Violent Victimization and Fear of Crime Among Canadian Aboriginals

Violent victimization by offenders has led to concerns over the negative consequences that this has on victims, including a greater fear of crime. Because their disadvantaged status leads to greater rates of violent victimization, it is speculated that fear of crime will be higher among the poor and racial minorities. Examining the common violent crime of assault, this hypothesis is tested by comparing the results of two national Canadian surveys, the 1991 post-censal Aboriginal People’s Survey (N = 18,000+), and the 1993 Canadian General Social Survey (N = 10,000+). Contingency tables (cross-tabs) and multi- variate logistic regression are used to assess differences in reported fear levels between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal cases. While Aboriginal rates of violent victimization are higher, there are no appreciable differences in fear levels. In some situations Non-Aboriginal Canadians are even more likely to report fear. This relationship holds even in controlled analysis for urban based Aboriginals and Non-Aboriginals. Assault does not substantially increase the fear levels of either group. Income differences between Aboriginals and Non-Aboriginals are a concern. Low income earners are more afraid, while high income earners are not. While other factors mediated some of these effects, policy makers need to direct attention to the large number of urban based, impoverished Aboriginals

CCWORK protocol: a longitudinal study of Canadian Correctional Workers' Well-being, Organizations, Roles and Knowledge.

IntroductionKnowledge about the factors that contribute to the correctional officer's (CO) mental health and well-being, or best practices for improving the mental health and well-being of COs, have been hampered by the dearth of rigorous longitudinal studies. In the current protocol, we share the approach used in the Canadian Correctional Workers' Well-being, Organizations, Roles and Knowledge study (CCWORK), designed to investigate several determinants of health and well-being among COs working in Canada's federal prison system.Methods and analysis CCWORK is a multiyear longitudinal cohort design (2018-2023, with a 5-year renewal) to study 500 COs working in 43 Canadian federal prisons. We use quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments (ie, surveys, interviews and clinical assessments) to assess participants' mental health, correctional work experiences, correctional training experiences, views and perceptions of prison and prisoners, and career aspirations. Our baseline instruments comprise two surveys, one interview and a clinical assessment, which we administer when participants are still recruits in training. Our follow-up instruments refer to a survey, an interview and a clinical assessment, which are conducted yearly when participants have become COs, that is, in annual 'waves'. Ethics and dissemination CCWORK has received approval from the Research Ethics Board of the Memorial University of Newfoundland (File No. 20190481). Participation is voluntary, and we will keep all responses confidential. We will disseminate our research findings through presentations, meetings and publications (e.g., journal articles and reports). Among CCWORK's expected scientific contributions, we highlight a detailed view of the operational, organizational and environmental stressors impacting CO mental health and well-being, and recommendations to prison administrators for improving CO well-being

Searching and Seizing After 9/11: Developing and Applying Empirical Methodology to Measure Judicial Output inthe Supreme Court\u27s Section 8 Jurisprudence

In 2005, Margit Cohn and Mordechai Kremnitzer created a multidimensional model to measure judicial discourse inherent in the decision making of constitutional courts. Their model set out multiple indicia bywhich to measure whether the court acted within proper constitutional constraints in order to determine the extent to which a court rendered a decision that was activist or restrained. This study attempts to operationalize that model. We use this model to analyze changes in interpretation of search and seizure law under section 8 after the enactment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms at the Supreme Court of Canada. The authors attempt to determine whether or not there were significant changes in the levels of measurable judicial discourse after 9/11. They explain how the model can be adapted into a Canadian context and justify the adapted model. The last part of the paper undertakes the application of the model to all Supreme Court cases since 1982 that explored Charter-based search and seizure issues. Ultimately, the paper finds significant changes in judicial discourse for certain types of judicial output, which indicate a more conservative approach to judicial decision making in the period after 9/11. The adapted model serves as a reminder that courts exercise their decision making through discourse that moves in numerous directions in any given era and that likely does so differently in alternate areas oflaw. Future research applying the Cohn/Kremnitzer model promises rich, complex analysis that will serve to enrich our understandings of law and societ