Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Mainstream Media Portrayal Of Banishment And Nation-Imposed Punishment, Keely Ormond

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

“In a traditional village, we wouldn’t have a teepee with no door on it and throw somebody in there. We wouldn’t cast them out, because banishment meant death. What we had to do was restore relationships” – Ryan Beardy (Thorpe, 2022).

The following project examines the representation of Indigenous traditions, customs, and issues in Canadian mainstream media. Specifically, this project is interested in the portrayal of banishment as an Indigenous practice in Canadian mainstream news outlets. This project is based on an interpretive paradigm informed by grounded theory and concepts of media framing, postcolonialism, settler colonialism and restorative justice. Nineteen …

Divest Or Disband?: A Social Problems Game Analysis Of Canadian Media Coverage Of 2020'S Defund The Police Movement, Nicholas Fappiano

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Policing in Canada and America has come under the microscope due to several high-profile incidents of police violence against racialized citizens. The murder of George Floyd by officer Derek Chauvin thrust the concept of ‘defund the police’ to the mainstream public dialogue. To date, there are few studies that explore what defund the police means. The present media analysis addresses this research gap by analyzing how Canadian mass media covered the defund police movement. A social constructionist theoretical framework was utilized to analyze 109 newspaper articles on defund the police from The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. The …

Indigenous Reintegrative Shaming: A Comparison Of Indigenous Legal Traditions Of Canada And Braithwaite's Theory Of Reintegrative Shaming, Emily Sinclair

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

Upon the arrival of European settlers in Canada, Indigenous legal traditions have continuously been undermined as customary law with an insignificant role in crime prevention and sanctioning. This paper will argue that Indigenous legal traditions deserve a larger role in Indigenous self-governance as their customs demonstrate aspects of crucial crime prevention theories such as Braithwaite’s theory of reintegrative shaming. The interconnection between reintegrative shaming and Indigenous legal traditions pre-contact and post-contact demonstrate concepts of community socialization, informal sanctions and restorative practices that foster the wellbeing of the community, victims and offenders. As such, Braithwaite’s theory demonstrates the importance of each …

Covid-19 And The Correctional Environment: An Analysis Of Canadian Correctional Officers’ Experiences Of Stress And Mental Health During The Pandemic, Kristina Kocsis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This national survey research project examined the experiences of Canadian correctional officers (COs) in providing essential correctional services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study sampled COs from several provinces across Canada (N=596) to better understand how the pandemic impacted stress and wellbeing of this population by exploring seven constructs including resiliency, workplace safety, changes in role or responsibilities, work stress, COVID- 19 related stress, perceived support, and positive mental health. The transactional model of stress and coping and the biopsychosocial model of stress were used as theoretical frameworks to investigate stress responses among COs. Respondents reported significant changes to their …

More Than Just A Rapper: Mainstream And Alternative Media’S Depiction Of Nipsey Hussle, Jonathan Hazlewood

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mainstream and alternative media depict individuals differently from one another. In stories covering African American rappers and homicide victims, mainstream and alternative stories use images, phrases, and people to portray certain ideas to their audience. In terms of mainstream news outlets, stories associate criminality onto African American homicide victims and rappers through labeling them as brutes, focusing on the crimes they commit, and highlighting criminal associations (Aquil, 2018; Cochran, 2015; Dukes & Gaither 2018; Wright & Washington, 2019). While alternative outlets have offered sympathetic and well-rounded representations that depict the life, personal accomplishments, and good deeds of an African American …

The Use Of Public Consultation To Construct Sex Work Related Policies, Ryan Horan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present study is a qualitative analysis of the Online Public Consultation of Prostitution -Related Offences (OPCPRO), conducted by the Canadian Department of Justice in 2014. This research describes themes that arose within the discourses of respondents to the OPCPRO, and offers a critical examination of the use of online consultations in the production of public policy. I argue that respondents to the OPCPRO, regardless of their support or opposition for criminalization of sex work, strategically draw on values echoed within the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to frame their policy propositions as consistent with sex workers individual rights. I …

"Canada Is My Home. It Is All I'Ve Ever Known": The Impact Of Bill C-43 On Permanent Resident In Canada, Erica Subramaniam

Social Justice and Community Engagement

This paper examines the impact of Bill C-43, “The Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act,” on permanent residents (PRs) who immigrated to Canada as a youth and have come to regard Canada as their “home” despite their precarious migration status. Through qualitative research methods, data on the experiences of PRs and their understandings of “home,” “place,” belonging and consciousness was collected through interviews. Jay and Trevor’s stories are presented through a case study research design, highlighting their complex identities and experiences while also examining how the risk of deportation under Bill C-43 can strip them from all they …

Securitizing Schooling: Post-Secondary Campuses As Security Projects, Andrea Corradi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Societal pressure to increase security after violent incidents on post-secondary campuses such as the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, combined with the pressure for universities to have high recruitment rates, has led to an emerging climate of security on campuses across North America. The present study uses Valverde’s (2001; 2008; 2009; 2011a; 2011 b; 2014) security projects framework to examine the lived experiences of security measures on a Canadian urban-integrated campus. Through semi-structured interviews with administrators, campus police officers, students, and faculty, and constructivist grounded theorizing, this study provides an in-depth examination of security from multiple perspectives within one institution. …

Storying Gendered Violence: Indigenous Understandings Of The Interconnectedness Of Violence, Josie Nelson

Social Justice and Community Engagement

The research and scholarship of gendered violence on university campuses is growing; however, there is currently limited to no research exploring the experiences of Indigenous peoples, particularly women and two-spirit, non-binary and transgender students. To advance the knowledge of the interconnectedness of violence, I conducted two focus groups with six Indigenous women staff at Wilfrid Laurier University. This research, informed by Indigenous feminism and storytelling methodologies, shares their understandings of how colonial and gendered violence cannot be understood independent from one another. Participants also provide insight into the needed supports on campus for Indigenous students who have experienced gendered violence. …

"An Aura Of Disbelief:" Rape Mythology And Victim Blaming In The Legal Response To Disclosure Of Sexual Violence, Lauren Parcher

Social Justice and Community Engagement

This research study focuses on sexual violence (SV) in Canada, which one in three women will experience during their lives. Yet, even though the prevalence of violence against women in Canada is so significant, only one in ten survivors will report their experience of SV to the criminal justice system (CJS). Previous literature has identified the limited number of reports to authorities in Canada as being related to rape mythology. Due to the influence of rape mythology, a notion of a “good versus bad victim” is often used to deem which survivors are innocent and credible versus responsible or blamed …

Putting An End To The Silence: Educating Society About The Canadian Residential School System, Jamie Lee Kuhl

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

This paper advocates for the increased education of Canadian society regarding the Indian Residential School System. Many Canadian’s tend to be uninformed on the history of the schools and as a result risk subjecting Aboriginal peoples to further harm. The contents of this paper demonstrates by informing all Canadian citizens of the truth regarding the assimilative schools and their enduring legacy on Aboriginal peoples, several benefits can occur. Specifically, through revealing the truth regarding the residential schools, healing becomes possible for victims, over-representation within the criminal justice system can be better understood as well as addressed, and future harm can …

Jailhouse Informants In Canadian Criminal Courts, Olena Beshley

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Criminal justice systems in Canada and around the world have been established to deal with matters that require attention, punishment, and justice. An important function of criminal justice systems is the evaluation of evidence presented in the court of law. Evidence from jailhouse informants who testify that they have been privy to confessions of crimes is a contentious issue. Much of the scholarly literature available to date on wrongful conviction cases focuses on causes of insufficient and unreliable evidence obtained through different techniques and from different sources. Despite the high number of investigations into wrongful conviction cases, the subject of …

Meeting The Needs Of Victims: An Examination Of Victims' Coping Strategies And Victim Services In Canada, Jenniffer Olenewa

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Victimization creates harms that can take an emotional and financial toll on victims and their communities. As a result of the trauma, many victims will have physiological, safety, and emotional needs that require support. All community members benefit when victims can receive support that meets the needs generated by the harms of a victimization. This mixed-methods study using Canadian data examines what factors contribute to victims engaging in behavioural changes to meet their safety needs, and explores how Victim Service workers view their role in assisting victims to meet their needs. Using data from the 2014 General Social Survey, Study …

Loose Coupling And Defining Deviance Down: Correctional Officers’ Perceptions Of Organizational Responses To Mental Health And Well-Being., Victoria M. Baker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Correctional work is characterized by high rates of occupational stress, which can produce a plethora of negative outcomes for the officers employed within such institutions. The present study examines Canadian provincial correctional officers’ perceptions of how occupational stress is created within the context of their employment. Through in-depth interviews with 11 correctional officers, I examine the political, organizational, and cultural factors that are perceived to negatively affect employee stress and well-being. From this analysis, I present three principal arguments. First, I uncover how correctional officers perceive ministerial policies to be loosely coupled from frontline practices. I argue that this loose …

No More Mind Games: Content Analysis Of In-Game Commentary Of The National Football League’S Concussion Problem, Jeffrey Parker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

American (gridiron) football played at the professional level in the National Football League (NFL) is an inherently physical spectator sport, in which players frequently engage in significant contact to the head and upper body. Until recently, the long-term health consequences associated with on the field head trauma were not fully disclosed to players or the public, potentially misrepresenting the dangers involved in gameplay. Crucial to the dissemination of this information to the public are in-game televised commentators of NFL games, regarded as the primary conduits for mediating in-game narratives to the viewing audience. Using a social constructionist theoretical lens, this …

Investigative Inadequacies Or Investigative Corruption? Exploring The Role Of Police Misconduct Within Canadian Wrongful Conviction Cases, Michelle L. Lovegrove

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The phenomenon of wrongful convictions has begun to attract the attention of the public and scholars alike within the past few decades. However, despite this recent fixation the issue of wrongful convictions is not new, as research on the subject dates back to 1932 with the work of Edwin Borchard. Most of the research on the subject of wrongful convictions has focused largely on identifying the factors that contribute to these injustices. For the most part academics are in agreement when it comes to the causes of wrongful convictions, which include, eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, police & prosecutor misconduct, use …

Critical Champions Or Careless Condemners? Exploring News Media Constructions In Cases Of Wrongful Conviction, Katherine Rozad

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Countless incidences occur throughout the world each and every day. However, only a few of these occurrences are deemed newsworthy by the media. One area of information quite often categorized as “newsworthy” is that surrounding crime. Within crime-related news coverage are occasionally cases of wrongful conviction – miscarriages of justice in which the innocent are labeled “guilty” and wrongly punished. Despite decades of research in both the areas of crime and media, as well as wrongful conviction studies, no research to date has examined the way that cases of wrongful conviction are constructed in the media from the beginnings of …

Tentative Securities: 26/11, Israel And The Politics Of Mobility, Rhys A. Machold

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines the global mobility of security knowhow in relation to the management of terrorism in megacities. Specifically, it offers three insights. First, it shows how historical events are performed as sites in need of transnational policy intervention. Second, it enables an understanding of how and why the sourcing of policy ‘models’ actually takes place. Third, it sheds light on how mobile policy schemes travel geographically and are put to work in particular contexts. In doing so, it elaborates on the conditions under which policies move geographically but also addresses the kinds of constraints and contradictions they face.

The …

A Side Of Justice Rarely Seen: Professional Perspectives Toward Youth Justice And Sentencing Procedures In The Exploratory Context Of Canada And Russia, Serge Lokshin M.A.

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis contributes to the growing body of literature on comparative youth justice and policy. By analyzing dilemmas faced by youth in justice systems from the perspective of Canada and Russia, the study argues that professional outlooks have a considerable significance for understanding the legal system and its function, and play an important role in shaping judicial administration concerning juveniles. An investigation into professional perspectives on youth justice is used to formulate an understanding of the issues for young people within the legal systems of the respective regions, the sentencing procedures, and the social and procedural contentions facing youth on …