 Contained in Part VIII of the criminal code, it includes crimes in which the victim is threatened, injured or killed.  Violent crime is actually decreasing in Canada, bit it is of course considered very serious and therefore carries with it the stiffest penalties.

 Homicide is the killing of another person, directly or indirectly.  It can be culpable homicide, which means the accused can be held legally responsible or non-culpable homicide, death caused by an unforeseeable accident.  Murder, the intentional killing of another human being, is a form of culpable homicide.

 The Criminal Code classifies murder into two categories: first-degree and second-degree  First-degree murder: 1.It is planned and deliberate 2.One person hires another to commit murder 3.The victim is a peace officer, prison employee or other person employed for the preservation and maintenance of the public peace. 4.The murder is caused while committing or attempting to commit another serious offence.  Example: ◦ Buy a gun and wait for spouse to come home  Punishment: ◦ Maximum, life with no parole for 25 years

 Second-degree murder ◦ Any murder that does not fit into one of the four situations listed under first-degree murder.  Example: ◦ Latimer case –Mercy Killing of his disabled daughter  Punishment: ◦ Life in prison ◦ Can apply for parole after 10 years

 I nfanticide,  The killing of a newborn infant by the child’s mother, is also culpable homicide.  For the crime to be considered infanticide: ◦ The accused must be the natural mother of the victim, ◦ The victim must be less than 12 months old and ◦ At the time of the killing the accused must have been suffering from a mental disturbance caused by not being able to recover from giving birth to the victim.  Punishment: ◦ Maximum, 5 years

 Manslaughter ◦ Any culpable homicide that is not murder or infanticide. ◦ The Actus Reus of the offence consists of killing someone through a wrongful act, even if the killing was not intentional. ◦ The Mens Rea is that any reasonable person could have foreseen that the wrongful act would pose a risk of bodily harm that was neither insignificant or temporary. ◦ Sometimes a charge of murder can be reduced to manslaughter if the accused can show provocation, words or actions that could cause a reasonable person to behave irrationally or lose self control.  Example: ◦ Drunk driver who kills a pedestrian  Punishment : ◦ Maximum, life sentence

HomicideNon-culpableCulpableMurderFirst degree Second degree ManslaughterInfanticide

 Counselling/Aiding Suicide:  Encourage a person to commit suicide  Example: ◦ Daughter buys and gives mom pills that cause her to overdose  Punishment: ◦ Maximum, 14 years

 Assault (level 1):  Intentionally using force against a person  Most common form of violent crime in Canada  Example: ◦ Pushing, threatening, hitting  Punishment: ◦ Up to 5 years

 Assault (level 2): ◦ Hurting or injuring another person with or without a weapon in a manner that has serious consequences for health or comfort  Example: ◦ Fight where you break someone’s leg  Punishment: ◦ Up to 10 years in prison

 Assault (level 3): ◦ Wounded, maiming, disfiguring or endangering the life of another person  Example: ◦ Stab someone in the arm or cut off their ear in a fight  Punishment: ◦ Up to 14 years in prison

 Touching of a sexual nature that is not invited or consensual.  Sexual assault (level 1): ◦ Uninviting sexual touching/molesting  The most common and the one where the victim suffers the least physical injury. 97% of all cases of sexual assault.  Example: ◦ Touch someone’s breast by force  Punishment: ◦ Summary: 18 months ◦ Indictable: maximum, 10 years

 Sexual assault (level 2):  Sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily harm. Basically involves weapons, threats or physical injury.  Example: ◦ Using a knife to force sexual interaction  Punishment: ◦ Maximum, 14 years.

 Aggravated sexual assault (level 3): ◦ Wounding, maiming, disfiguring or endangering the life of the victim.  Example: ◦ Rape with a violent beating  Punishment: ◦ Maximum, life in prison

 Look at most common crimes against property

 Theft/Robbery: ◦ Taking property permanently or temporarily, without the owner’s permission. ◦ The item must be taken without color of right, that is, the honest belief that a person owns or has permission to use the article in question. ◦ You can also commit theft by conversion, such as keeping money mistakenly deposited into your account.  Most common criminal offence  Example: ◦ Take friends car without permission  Punishment: ◦ Property is $1000+ = maximum, 2 years

 Break and enter: ◦ Type of theft that involves breaking or opening something in order to enter a property  Example: ◦ Break in a back window and steal a television  Punishment: ◦ Maximum, 10 years

 Mischief: ◦ Deliberately damage/destroy another person’s property  Example: ◦ Spray painting property  Punishment: ◦ Hybrid ◦ Summary, less than $1000 ◦ indictable: more than $ 1000

 Fraud:  Intentionally deceiving the public or a person so as the cause a loss to the public or person  Must know they are deceiving  Example: ◦ Obtaining credit cards by false statements ◦ Writing cheques on another’s account  Punishment: ◦ Hybrid ◦ Summary: $1000 ◦ Indictable: $ 1000 –up to 10 years

 Sense of right or wrong that society places on certain ideas

 Gambling: ◦ To bet things of value on a game of chance or risk  Example: ◦ Keeping an illegal gaming/betting house ◦ Cheating at gambling ◦ Being in a gaming house for an unlawful purpose  Punishment: ◦ Hybrid ◦ Indictable, maximum of 2 years

 Prostitution: ◦ Requiring payment for a sex act ◦ Under 18 ◦ Forced to be prostitute (exploitation) ◦ Assists the prostitute (pimp)  Example: ◦ Hooker picking up a man by the roadside  Punishment: ◦ Indictable, 2 years

 Obscenity: ◦ Any publication based on sex or exploitation of sex with one or more of crime, horror, violence ◦ Limiting freedom to protect children, women, etc..  Example: ◦ Child porn website ◦ R. v. Butler  Punishment: ◦ Indictable, 2 years or more

 Controlled Drugs and Substances Act  Possession – knowledge and control. A person must know what the item is and have some measure of control over it. They may be found in possession even if he or she gave the item to another person. Finally, you may be found to be in possession by consenting to its possession by someone else.  Trafficking – a criminal offence that involves selling, giving, transporting or distributing a controlled substance or an authorization for a controlled substance. The crown must prove that the accused possessed the controlled substance with the intention of trafficking.  Money Laundering – transferring cash or other property to conceal its illegal origin.