bell was convicted of manslaughter- was heard yelling “Kill Him”

Criminology Why did they lead such undisciplined lives? Why did they pursue the RCMP officers instead of taking off? Look at how Robert saw the world- why? Is there anything that can be done to prevent this type of tragedy from occurring? That is criminology in a nutshell

Crime Even if we could solve those questions- the answer may not relate to other types of crimes The case of Diego Zepeda-Cordera The case of Conrad Black

Crime The Sands’, Conrad Black and Zepeda-Corera have little in common, except for their criminal convictions Criminal behaviour is diverse and the task of criminologists, police officers and social workers to deal with the diverse nature is incredibly hard

What is Criminology? Body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon Includes the process of making laws, breaking laws and of reacting to the breaking of laws The objective is to develop a body of principles related to the above

What is Criminology? Criminal behaviour and society’s response to the behaviour The USA has a much higher rate of violent crime than Canada- they also have a much harsher justice system Understanding crime before we reduce it So...why is crime committed?

What is Criminology? Study by R. Tremblay- boys whose violent behaviour did not mitigate by 16 Almost all were sons of young mothers with low levels of education Government of Quebec has created programs for mothers who fit this profile to help reduce potential criminality of their children

What is Criminology? 6 major areas: Definition of crime and criminals- who and what Origins and role of law- why Social Distribution of Crime- trends, rates Causation- why do some people commit crimes and others don’t Patterns of criminal behaviour- offenders, victims, circumstance, consequences, prevention? Societal reactions- media effect, legislation, custody

Criminal Law Crime is socially defined- can you think of a type of behaviour that is condemned by all? Deviant behaviour is socially defined by the country, community and social unit- very different in many cases Crime is relative- until this year assisted suicide was a crime how about not reporting tips on your tax form? Drawing the line between respectable people who do bad things occasionally and criminals is a tough act