Too many fatal shootings have occurred at the hands of frontline police officers, yet little research has investigated the relationship between mental health and confidence in the police. The current study addresses this gap in the policing literature by examining how mental health influences confidence in the police. Consistent with speculations, OLS regression analysis of data from the Canadian General Social Survey, Cycle 34, reveals that individuals with mental illness, as well as Indigenous people, have significantly lower confidence in the police than those without mental illness. This study offers new insights into the unique relationship between mentally ill individuals and policing, advocating a cultural shift within police forces from a mindset of “soldiers” to one of guardians and from law enforcers to peace officers. It emphasizes the need for increased frontline police officer training in handling mental health crises and closer collaboration between police and healthcare providers.
The practice of notifying the public about the release of a justice-involved individual into a community has become fairly common in Canada and other countries. It is assumed that these notifications help the public and increase public safety. Despite this being seen as a common service to the public, what information should be included in a notification is less understood. The present study surveys 177 publicly accessible community notifications across Canada regarding the release of justice-involved individuals from correctional facilities into the community. Notifications were reviewed and coded for the presence of demographic information, risk descriptors, offence and incarceration histories, and treatment and supervision information. The most commonly reported information included some physical descriptors and photos of the released individual, as well as criminal history and risk level. However, treatment history and details about upcoming supervision were less commonly reported. What was reported differed by region (western vs. eastern part of Canada), where the notification was issued, and the source (government and police vs. news media) that issued it. The lack of consistency in these notifications has implications for fairness, reintegration, public confidence in the justice system, and cross-provincial risk management practices.
Correctional facilities are coercive institutions where violence is anticipated and exercised. Correctional officers (COs) have a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence, employing it to maintain control over prisoner behaviour. The study described here was a 9-week embedded ethnography of a Canadian provincial CO training program. The goal was to show how recruit training positions the use of physical control tactics as legitimate and reasonable mechanisms for reducing risk. Findings showed that CO training constructs narratives that absolve COs of responsibility for the force they use by compiling detailed documentation and by using pain to get compliance in camera-friendly ways.
In 2025, the first known case of what appears to be an article generated by artificial intelligence that plagiarized a CJCCJ article was reported to the journal and its publisher. Such fraudulent bootlegging practices challenge the legitimacy of scientific research and the peer-review process, while raising a number of critical issues with the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence and large language models (LLMs). This article presents an overview of this new phenomenon of AI-assisted plagiarism, a set of concerning issues that the scientific community is currently struggling with. While LLMs are unlikely to go away any time soon, currently available tools to detect AI-assisted plagiarism of legitimate research are not adequate and mechanisms to prevent it are non-existent. In that content, we speculate that this case could be a first of many more to come that will impact not only criminology but also other academic disciplines.
The focal concerns framework is widely used to explain sentencing disparities, yet its direct application to judicial reasoning in trials is less common. To assess whether the focal concerns framework can be used to explain judicial decision-making in sentencing, we analysed Canadian youth sentencing judgments for break and enter and manslaughter cases from 2003 through 2025 (n = 183). An exploratory factor analysis shows that the independent variables coded in our dataset map onto three focal concerns: rehabilitation needs, community protection, and blameworthiness. Subsequent ordinary-least-squares regression models show that rehabilitation needs, community protection, and age are related to an increase in custodial sentence length, while blameworthiness is associated with longer community supervision sentences. By relying on case law as a source of data, we suggest that this widely available but potentially overlooked data source can be used for framing the focal concerns framework and standardizing focal concerns research.
The mandate of a specialized police tactical (TAC) team is to respond to high-risk and violent calls for service in society where patrol officers may struggle to mitigate calls for service safely. Yet TAC teams have come under public scrutiny for their (in)actions during calls for service within their primary and secondary mandates and for their appearance and presence at community events. Existing research has raised red flags about a community policing Trojan horse, where the police present a false chimera to the public that they are democratizing via community policing while synchronously increasing military-style tactics, equipment, and training for their TAC teams. The suggestion arises that police militarization is antithetical to community policing. We draw on 24 interviews with two similarly sized full-time municipal TAC teams from two different provinces in Canada to further unpack how TAC teams engage in community policing. We find evidence that mobilizing TAC teams at community events can be pro-social for community interactions, can assist in combating negative public opinion about TAC, and can provide job fulfillment and job satisfaction and increase purpose for TAC officers. Les groupes tactiques d'intervention sp & eacute;cialis & eacute;s (TAC) ont comme mandat de r & eacute;pondre aux appels de service violents ou & agrave; haut risque dans une soci & eacute;t & eacute; o & ugrave; les patrouilleurs pour peuvent & eacute;prouver de la difficult & eacute; & agrave; r & eacute;pondre aux appels de service en toute s & eacute;curit & eacute;. Pourtant, ils ont suscit & eacute; l'examen du public en raison de leur (in)action lors d'appels de service dans le cadre de leurs mandats primaire et secondaire et pour leur apparition et leur pr & eacute;sence lors d'& eacute;v & eacute;nements communautaires. Les recherches ont signal & eacute; le danger du cheval de Troie des polices de proximit & eacute; qui pr & eacute;sentent une chim & egrave;re au public, assurant qu'elles constituent un mode de d & eacute;mocratisation, alors m & ecirc;me que les tactiques, l'& eacute;quipement et la formation de type militaire des TAC augmentent. Elles incitent & agrave; se demander si la militarisation polici & egrave;re est l'antith & egrave;se de la police de proximit & eacute;. Les auteurs se sont inspir & eacute;s de 24 entrevues avec deux TAC municipaux & agrave; temps plein de taille similaire de deux provinces diff & eacute;rentes du Canada pour mieux d & eacute;terminer la participation des TAC & agrave; la police de proximit & eacute;. Ils ont trouv & eacute; des donn & eacute;es probantes selon lesquelles la mobilisation des TAC lors d'& eacute;v & eacute;nements communautaires peut avoir une valeur prosociale pendant les interactions communautaires, contribuer & agrave; att & eacute;nuer la mauvaise opinion du public & agrave; leur endroit, favoriser l'& eacute;panouissement et la satisfaction au travail et accro & icirc;tre la raison d'& ecirc;tre des agents des TAC.
Incarceration exposes inmates to a range of offenders with a variety of skillsets. Whether connections made in prison have lasting consequences for criminal careers, or are simply relationships made "for the stay," is at the heart of this study. We examine the potential consequences of prison ties of a specific kind: connections to prison gang members. We rely on unique social network data drawn from a subsample of male participants from the Incarcerated Serious and Violent Young Offender Study who formed a prison gang between 2000 and 2010. Using data on daily interactions of inmates as captured by correctional agents, we examine if being part of a youth prison gang has long-term consequences for criminal careers - not just for gang members, but also for a subsample of non-gang members embedded within the prison gang network. We find that non-gang youth who had a smaller social distance to gang members had longer criminal careers than non-gang youth who were further away from gang members. These non-gang youth even had longer criminal careers than youth prison gang members. L'incarc & eacute;ration expose les d & eacute;tenus & agrave; un & eacute;ventail de d & eacute;linquants aux diverses habilet & eacute;s. La pr & eacute;sente & eacute;tude & eacute;value si les relations nou & eacute;es en prison ont des cons & eacute;quences durables pour la carri & egrave;re criminelle ou si elles se limitent au s & eacute;jour en prison. Les auteurs examinent les effets potentiels de liens particuliers form & eacute;s en prison : les relations avec les membres de gangs de prisonniers. Ils se reportent aux donn & eacute;es d'un seul r & eacute;seau social extraites d'un sous-groupe de participants de sexe masculin de la Incarcerated Serious and Violent Young Offender Study (& eacute;tude sur les jeunes contrevenants incarc & eacute;r & eacute;s pour des crimes graves et violents) qui ont form & eacute; un gang de prisonniers (n = 8) pendant la premi & egrave;re d & eacute;cennie du XXIe si & egrave;cle. & Agrave; l'aide de donn & eacute;es sur les interactions quotidiennes des d & eacute;tenus observ & eacute;es par les agents correctionnels, ils examinent si l'appartenance & agrave; un gang de jeunes prisonniers a des cons & eacute;quences & agrave; long terme sur la carri & egrave;re criminelle, non seulement pour les membres de gangs, mais & eacute;galement pour un sous-groupe de d & eacute;tenus qui ne fait pas partie du gang, mais qui est impliqu & eacute; dans le r & eacute;seau du gang de prisonniers (n = 41). Les auteurs constatent que les personnes qui ne sont pas membres d'un gang, mais qui avaient une faible distance sociale avec les membres du gang de prisonniers avaient une carri & egrave;re criminelle plus longue que ceux qui n'& eacute;taient pas membres d'un gang et avaient une plus grande distance avec le gang. Ces jeunes avaient m & ecirc;me une plus longue carri & egrave;re criminelle que les membres du gang de jeunes prisonniers.
As the link between crime and terrorism is of practical and academic relevance, to analyze this relationship, we employ a non-linear system GMM analysis on a newly created data set for 75 countries from 2003 to 2020. We find a U-shaped relationship between crime and terrorism: Below a critical level of crime, crime has a negative significant effect on terrorism, as there is substitution between crime and terrorism, while above the threshold, crime has a positive significant effect on terrorism, indicating complementarity between crime and terrorism. Moreover, we find evidence for the existence of terrorist inertia and add to the theory by developing a new version of the crime trap. Despite data limitations and accounting for potential ecological pitfalls, our findings provide a starting point for further research on how to address crime and terrorism simultaneously. Puisque le lien entre la criminalit & eacute; et le terrorisme est pertinent sur le plan de la pratique et de la recherche, les chercheurs ont privil & eacute;gi & eacute; une analyse non lin & eacute;aire de la m & eacute;thode des moments g & eacute;n & eacute;ralis & eacute;s dans un nouvel ensemble de donn & eacute;es provenant de 75 pays entre 2003 et 2020. Ils ont constat & eacute; une relation parabolique entre la criminalit & eacute; et le terrorisme : sous un seuil critique de criminalit & eacute;, celle-ci a un effet significatif n & eacute;gatif sur le terrorisme, car on constate une substitution entre la criminalit & eacute; et le terrorisme, mais au-dessus de ce seuil, la criminalit & eacute; a un effet positif sur le terrorisme, qui fait foi d'une compl & eacute;mentarit & eacute; entre la criminalit & eacute; et le terrorisme. De plus, les auteurs remarquent l'existence d'une inertie vis-& agrave;-vis du terrorisme et enrichissent la th & eacute;orie en & eacute;laborant une nouvelle version du pi & egrave;ge de la criminalit & eacute;. Malgr & eacute; les limites des donn & eacute;es et compte tenu des & eacute;cueils & eacute;cosyst & eacute;miques potentiels, ces r & eacute;sultats fournissent un point de d & eacute;part vers des recherches plus approfondies sur la mani & egrave;re d'aborder conjointement la criminalit & eacute; et le terrorisme.
Among other factors, Indigenous peoples' unique cultures must be considered in decisions throughout Canada's criminal legal system, including bail, sentencing, parole, and corrections. However, several studies have found weak implementation of these obligations in practice. Existing literature speaks to the importance of culture-based interventions for Indigenous persons in many contexts and from many distinct disciplinary perspectives. However, it is unclear where consensus can be found on basic contours of the relationship between access to culture and justice involvement for Indigenous persons. Consensus is an important threshold, as it can support judges and other adjudicative decision-makers considering expertise from outside law without an expert witness. To support greater rigour and consistency in how adjudicative decision-makers in the criminal legal system approach culture-based interventions for Indigenous persons, this study used the Delphi method to determine where consensus could be identified among subject matter experts. The findings outline substantial areas of agreement amongst a group of experts that included both academic and front-line experts. The scope of consensus and the implications of these findings for the consideration of Indigenous cultures in the criminal legal system are discussed. Entre autres facteurs, il faut tenir compte des cultures particuli & egrave;res des peuples autochtones dans le syst & egrave;me de justice p & eacute;nale du Canada, y compris les cautions, les sentences, les lib & eacute;rations conditionnelles et les services correctionnels. Cependant, plusieurs & eacute;tudes ont d & eacute;montr & eacute; une faible mise en oe uvre de ces obligations dans la pratique. Selon les publications, il est important d'opter pour des interventions ax & eacute;es sur la culture dans de nombreux contextes et selon de nombreuses perspectives disciplinaires diff & eacute;rentes aupr & egrave;s des personnes autochtones. Cependant, on ne sait pas o & ugrave; figure le consensus sur la forme g & eacute;n & eacute;rale de la relation entre l'acc & egrave;s & agrave; la culture et l'intervention de la justice chez les personnes autochtones. Le consensus repr & eacute;sente un seuil important, car il peut soutenir les juges et d'autres d & eacute;cideurs juridictionnels qui tiennent compte des comp & eacute;tences hors du droit sans t & eacute;moin expert. Pour favoriser une plus grande rigueur et une plus grande coh & eacute;rence quant & agrave; la fa & ccedil;on dont les d & eacute;cideurs juridictionnels du syst & egrave;me de justice p & eacute;nale abordent les interventions culturelles des personnes autochtones, la pr & eacute;sente & eacute;tude a fait appel & agrave; la m & eacute;thode Delphi pour d & eacute;terminer les zones de consensus entre les experts. Les r & eacute;sultats font ressortir d'importants secteurs d'entente au sein d'un groupe d'experts qui incluait & agrave; la fois des universitaires et des personnes en premi & egrave;re ligne. Les auteurs examinent l'& eacute;tendue du consensus et les cons & eacute;quences de ces observations pour la prise en compte des cultures autochtones dans le syst & egrave;me de justice p & eacute;nale.
Epidemiological surveys document changes in youth attitudes towards violence, but empirical data on clinical samples of adolescents involved in or at risk of ideologically motivated and nihilistic violence is surprisingly scarce, making it difficult to understand the risk and protective factors, as well as the specific clinical needs and characteristics of youth at risk of or involved in these forms of violent behaviors. This article uses a mixed-method concurrent triangulation design to combine quantitative data collected from the clinical files of clients referred to the Montreal Polarization team and qualitative data collected via a focus group with practitioners. It compares adolescents attracted by ideological and nihilistic violence (n = 58) with their adult counterparts (n = 66). Results show that nihilistic violence is more common in adolescents than in adults. In adolescents attracted by ideological and nihilistic violence, stress-related disorders are the most frequent diagnosis and family and school grievances are at the forefront of documented adversities. Intervention should privilege a grievance-based and trauma-informed approach to adolescents expressing their distress through violence, favouring reintegration and minimizing exclusion and stigmatization. Les enqu & ecirc;tes & eacute;pid & eacute;miologiques & eacute;clairent les changements d'attitude des jeunes envers la violence, mais des donn & eacute;es empiriques sur les & eacute;chantillons cliniques d'adolescents impliqu & eacute;s dans de la violence motiv & eacute;e par une id & eacute;ologie ou nihiliste ou & agrave; risque de l'& ecirc;tre sont & eacute;tonnamment rares, si bien qu'il est difficile de comprendre les facteurs de risque et les facteurs protecteurs, de m & ecirc;me que les besoins cliniques particuliers et les caract & eacute;ristiques des jeunes & agrave; risque de participer & agrave; ces formes de comportements violents ou qui sont impliqu & eacute;s. Le pr & eacute;sent article fait appel & agrave; une m & eacute;thodologie de triangulation concomitante mixte pour combiner les donn & eacute;es quantitatives recueillies dans les dossiers cliniques des clients orient & eacute;s vers l'& eacute;quipe de polarisation de Montr & eacute;al aux donn & eacute;es qualitatives amass & eacute;es au sein d'un groupe de travail de praticiens. Il compare les adolescents attir & eacute;s par la violence id & eacute;ologique et nihiliste (n = 58) avec leurs homologues adultes (n = 66). Les r & eacute;sultats d & eacute;montrent que la violence nihiliste est plus fr & eacute;quente chez les adolescents que chez les adultes. Chez les adolescents attir & eacute;s par la violence id & eacute;ologique et nihiliste, les troubles li & eacute;s au stress constituent les diagnostics les plus fr & eacute;quents, et les plaintes des familles et des & eacute;coles sont en premi & egrave;re ligne des & eacute;preuves d & eacute;clar & eacute;es. L'intervention devrait privil & eacute;gier une approche qui repose sur les plaintes et est & eacute;clair & eacute;e par les traumatismes aupr & egrave;s des adolescents qui expriment leur d & eacute;tresse par la violence, et favoriser la r & eacute;int & eacute;gration tout en limitant l'exclusion et la stigmatisation.
Despite the proliferation of bail supervision programs (BSPs) and the critical role they may play in securing release for some accused, there is minimal research on BSPs. Extant research examines whether BSPs decrease administration of justice charges; however, the accused's perceptions of BSPs are missing from this inquiry. This analysis focuses on 20 interviews with accused supervised by a BSP. Accused find the BSP valuable, supporting release from custody, offering guidance in navigating the criminal legal process, and being a resource and information hub. While the BSP provides a necessary support service for both accused and courts, it does so by relying on coercive conditions that risk further entrenching accused in the criminal legal system. This finding suggests that "care" and "control" co-exist in the delivery of BSPs. Malgr & eacute; la prolif & eacute;ration des programmes de supervision des mises en libert & eacute; sous caution (PSLC) et leur r & ocirc;le parfois crucial pour la remise en libert & eacute; des accus & eacute;s, tr & egrave;s peu de recherches portent sur le sujet. Les recherches & eacute;tablissent si les PSLC r & eacute;duisent les accusations relatives & agrave; l'administration de la justice, mais n'incluent pas la perception des accus & eacute;s & agrave; cet & eacute;gard. La pr & eacute;sente analyse porte sur 20 entrevues avec des accus & eacute;s supervis & eacute;s par un PSLC. Ils trouvent que les PSLC sont de valeurs, soutiennent la remise en libert & eacute;, donnent des conseils pour s'y retrouver dans la proc & eacute;dure p & eacute;nale et constituent un carrefour de ressources et d'information. Les PSLC procurent un service de soutien n & eacute;cessaire & agrave; la fois pour les accus & eacute;s et les tribunaux, mais ils reposent sur des conditions coercitives qui risquent d'ancrer les accus & eacute;s davantage dans le syst & egrave;me p & eacute;nal. Selon ces r & eacute;sultats, le support et le << contr & ocirc;le >> coexistent dans la prestation des PSLC.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) has both serious consequences for its victims and high rates of recidivism. Risk assessment measures are an integral part of preventing IPV recidivism. The use of brief IPV-specific measures is particularly relevant in settings, such as corrections, where resources are limited. The RBAC-VPI is a 15-item IPV risk assessment designed as a supplement to general risk measures, making it efficient to use in various settings. Validity was tested in a sample of 222 men in the province of Quebec, Canada convicted of a violent offence where the victim was an intimate partner. Participants were evaluated using the RBAC-VPI, a general risk assessment (RBAC-PCQ), a standalone IPV risk assessment (SARA-V3), and a psychopathy assessment (PCL:SV). The RBAC-VPI showed acceptable reliability and very strong convergent validity with the other measures, most notably with the SARA-V3 (r = .51), while containing fewer items and being quicker to administer. A Rasch model item response theory analysis further supported the validity of the measure's items. Items showed excellent model fit and a good difficulty distribution. Only two items were identified as redundant and one as less informative. This suggests that the RBAC-VPI is both brief and highly informative. La violence entre partenaires intimes (VPI) entra & icirc;ne & agrave; la fois des cons & eacute;quences importantes pour les victimes et de forts taux de r & eacute;cidive. Les mesures d'& eacute;valuation du risque font partie int & eacute;grante de la pr & eacute;vention des r & eacute;cidives de VPI. L'utilisation de courtes mesures propres & agrave; la VPI est particuli & egrave;rement pertinente dans des contextes p & eacute;nitentiaires, o & ugrave; les ressources sont limit & eacute;es. Le cadre RBAC-VPI est une & eacute;valuation du risque de VPI en 15 questions con & ccedil;u pour compl & eacute;ter les mesures de risque g & eacute;n & eacute;rales, ce qui le rend efficace dans divers contextes. Sa validit & eacute; a & eacute;t & eacute; v & eacute;rifi & eacute;e aupr & egrave;s d'un & eacute;chantillon de 222 hommes du Qu & eacute;bec, au Canada, condamn & eacute;s pour un crime violent dont la victime & eacute;tait un ou une partenaire intime. Les participants ont & eacute;t & eacute; & eacute;valu & eacute;s au moyen du RBAC-VPI, d'une & eacute;valuation g & eacute;n & eacute;rale du risque (RBAC-PCQ), d'une & eacute;valuation autonome du risque de VPI (SARA-V3) et d'une & eacute;valuation de la psychopathie (PCL:SV). Le RBAC-VPI avait une fiabilit & eacute; acceptable d & eacute;montr & eacute;e et une tr & egrave;s solide validit & eacute; convergente avec les autres mesures, notamment & agrave; l'aide du SARA-V3 (r = 0,51), qui contient moins d'& eacute;l & eacute;ments et est plus rapide & agrave; effectuer. Une th & eacute;orie de la r & eacute;ponse & agrave; l'item du mod & egrave;le de Rasch appuyait davantage la validit & eacute; des & eacute;l & eacute;ments de mesure. Ces & eacute;l & eacute;ments r & eacute;v & eacute;laient une excellente concordance du mod & egrave;le et une bonne distribution de la difficult & eacute;. Seulement deux & eacute;l & eacute;ments ont & eacute;t & eacute; relev & eacute;s comme redondants et un seul & eacute;tait moins informatif. Ainsi, le RBAC-VPI est & agrave; la fois court et hautement informatif.
Despite the widespread implementation of anti-bias training programs tailored to policing, Canadian academic literature offers few studies examining officers' attitudes towards and perceptions of these programs and their influence over time. This study addresses this gap by evaluating an anti-racism training module focused on the impact of racial trauma and the historical and ongoing effects of race and racism in Canadian policing. The training, mandated for newly recruited frontline officers in a Canadian municipal police agency, was assessed using a longitudinal, multi-method design, including one-on-one semi-structured interviews, conducted with the newly recruited officers 12-18 months after going into the field. Findings indicate that while officers initially engaged in critical self-reflection, citing concrete ways officers may foster more positive interactions with black and racialized communities, such reflections diminished over time. After one year in the field, officers de-emphasized the relevance of racial trauma training, citing operational priorities, race-neutral approaches to citizen engagement, and references to generational and recruitment-based progress in policing. This study discusses implications for the design of future training initiatives and broader institutional reforms aimed at addressing racial bias in law enforcement. Malgr & eacute; l'adoption g & eacute;n & eacute;ralis & eacute;e de programmes de formation contre les pr & eacute;jug & eacute;s adapt & eacute;s aux services policiers, les publications universitaires canadiennes proposent peu d'& eacute;tudes sur les attitudes et les perceptions des agents de police envers ces programmes et leur influence au fil du temps. La pr & eacute;sente & eacute;tude aborde cet & eacute;cart par l'& eacute;valuation d'un module de formation antiraciste ax & eacute; sur les cons & eacute;quences des traumatismes raciaux et les effets historiques et continus de la race et du racisme au sein des services policiers du Canada. La formation, obligatoire pour les recrues de premi & egrave;re ligne d'un service de police municipal canadien, a & eacute;t & eacute; & eacute;valu & eacute;e selon une m & eacute;thodologie longitudinale multidimensionnelle, y compris des entrevues semi-structur & eacute;es individuelles r & eacute;alis & eacute;es aupr & egrave;s des recrues de 12 & agrave; 18 mois apr & egrave;s leur arriv & eacute;e sur le terrain. Selon les r & eacute;sultats, m & ecirc;me si les agents de police ont d'abord entrepris une autor & eacute;flexion critique et cit & eacute; des moyens pratiques de favoriser des interactions plus positives avec les communaut & eacute;s noires et racis & eacute;es, ces r & eacute;flexions s'att & eacute;nuent au fil du temps. Apr & egrave;s un an sur le terrain, les agents de police att & eacute;nuaient la pertinence de la formation sur les traumatismes raciaux et citaient les priorit & eacute;s op & eacute;rationnelles, les approches non fond & eacute;es sur la race de la participation citoyenne et les r & eacute;f & eacute;rences aux progr & egrave;s des g & eacute;n & eacute;rations et du recrutement au sein des services policiers. La pr & eacute;sente & eacute;tude traite des cons & eacute;quences de la m & eacute;thodologie des futures initiatives de formation et des r & eacute;formes institutionnelles plus vastes visant & agrave; corriger les pr & eacute;jug & eacute;s raciaux au sein des forces de l'ordre.
Objectif : Le pr & eacute;sent article & eacute;value l'effet du registre qu & eacute;b & eacute;cois des armes longues (carabines et fusils de chasse) sur le taux d'homicides entre 1974 et 2021. Le Qu & eacute;bec est la seule province & agrave; avoir maintenu l'enregistrement obligatoire des armes longues; cette disposition a & eacute;t & eacute; abolie dans les autres provinces, ce qui permet de mener une exp & eacute;rimentation naturelle. M & eacute;thodologie : Les donn & eacute;es sur les homicides furent agr & eacute;g & eacute;es sur une base annuelle pour chaque province et pour les Territoires du Nord-Ouest, du Yukon et du Nunavut. Les auteurs ont estim & eacute; l'effet de l'abolition du registre pour chaque province & agrave; l'aide de la m & eacute;thode des doubles diff & eacute;rences. ils ont ensuite calcul & eacute; une moyenne pond & eacute;r & eacute;e & agrave; l'aide des estimations individuelles. R & eacute;sultats : D'apr & egrave;s la moyenne pond & eacute;r & eacute;e, l'abolition du registre a & eacute;t & eacute; suivie d'une hausse graduelle et permanente du taux d'homicides par arme & agrave; feu au Canada (beta = 0,06; IC & agrave; 95% : 0,02; 0,09). Cette hausse s'observe plus particuli & egrave;rement pour les homicides commis au moyen d'une arme longue (beta = 0,03; IC & agrave; 95% : 0,01; 0,05). Bien que les r & eacute;sultats des mod & egrave;les divergent, le registre qu & eacute;b & eacute;cois semble avoir partiellement pr & eacute;venu la hausse des homicides par arme & agrave; feu (beta = -0,04; IC & agrave; 95% : -0,06; 0,00). Conclusion : Bien que le registre qu & eacute;b & eacute;cois semble relativement efficace, d'autres & eacute;tudes devront & ecirc;tre r & eacute;alis & eacute;es pour d & eacute;terminer les m & eacute;canismes pr & eacute;ventifs susceptibles d'& ecirc;tre d & eacute;ploy & eacute;s par le registre. This article assesses the effect of the Quebec long-gun registry (rifles and shotguns) on homicide rates from 1974-2021. Qu & eacute;bec is the only province to have kept a mandatory long-gun registry; this provision was abolished in other provinces, thus allowing the conduct of a natural experiment. Methods: Homicide data were aggregated yearly for each province, as well as the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut. The effect of the register's abolition was estimated for each province by the double difference method. A weighted average was subsequently calculated using individual estimates. Results: According to the weighted average, the abolition of the register was followed by a gradual and permanent increase of the firearm homicide rate in Canada (beta = 0.06; 95% CI: 0.02; 0.09). This increase was specifically related to homicides involving a long gun (beta = 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01; 0.05). Results from different models differ, but the Quebec register seems to have partially prevented the increase of firearm homicides (beta = -0.04; CI 95%: -0.06; 0.00). Conclusion: Even if the Quebec registry seems to be relatively effective, other studies will be required to identify safeguard mechanisms which could be adopted in the register.
Objectif : Le présent article évalue l’effet du registre québécois des armes longues (carabines et fusils de chasse) sur le taux d’homicides entre 1974 et 2021. Le Québec est la seule province à avoir maintenu l’enregistrement obligatoire des armes longues; cette disposition a été abolie dans les autres provinces, ce qui permet de mener une expérimentation naturelle. Méthodologie : Les données sur les homicides furent agrégées sur une base annuelle pour chaque province et pour les Territoires du Nord-Ouest, du Yukon et du Nunavut. Les auteurs ont estimé l’effet de l’abolition du registre pour chaque province à l’aide de la méthode des doubles différences. ils ont ensuite calculé une moyenne pondérée à l’aide des estimations individuelles. Résultats : D’après la moyenne pondérée, l’abolition du registre a été suivie d’une hausse graduelle et permanente du taux d’homicides par arme à feu au Canada (β = 0,06; IC à 95% : 0,02; 0,09). Cette hausse s’observe plus particulièrement pour les homicides commis au moyen d’une arme longue (β = 0,03; IC à 95% : 0,01; 0,05). Bien que les résultats des modèles divergent, le registre québécois semble avoir partiellement prévenu la hausse des homicides par arme à feu (β = −0,04; IC à 95% : −0,06; 0,00). Conclusion : Bien que le registre québécois semble relativement efficace, d’autres études devront être réalisées pour déterminer les mécanismes préventifs susceptibles d’être déployés par le registre.
Too many fatal shootings have occurred at the hands of frontline police officers, yet little research has investigated the relationship between mental health and confidence in the police. The current study addresses this gap in the policing literature by examining how mental health influences confidence in the police. Consistent with speculations, OLS regression analysis of data from the Canadian General Social Survey, Cycle 34, reveals that individuals with mental illness, as well as Indigenous people, have significantly lower confidence in the police than those without mental illness. This study offers new insights into the unique relationship between mentally ill individuals and policing, advocating a cultural shift within police forces from a mindset of "soldiers" to one of guardians and from law enforcers to peace officers. It emphasizes the need for increased frontline police officer training in handling mental health crises and closer collaboration between police and healthcare providers. Trop de morts par balle sont caus & eacute;es par des policiers de premi & egrave;re ligne, mais peu de recherches ont port & eacute; sur la relation entre la sant & eacute; mentale et la confiance envers les services policiers. Pour aborder cette lacune dans les publications sur les services policiers, la pr & eacute;sente & eacute;tude examine l'influence de la sant & eacute; mentale sur la confiance avec les services policiers. Conform & eacute;ment aux sp & eacute;culations, l'analyse de r & eacute;gression des donn & eacute;es de l'Enqu & ecirc;te sociale g & eacute;n & eacute;rale du Canada, cycle 35, par la m & eacute;thode des moindres carr & eacute;s ordinaires r & eacute;v & egrave;le que les personnes qui pr & eacute;sentent des troubles de sant & eacute; mentale, de m & ecirc;me que les Autochtones, ont beaucoup moins confiance envers les services policiers que les personnes qui n'ont pas de trouble de sant & eacute; mentale. La pr & eacute;sente & eacute;tude offre de nouveaux aper & ccedil;us de la relation unique entre les personnes ayant des troubles de sant & eacute; mentale et les services policiers, pr & eacute;conise un changement de culture au sein des forces polici & egrave;res afin qu'elles passent d'une mentalit & eacute; de << soldats >> & agrave; celle de gardiens, et du r & ocirc;le de responsables du maintien de l'ordre & agrave; celui d'agents de la paix. Elle fait ressortir l'importance d'accro & icirc;tre la formation des policiers de premi & egrave;re ligne dans la gestion des crises de sant & eacute; mentale et d'adopter une collaboration plus & eacute;troite entre les services policiers et les professionnels de la sant & eacute;.
The assessment and rehabilitation of justice-involved persons with serious mental illness (SMI) present unique challenges to the criminal justice system. For persons without mental health challenges, the risk–need–responsivity (RNR) model has had an enormous impact on what to assess and how best to deliver treatment to those in need. This paper poses the general question, Is RNR relevant to justice-involved persons with SMI? We argue that the critical risk/need factors, called the Central Eight, are as important to those with SMI as they are to those with no SMI. Unfortunately, assessment protocols that incorporate the Central Eight are quite rare in the literature. When we turn to lessons from the RNR model for the rehabilitation of justice-involved persons with SMI the research is even more scant. On a positive note, we provide an illustration of an RNR-based model of community supervision that demonstrates reductions in general and violent recidivism, STICS. The STICS model serves as an example of how effective treatment can be applied with persons with SMI.
Wanted lists are a policing communicative tool that facilitates locating and apprehending persons wanted by the police through public engagement. To date, research has not investigated the language of these wanted lists. This paper begins to address this gap by examining the language of wanted lists produced by a Canadian municipal police agency from a critical sociolinguistic approach. The findings demonstrate that many linguistic features reflect features of a technical police or legal register (e.g., legal homonyms, uncommon words, nominalizations, passive constructions, and long complex sentences) and are inconsistent with the expected audience (the general public) and the expected goals of wanted lists. We suggest that this language can limit comprehension and reduce urgency, potentially reducing the public’s assistance in locating wanted persons. Alternative goals that the language appears to be orienting to are discussed, such as establishing a person as “wanted” (rather than providing information to facilitate the locating and arrest of a wanted person), reliance on public familiarity with a wanted person, social pressure, and image management. Recommendations are provided that are aimed at increasing public assistance in locating and apprehending wanted persons.
For over 40 years, criminologists have tried to distinguish between formal and informal social control. While formal control is synonymous with the state, informal social control remains elusive. Informal social control’s vagueness has three sources. First, there is no template guiding the definition of controls. Second, informal social control is too broadly defined and yet the formal–informal dichotomy does not account for all types of control. Third, the formal–informal dichotomy does not address how controls interact. We address the sources of vagueness by increasing clarity in three ways. First, we propose six elements that all definitions of control must meet. Second, we use these elements to define six types of control: state, place management, organization, intimate, self, and stranger. These six types give greater specificity than the formal–informal dichotomy, while preserving key ideas in the original. Third, we show how these six controls can interact. The result is a set of controls, with clear definitions, that criminologists can study scientifically.
Canadian correctional institutions operate with insufficient staffing levels, leading to occupational stress that negatively affects prisons’ overall functioning as well as staff and incarcerated people’s wellness. The literature suggests a direct correlation between staffing levels and correctional officer (CO) wellness, but little is known about the nuances of the effects of forced overtime on COs’ well-being. Drawing on the job demand–control–support (JDCS) model, our qualitative study examines, through semi-structured interviews with federally employed COs in Canada ( n = 93), how overtime affects the health and wellness of COs in concrete and discursive ways. Findings focus on the relationship between staff shortages, overtime, mental health, and a perceived lack of agency in accordance with the JDCS model. Practical implications and potential strategies to mediate the effects of forced overtime in correctional spaces are discussed.
