Contemporary schools of criminology demonstrate the evolution of the Canadian justice system under the influence of factors discussed in the paper. The new deviancy theory emerged in the 1960s in response to the inefficiency of the positivist school and the development of the counter-culture criticizing functionalism (Pavlich, 2001). Russel Sandych and Bryan Hogeveen suggested that the criminal justice history in Canada was underdeveloped and marginalized at the time (Fyson, 2017). Considering the lack of long-term surveys on the history of criminal justice and criminology in Canada, the experts assumed that positivist criminologists did not conduct quantitative analyses or surveys to discover current criminalization trends. Moreover, the influence of phenomenological and interactionist schools of modern sociology made criminologists question correctional approaches and focus on deviance. The main implication of the new deviancy theorists was that objectively shared norms do not exist due to the plurality of cultures, which means that the deviants might be falsely labeled as criminals. For instance, Indigenous people are overrepresented in the Canadian (Western) criminal justice system because of different values, traditions, and perceptions of wrongdoing.
Left realism is another theoretical concept that was introduced in the UK and Canada. The idea behind the theory is that working-class people are repressed and disproportionately affected by crime. The first notion of the concept appeared in 1984 in the book What is to be Done About Law and Order by Lea and Young (DeKeseredy, 2016). The authors analyzed crime statistics and discovered the specific predictors of crime and victimization, such as race and social class. Left realism evolved from critical criminology in response to the actions of right realists monopolizing political agendas related to legislation. The proposed resolutions to the issues were the achievement of transparency in police actions and the increase in collaboration between law enforcement agencies and the public.
The theorists of left realism claimed that powerful agencies and individuals (the right realists) could label people of lower social or economic status as criminals. For example, the right realists can assume that the burglar is the person who fits the description of an ideal, easily identifiable criminal, such as an unemployed Black man characterized by a lower socioeconomic status. Furthermore, victimization surveys use legalistic definitions and crime (DeKeseredy, 2016). The practical implications of the theory suggest that it raised public awareness of social problems like environmental pollution, money laundering, and rural crime. The major theoretical implication was the introduction of the square of crime, which places a criminal and the victim on one side and the government and society on the opposite side. Thus, left realism underlined the role of political power in crime and victimization.
The theory of new criminology is the final theoretical concept discussed in the paper. The concept originated in the 1970s under the influence of Karl Marx’s critique and the ideas of left realism. The immanent approach examines the historical context to underline contradictions and propose strategies to resolve them (Pavlich, 2001). According to the theory, exposure to the current political regime and the social system should be considered underlying crime conditions. Based on Marx’s analysis of the bourgeois economy, new criminologists claim that the powerful political elite historically shapes the definition of deviance. In political and social theory, the elite refers to the small group of people represented by the privileged individuals dominating the society and holding a disproportionately large amount of wealth or political power.
The implications of the new criminology are the critique of the conventional, scientific, and non-practical criminological studies and the conclusion that social problems define criminal activity. For example, when the crime has a political motive, such as the redistribution of wealth to the poor, it indicates a social disorder that should be addressed. For example, street crime might be explained by the lack of employment and educational opportunities and the vulnerability of ethnic minority communities to drug and alcohol abuse. Therefore, the theory employs the ideas of left realism and encourages criminologists to study the causes and consequences of crime to adjust the legal system to effectively advocate for social problems.
References
DeKeseredy, W. S. (2016). Contemporary issues in left realism. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 5(3), 12–26.
Fyson, D. (2017). Criminal justice history in Canada: Some thoughts on future developments. Crime, History, & Societies, 21(2).
Pavlich, G. (2001). Critical genres and radical criminology in Britain. British Journal of Criminology, 41(1), 150–167.