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HSP 3M - Unit 3. Social Institutions Ms. Pannell. Bain, C.M., & Colyer, J.S. (2001). The Human way . Toronto: Oxford University Press. Unit 3 Social Institutions. So far in the course we have been focused on:. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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HSP 3M - Unit 3
Social Institutions
Ms. Pannell
Bain, C.M., & Colyer, J.S. (2001). The Human way. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Unit 3 Social Institutions
So far in the course we have been focused on:
Forces that influence and shape human behaviour (age, gender, mental illness, ethnicity…)
How we are socialized (agents of socialization (family, school, peers, media, workplace, religion)
In a nutshell, the forces within our self (nature), and in others (nurture)
Unit 3 Task - To look at how these forces fit into society
Social structures
Social Institutions
What are social Institutions?Social Institutions are social structures in a society that:
shape values and beliefs maintain order help society to function efficiently
FamilyMarriage Peers
SchoolChurches
Legal systemMilitaryMedia
Government
Personal Institutions Impersonal Institutions
Because they affect large groups of people
Affect individual’s lives intimately
Characteristics of Social Institutions
Legal system
Govern-ment
military
media
work
church
peers
family
Society
Have usually existed for a long time Have well established or entrenched patterns of functioning (change usually
occurs slowly) Have a specific purpose Members are joined together by shared values and beliefs
Purposes of Social Institutions Act as an agent of socialization maintain order and security
Unit 3 Question:
Are Canada's social institutions successful according to the above definition?
Discuss using examples:
Criminal Justice Systems
All societies need to have mechanisms for social control
CJS
to ensure that individuals behave in acceptable ways
to determine what happens
when individuals break the
rules
Canada's Formal Justice System 3 Components
1. Law EnforcementPolice
Apprehend / arrest criminals
To protect
To prevent crime
2. The CourtsAdversarial – lawyers representing the defendant compete with crown prosecutors
To process people charged by the police with a crime
Canada's Formal Justice System 3 Components (continued)
3. Correctional Agencies and Institutions
a) Punishment of theOffender, once convicted by the courts
b) Rehabilitation (the Offender chooses not to re-offend due to their new acceptance of society’s norms
c) To protect the public by jailing violent offenders
1. Retribution: “An eye for an eye” (society’s desire)
2. Deterrence(individual)(society)
Rehabilitation of the offender most Canadians think it's necessary
changing the offender's values so they will not re-offend
Criticism: The facts! but most also think that prisoners “have it easy” and don't
support government spending on programs
less than half of the general prison population receives counselling or treatment
less than one third of sex offenders receive any kind of treatment
Canada's recidivism rate (the rate at which offenders re-offend) is currently 75%
Informal Justice Systems in Other Societies
In Canada, the justice system is highly impersonal
In other cultures personal relationships and maintaining social harmony are much more important in the justice system
Informal Justice Systems continued Aboriginal
communities emphasize
healing offenders righting the
conditions that led to the offence
integrating the offender back into the community
The community is of primary importance. Within the community, each person had his or her roles and responsibilities, each of equal value to one another.
Kpelle culture of Africa (central Liberia and Guinea)Gibbs’ study of the legal system in 1957 and 1958
Patrilineal culture (inherit through the male line) population 175 000 two branches – formal and informal
Formal court handles assault, possession of illegal charms and theft involving unrelated litigants
Informal court or moot is an informal airing of disputes before an assembled group (Includes the complainant, the accused, neighbours, other family members and a mediator selected by the complainant)
Factors which make the moot successful Proceedings, although
“spirited”, were orderly and open, anyone could speak and felt like they had been heard
All felt like they had an impact on the resolution
the faults of both parties were pointed out therefore allowing those at fault to save face, not labelled
Example: Read page106 of textbook
Issues in Canadian Criminal Justice1. The Power of the Police
Approximately 1 police officer for every 475 Canadians
Studies of police behaviour tell us 6 factors influence police behaviour
1) how serious the police perceive the situation to be - more serious = more likely to arrest
2) what the police believe the victim wants3) the amount of co-operation the suspect offers- unco-operative
suspects tend to get arrested4) police's history with the suspect- prior negative contact more
likely to arrest5) presence of bystanders- more likely to arrest6) Race - more likely to arrest people of colour
Police Behaviour and Race
While this study was conducted in the U.S. we know that in Ontario
black people are imprisoned at 5 times the rate for white people
Aboriginal people are jailed at 3 times the rate for white people
News Reports http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/racial_profiling/
Racial Profiling Racial Profiling exists when
the members of a particular racial or ethnic group become subject to greater criminal justice or institutional surveillance than others. Profiling exists when racial characteristics - rather than behaviour – contributes to surveillance decisions
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Chinese Black
FemaleMale
Percentage of Toronto residents whoHave been stopped by police on Multiple occasions in the past 2 years
Source: Scot Wortley, CERIS – Justice Domain Leader, Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto
Issues in Canadian Criminal Justice2. The Number of Prisons Between 1987 and 1997, the total
correctional population increased by 44% (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics 1997)
In 2001, there were 34 000 inmates in Canada (Linden 2000) 115: 100 000 population much higher than in Western Europe, but lower
than the U.S.
Prisons continued
Average cost of keeping an offender in a federal penitentiary is $50 000 to $65 000 a
year halfway house - $33 000 parole - $9000 (Solicitor General Canada 2001)
In 1995-97 77% of the total caseload was outside of prisons only 12% of all correctional spending was for
community supervision services
Issues in Canadian Criminal Justice 3. Rehabilitation or Radical Reform Some sociologists argue that we should abandon
our current criminal justice system, particularly prisons
Why: only protect the public temporarily do little to reshape offenders attitudes or behaviours strengthens criminal attitudes and skills by association severs social ties with the outside world which makes it
more likely that individuals will re-offend
Rehabilitation continued
crime rates are high in late teens and early twenties and fall steeply among older groups
most taxpayers' money is going towards warehousing a diminishing crime threat
we must intervene in the lives of young people before they break the law e.g. restrict the
unsupervised activities of teenagers
02468
101214161820
18-19
25-29
35-39
45-49
Likelihoodto commita crime
Hirschi's analysis of criminal behaviour
Age of offenders admitted to Federal Custody, Canada. 1995-97
Rehabilitation continued
strong link between criminal behaviour and low self-control teaching children self-control at an early age will reduce
crime advocates strong families target funds and assistance to seriously dysfunctional
families reducing teen pregnancy alone would reduce crime more
effectively than all the current criminal justice programs combined