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Sociology 3306:Chapter 1: The Rise and Fall of Delinquency
Youth Crime
- Canadian Society: Government did not consider it a public issue
o Needs to be brought to consciousness
- Youth crime has been consistent for 25 years. Slightly decreased since 2002 and even
more in 2012
- Most youth crime is property offenses
Dark Figure of Crime: crime that exists in a society that police are not aware of
Media
- Youth crime is sensationalized over media. Makes “good” TV
- Brings fear to people. Leads people to believe it is on the rise and that we need to have
more control and consequences should be higher
- Study done in the UK – 2 areas that media are going to cover: Political or Sexual
- The media decides what we concentrate and focus our attention on – what we are
conscious of
Moral Panic
- Prominent members of public: politicians, media, etc. are guilty of starting a moral panic
- Extreme reaction to deviance in crime
- People think society has become dangerous and that there is a real threat to moral
- Spot this when the public’s reaction is completely out of proportion to scope of the
crime
Moral Crusade
- Efforts of groups to define certain acts as deviant or criminal
- Moral crusaders are trying to raise the awareness/consciousness to make an act deviant
- MADD is one of the most successful
- A moral crusade is successful when it gets attention from:
o Rule Makers (government etc)
o Rule Enforcers (court system)
Passing Legislation
- Proactive: implement to help prevent
o Ex: put money into programs for poverty because it is related to youth crime
- Reactive: implement as a reaction
- Difference parties have different believe/stand for/concentrate on different things.
HISTORY
,17th – 18th Century
Canadian Confederation: 1867
- New Dominion of Canada: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia
Lawlessness and Disobedience - How youth were viewed in this time period
Data:
- Hard to find and it was not very accurate or informational
o Court records
o Church records
o Hospital records
- Colonial Administrators:
o People who wrote reports in this time period
o They would come from away and asses and observe
o Not reliable – just visuals
o Not statistical. They would write about young people committing crime, not how
much.
o Described boys are being lawless and girls as lazy and vein
Six key Points:
1. Type of youth crime. Most documented cases of youth committing crime were of petty
behaviour
▪ Most documented cases of youth crime were of petty behaviour: Swearing,
brawling, etc.
▪ Swearing, brawling
▪ More serious crime: abandoning a service contract (young people working as
a servant or apprentice)
o Legally binding
o More serious crime – but what lead to it? Probably abused and
mistreated.
2. Status of a Child in Society
▪ Had a very different status in society than adults. Very few rights.
▪ They were at the mercy of their family
▪ Child labour could be used how authority deemed they do
▪ No rights. No options. No protection
▪ Child rights did not gain popularity until 19th century. Had not entered
consciousness.
3. English Common Law
▪ Recognized: Child’s capacity to understand the wrongfulness of a crime is
limited.
▪ Stated:
, o Children under 7 lacked capacity to commit crime and didn’t fully
comprehend their actions (doesn’t mean they were never charged.
There were cases where they were trialed with adults).
4. Colonial Administrators (Europeans) were bringing their views on how Canadian
Children should act
▪ Life in Europe was very different from Canada at this point
o Rural vs. Urban
o Europe: A lot more authority on children in urban. They had
expectations: follow all rules, at mercy of parents
o Canada: Rural – had more independence from parents
o Europeans saw the difference as lawless and disobedient. They
thought parents had no control and that it was posing a threat.
▪ Colonial records show two things:
o 1. Overly Indulgent Parents
o 2. Fur Trade
▪ Fur Trade:
o First seen as: Adventurous and Lucrative
o When started: Theft, fraud, assaults
o Youth were learning these deviant behaviours
o Note: any time there a radical change in society, social problems
emerge
5. Consequences of Immigration
▪ Impoverished Europeans looking for a better life
▪ Saw Canada as a solution. Instead they found unemployment and therefore
no money which lead to destitution (living on the streets without the
necessities in life)
▪ Youth were being abandoned and orphaned – no economic sources to help
them and disease was high
▪ These conditions led youth to petty theft – for survival
▪ This was a big phenomenon in Canada from immigration
6. 18th Century: New disciplinary measures imposed to deal with Youth Crime
▪ Government recognized the problem of orphaned and abandoned youth
▪ PROACTIVE: Call for schools and churches to play a more active role in aiding
kids
▪ REACTIVE: fines imposed on youth and parents. Increase in police
▪ Churches:
o 1800s: Ships from England and Ireland full of impoverished boys
(sometimes with parents but a lot of time alone – some died from
travel from disease, etc)
o These were abandoned and orphaned youth sent away to find a
“better life”
o Had nowhere to live so ended up on the streets -> Crime
o NL churches called Ireland and England to look for help
❖ Help was sent
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