CRIM10001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Indictable Offence, Social Ecology, Hegemonic Masculinity
15 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
CRIM10001 – Lecture 5a & 5b
High speed pursuits
What are the types of offences that might be used to convict someone for high speed
chases uder Victoria’s criial code?
• Conduct endangering life
• Reckless driving
• Damage of public or private property
• Evading police
• Car theft
• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Homicide or death as a result of dangerous driving
• Driving while disqualified
Section 319 Crimes act (Victoria) 1958
• A person who, by driving a vehicle at a speed or in a manner that is dangerous to the
public, causes the death of another person is guilty of an indictable offence and
liale to eas a ipisoet
• A person who, by driving a vehicle at a speed or in a manner that is dangerous to the
public, causes serious injury to someone, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable
to 5 eas a ipisoet
Context of high-speed pursuits
• Compared with crimes like armed robbery or illicit drug dealing, these have been
largely ignored by criminologists as a subject of inquiry until recently
o Though it may not be as serious as other crime, the consequences can be
very serious
• Most of our experiences with them are vicarious – through news, movies, TV etc.
• Paraphernalia of the chase – road spikes, excessive speeds, running of red lights,
many police cars after one offender, declaration of offender as armed and
dangerous, potential for things to end badly → takes viewer beyond mundane
everyday life
To what extent are the police contributing to the drama and risk of these pursuits?
Statistics
• 90% of motor vehicle pursuit deaths from 1990-2008 were male
• mean age at death between 1990-2008
o indigenous: 22 years
o non-indigenous: 25 years
• deaths during motor-vehicle pursuits by most serious offence:
o theft-related: 48%
o traffic: 39%
o violent: 6%
o drug-related: 2%
• over 90% of pursuits commenced as a result of a non-violent crime
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
why steal cars?
Health Copes study with 45 experienced car thieves (43 male, 2 female)
Key themes emerging from interviews:
• money
o chop shops
o stopped sellig dugs to steal as. Easie ad oe oes uike
• looking good and being seen
o flossig: uisig i a stole ehile to eate a ipessio of affluee
o gils go fo spotie as
• going places
o shot-te taspotatio
o stuk ith o ide late at ight...juped i a old Toota ad took off
• living for the moment
o hedonism – short term pleasure without regard from long-term
consequences
o I take the fo the thill, the adeali ushes
• getting even
o revenge
• staying low
o anonymity – they could commit crime and reduce changes of being caught or
recognised
Studies looking specifically at high-speed pursuits
• ost offedes dot dee eig pusued polie a ad epeiee
• 14% form one study of 100 offenders reported that getting away from police
surpassed all other experiences associated with car theft
motives
• for the buzz
o just like a gae, adeali stats floig
o thei lue light flashig ehid ou...thees othig that opaes ith it
• fear and excitement
o hased polie...e sa
o steeo gets tued off, eeoe sits ad looks tese ad eous ut geat
once you get away
• testing driving skills
o got to get out of this...ou ees ae eehee
o got to look fo kids, as oig the othe a...got to e sithed o
• fear of police
• reacting to police
o the shouldt e alloed to hase ou...the ake it ose...the hase ou
ad ou pai ad ou do athig to get aa
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
