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Criminal Justice Education in British Columbia a Political Perspective

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Criminal Justice Education in British Columbia a Political Perspective CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA A POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE By BRUCE LANE ARNOLD B.A., University of British Columbia, 1975 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIRE• MENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of British Columbia We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September 1984 (c)Bruce Lane Arnold, 1984 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. BRUCE L. ARNOLD Department of ANTHROPOLOGY & SOCIOLOGY The University of British Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 Date JW^^ H,tVf<? i i ABSTRACT This study was designed to investigate the ideological context of criminology in British Columbia. A sample of 45 criminologists was interviewed in order to establish the ideological orientation of their teaching, research, publishing, and consulting involvements. In addition, the in- depth interviews served to document the constraints criminologists experience due to their ideological orientation. The interview results show that criminology in British Columbia is dominated by liberal ideology and that radical perspectives are restricted through "gate-keeping" devices such as funding, hiring, and publishing restrictions. By clarifying its ideological nature, criminology can be understood as a political phenomenon, which may explain the widespread reluctance to critically reflect on the development of criminal justice education. Gramsci's view of the hegemonic function of intellectuals provides an historical and theoretical framework for examining the ideological-political traditions which influence contemporary criminology in British Columbia. This framework enables, study of the relationship between criminology and the capitalist state's growing need for a technically sophisticated knowledge-base that will both contain increasing crime rates and maintain ideological hegemony. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to those who have been a significant part of the thesis process. This would begin with R.S. Ratner who chaired my thesis committee. His constant encouragement, enthusiasm, and constructive thoughts, enriched this thesis. J.L. McMullan provided rigorous evaluations and inspired me to explore the impact of historical forces on contemporary criminology. H. Jacobson has continually encouraged my intellectual exploration of gender related politics in a critically thoughtful manner. All of my thesis committee have had a catalytic effect in the translation of this research toward my own praxis. There have been others who are worthy of acknowledgement in the production of this thesis. Brian Burtch has continually encouraged me to extend my thinking processes through writing. Barbara Hovind reminded me of my purpose in the thesis when it was most needed. Keith Warriner generously gave of his limited time to share his expertise with computer technology. In addition, I would like to express my gratitude to those criminologists whom I interviewed and who were most helpful and generous with sharing their experiences and thoughts regarding the phenomenon of criminal justice education in British Columbia. i v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii CONTENTS iv CHAPTER ONE: THE PHENOMENON OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION Introduction 1 Problematics to be Researched . 2 Method of Research and Analysis 5 CHAPTER TWO: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION Introduction 10 Early Foundations of Modern Criminology 12 Pioneers of Early Liberal Ideology 13 The Reorganization of Feudal Justice and Punishment .. 15 The Humanizing of the CJS and Classical Criminology . 16 The Positivist School, the Advent of Technocracy, and Liberal Hegemony . 21 Increased CJS Education and Sociological Paradigms ... 24 Labelling Theory, Critical Criminology, and CJS Higher Education 26 Criminal Justice Education in Canada 36 CHAPTER THREE: THEORIES OF THE CAPITALIST STATE Pluralist-DemocratiIntroduction c Theories of the State 484 V Instrumentalist Theories of the State 54 Structuralist Theories of the State 58 Gramsci's Theory of the State , 65 CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The Sample 74 The Questionnaire Schedule 77 The Interviews 80 Ethics 80 Quantifying Data 82 Data Analysis 86 CHAPTER FIVE: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Introduction 87 Criminology and Teaching Ideology 88 Ideology and Research 99 Ideology and Publishing 102 Ideology and Consulting or Board Positions 105 Overview of Ideological Inconsistencies 107 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS . 111 TABLES Table I: Structure of Theories of the Capitalist .... 46 State Table II: Respondents' Institutional Affiliation .... 77 Table III: Criminology & Teaching Ideology 89 Table IV: Ideology & Institutional Affiliation ...... 90 vi Table V: Ideology & Course Content on Racism 92 Table VI: Ideology & Course Content on Sexism 94 Table VII: Ideology & Course Content on Imperialism . 96 Table VIII: Ideology & Course Content on Classism ... 98 Table IX: Teaching Ideology & Research Focus ....... 100 Table X: Ideology & Research Constraints 101 Table XI: Ideology & Publication Orientation 103 Table XII: Ideology & Publication Constraints 104 Table XIII: Ideology & Consulting Constraints 106 Table XIV: Ideology & Board Positions 107 Table XV: Ideological Inconsistencies 108 APPENDIX A: Letter of Introduction 123 APPENDIX B: Interview Schedule 124 APPENDIX C: Code Book 128 BIBLIOGRAPHY 138 1 CHAPTER ONE The Phenomenon of Criminal Justice Education Introduction Considerable public concern has been generated by the increasing rates of criminal activity in Canada (Taylor, 1983). The state has responded to this phenomenon by expanding its Criminal Justice System (CJS) in order to understand, deter, treat, and punish criminal behaviour. In recent years, for example, modern governments have relied increasingly upon criminologists to provide a technocratic knowledge base as a tool for social control (Piatt, 1975, p.101). Quinney (1979) is one of many observers who describes criminology as a cluster of fields which all bear some relation to crime and its control (p.447). It consists of academics who function primarily as teachers, researchers, and writers who are drawn from sociology, law, psychology, social work, and business. Their activities include the training of academic and vocational personnel for deployment in CJS branches, research, and government and private consulting firms. Thus, increased demands for, and usages of, criminological knowledge in Canada have resulted in an unprecedented explosion of criminal justice educational resources and educators, as evidenced by the development of four major Centres of Criminology, college and 1 The four major centres at Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, and Burnaby have been constructed since the mid-1960's. 2 university courses, and CJS personnel training centres.1 They play a significant role in the defining and managing of justice. Through their involvements in the development and implementation of administrative policies, educators have a direct effect on the state's usages of legal power. Moreover, through their teaching and research involvements, they direct public attitudes and definitions of crime, deviancy, and the manner in which the state defines and deals with crime. Therefore, criminologists are becoming increasingly influential in the construction and management of social relations in Canada. Advocates of liberal criminology presume that the CJS functions as the legal apparatus of the state with the general consent of the population. In this view, the CJS functions so that crime may be controlled, thereby facilitating the ordering of justice. Therefore, the tremendous expansion of criminal justice education is assumed to be a welcome addition to the forces for assisting in the realization of this mandate. Nevertheless, regardless of CJS reforms and expansion, Canadian justice continues to be thwarted by rising crime rates (Taylor, 1983) and inconsistent and or contradictory CJS practices (e.g. access, arrest, sentencing, etc.). Such injustices generally tend to have greater effect on women (e.g. Clark & Lewis, 1977), racial minorities (e.g. Hagan, 1974), and members of lower socio-economic groups in general (e.g. Goff & Reasons, 1 978) . 3 Problematics to be Researched The central concern of this thesis is to document and clarify the ideological and therefore political nature of criminology, as practiced in an advanced contemporary capitalist state - specifically, -the province of British Columbia in Canada. Criminologists are generally members of the growing numbers of technocrats who are employed and regulated by the Canadian capitalist state for purposes of social control. These personnel are generally presumed to be value-free due to the scientific nature of their occupations. Nevertheless, Gramsci (1971) and Gorz (1976) are two critical thinkers who point out that science and technology are not independent of the dominant ideology. Instead, they argue that intellectuals, through their technocratic
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