Criminal offences

Contained in Part VIII of the criminal code, it includes crimes in which the victim is threatened, injured or killed.

Violent crime is actually decreasing in Canada, bit it is of course considered very serious and therefore carries with it the stiffest penalties.

Offences Against The Person

Homicide is the killing of another person, directly or indirectly.

It can be culpable homicide, which means the accused can be held legally responsible or non-culpable homicide, death caused by an unforeseeable accident.

Murder, the intentional killing of another human being, is a form of culpable homicide.

Homicide

The Criminal Code classifies murder into two categories: first-degree and second-degree

First-degree murder:

1. It is planned and deliberate2. One person hires another to commit murder3. The victim is a peace officer, prison employee or other

person employed for the preservation and maintenance of the public peace.

4. The murder is caused while committing or attempting to commit another serious offence.

Example: ◦ Buy a gun and wait for spouse to come home

Punishment:◦ Maximum, life with no parole for 25 years

First Degree Murder

Second-degree murder ◦ Any murder that does not fit into one of the four

situations listed under first-degree murder. Example:

◦ Latimer case –Mercy Killing of his disabled daughter

Punishment: ◦ Life in prison◦ Can apply for parole after 10 years

Second-Degree Murder

Infanticide, The killing of a newborn infant by the child’s

mother, is also culpable homicide. For the crime to be considered infanticide:

◦ The accused must be the natural mother of the victim,◦ The victim must be less than 12 months old and◦ At the time of the killing the accused must have been

suffering from a mental disturbance caused by not being able to recover from giving birth to the victim.

Punishment:◦ Maximum, 5 years

Infanticide

Manslaughter ◦ Any culpable homicide that is not murder or

infanticide.◦ The Actus Reus of the offence consists of killing

someone through a wrongful act, even if the killing was not intentional.

◦ The Mens Rea is that any reasonable person could have foreseen that the wrongful act would pose a risk of bodily harm that was neither insignificant or temporary.

◦ Sometimes a charge of murder can be reduced to manslaughter if the accused can show provocation, words or actions that could cause a reasonable person to behave irrationally or lose self control.

Example:◦ Drunk driver who kills a pedestrian

Punishment:◦ Maximum, life sentence

Manslaughter

Homicide

Non-culpable Culpable

Murder

First degree Second degree

Manslaughter Infanticide

Types of Homicide

Counselling/Aiding Suicide: Encourage a person to commit suicide

Example:◦ Daughter buys and gives mom pills that cause her

to overdose Punishment:

◦ Maximum, 14 years

Counselling/Aiding Suicide

Assault (level 1): Intentionally using force against a person

Most common form of violent crime in Canada Example:

◦ Pushing, threatening, hitting Punishment:

◦ Up to 5 years

Assault

Assault (level 2):◦ Hurting or injuring another person with or without

a weapon in a manner that has serious consequences for health or comfort

Example:◦ Fight where you break someone’s leg

Punishment: ◦ Up to 10 years in prison

Assault causing bodily harm

Assault (level 3):◦ Wounded, maiming, disfiguring or endangering

the life of another person Example:

◦ Stab someone in the arm or cut off their ear in a fight

Punishment:◦ Up to 14 years in prison

Aggravated assault

Touching of a sexual nature that is not invited or consensual.

Sexual assault (level 1):◦ Uninviting sexual touching/molesting

The most common and the one where the victim suffers the least physical injury. 97% of all cases of sexual assault.

Example:◦ Touch someone’s breast by force

Punishment:◦ Summary: 18 months◦ Indictable: maximum, 10 years

Sexual Assault

Sexual assault (level 2): Sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a

third party or causing bodily harm. Basically involves weapons, threats or physical injury.

Example:◦ Using a knife to force sexual interaction

Punishment:◦ Maximum, 14 years.

Sexual assault using a weapon

Aggravated sexual assault (level 3):◦ Wounding, maiming, disfiguring or endangering the life of

the victim. Example:

◦ Rape with a violent beating Punishment:

◦ Maximum, life in prison

Aggravated Sexual Assault

Look at most common crimes against property

Offences Against Property

Theft/Robbery:◦ Taking property permanently or temporarily, without

the owner’s permission.◦ The item must be taken without color of right, that

is, the honest belief that a person owns or has permission to use the article in question.

◦ You can also commit theft by conversion, such as keeping money mistakenly deposited into your account.

Most common criminal offence Example:

◦ Take friends car without permission Punishment:

◦ Property is $1000+ = maximum, 2 years

Theft

Break and enter:◦ Type of theft that involves breaking or opening

something in order to enter a property Example:

◦ Break in a back window and steal a television Punishment:

◦ Maximum, 10 years

Break and enter

Mischief:◦ Deliberately damage/destroy another person’s

property Example:

◦ Spray painting property Punishment:

◦ Hybrid◦ Summary, less than $1000◦ indictable: more than $ 1000

Mischief

Fraud: Intentionally deceiving the public or a person

so as the cause a loss to the public or person Must know they are deceiving Example:

◦ Obtaining credit cards by false statements◦ Writing cheques on another’s account

Punishment:◦ Hybrid◦ Summary: $1000◦ Indictable: $ 1000 –up to 10 years

Fraud

Sense of right or wrong that society places on certain ideas

Crimes against Morality

Gambling:◦ To bet things of value on a game of chance or risk

Example:◦ Keeping an illegal gaming/betting house ◦ Cheating at gambling◦ Being in a gaming house for an unlawful purpose

Punishment:◦ Hybrid◦ Indictable, maximum of 2 years

Gambling

Prostitution:◦ Requiring payment for a sex act◦ Under 18◦ Forced to be prostitute (exploitation)◦ Assists the prostitute (pimp)

Example:◦ Hooker picking up a man by the roadside

Punishment:◦ Indictable, 2 years

Prostitiution

Obscenity:◦ Any publication based on sex or exploitation of

sex with one or more of crime, horror, violence◦ Limiting freedom to protect children, women, etc..

Example:◦ Child porn website◦ R. v. Butler

Punishment:◦ Indictable, 2 years or more

Obscenity

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Possession – knowledge and control. A person must

know what the item is and have some measure of control over it. They may be found in possession even if he or she gave the item to another person. Finally, you may be found to be in possession by consenting to its possession by someone else.

Trafficking – a criminal offence that involves selling, giving, transporting or distributing a controlled substance or an authorization for a controlled substance. The crown must prove that the accused possessed the controlled substance with the intention of trafficking.

Money Laundering – transferring cash or other property to conceal its illegal origin.

Drug Offences