CRM 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Stranger Danger, Sleepwalking, Actus Reus
3 May 2018
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LECTURE 1 – Introduction
Overview of Canadian Criminal Law:
Crime in Canada
• Victims of crime
o 25% of Canadians are a victim of a crim
• Most Common Crime
o Theft of personal or household property (not the same as robbery or break in)
• Perpetrators of Violent Crime
o Those who are known to the victim
o “stranger danger” doesn’t really cause the most amount of violent crime
• Mouse common site of violence
o Household
• Canada Incarceration Rate
o 118 000
Sources of Criminal Law
• 3 Main sources
o Statutes (i.e. Criminal code of Canada)
o Constitution (charter)
o Common law (laws made by judges)
• Not all sources are equal
o Highest form of law is the constitution which includes the charter
o Statutes and common law have to follow the rules and the principles laid out by
the charter
• Importance of Judges
o International Law – creation of statutory offences such as crimes of terrorism, war
crimes, hate propaganda, and torture to fulfill its obligations under international
law.
o Involving UN resolutions
• Criminal Law
o Primarily designed to denounce and to punish inherently wrongful behavior that
presents a serious risk of harm
• Regulatory Offences
o Includes traffic offences, environmental offences, harmful commercial practices,
such as misleading advertising or not complying with health and safety
regulations
o Punishment is usually a fine, but may include imprisonment
o Primary purpose is to deter risky behavior and prevent harm before it happens,
rather than to punish intrinsically wrongful and harmful behavior
Criminal Law and the Constitution
• Constitution as the Supreme Law
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