Thursday, March 16. 2017

Today's schedule is D-C-B-A

D Block Criminology 12 - Okay, so we know where violence comes from. We know what homicide is, the divisions of murder and why people do it. We understand what sexual assault is, the typology of assault and the motives for doing it. Today I'll finish up the violence section with you by looking at abuse, domestic assault and terrorism. For terrorism consider the following:

By design, terrorist attacks are intended to have a psychological impact far outweighing the physical damage the attack causes. As their name suggests, they are meant to cause terror that amplifies the actual attack. A target population responding to a terrorist attack with panic and hysteria allows the perpetrators to obtain a maximum return on their physical effort. One way to mitigate the psychological impact of terrorism is to remove the mystique and hype associated with it. The first step in this demystification is recognizing that terrorism is a tactic used by a variety of actors and that it will not go away. Terrorism and, more broadly, violence are and will remain part of the human condition. The Chinese, for example, did not build the Great Wall to attract tourists, but to keep out marauding hordes. Fortunately, today's terrorists are far less dangerous to society than the Mongols were to Ming China.

For more on this read Keeping Terrorism in Perspective at Stratfor
For information on terrorism check out:
Terrorism Watch and Warning
DHS Preventing Terrorism
Global Terrorism Database
FBI Terrorism
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada Terrorism
National Counterterrorism Center

I'll have you work on the following questions:

1. Despite cultural awareness and various initiatives in schools and in the media, hate crimes continue to happen in significant numbers in Canada. Discuss the types of hate crimes most prevalent in Canada and the current responses to them. 
2. Governments have tried numerous responses to terrorism. Discuss some of these responses. 
3. It is unlikely that the threat of punishment can deter robbery; most robbers refuse to think about apprehension and punishment. Wright and Decker suggest that eliminating cash and relying on debit and credit cards may be the most productive method to reduce the incidence of robbery. Although this seems far-fetched, society is becoming progressively more cashless; it is now possible to buy both gas and groceries with credit cards. Would a cashless society end the threat of robbery, or would innovative robbers find new targets?
4. Based on what you know about how robbers target victims, how can you better protect yourself from robbery? 

Today we'll watch an episode of Criminal Minds from Season 4..."Minimal Loss". In the episode two members of the BAU, Reid and Prentiss, are sent in undercover to investigate an alleged child abuse at an isolated property which is the home of a religious cult led by the charismatic Benjamin Cyrus. The real aim is to not only ascertain whether or not this is true, but also to look into the cult as a whole. The rest of the BAU, along with a plethora of other law enforcement agencies, are planning a raid on the compound, but when Cyrus gets wind of this, he imposes a lock down and unleashes a cache of weapons which make it pretty clear that he has no intention of being taken alive ... and the same goes for his 'loyal' followers as well.

There are echoes to Waco Texas and David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidians.

C Block Social Studies 11 - Today we'll take a look at the changes to the economy of Canada in the early 20th Century. We'll talk about advances in technology and the resource extraction economy. We'll talk about unions and the gap between wealth and poverty and you'll need to complete questions 1-3 on page 16.

B Block Law 12 - Today we're going to watch an episode of Law and Order from season 9 called True North. From tv.com...The double murder of a wealthy man and his daughter leads the detectives to the wife and stepmother of the deceased. However, Canada's objection to the death penalty hampers McCoy and Carmichael in seeking crucial evidence for obtaining a conviction.
We'll discuss the episode after its conclusion.

A Block Introduction to Law 9/10 - Today we will watch the CSI episode "Burden of Proof" (Season 2 Episode 215). This ties into your "Clue Us In" crime scene reconstruction project. There are many important things to notice in this episode but the one thing that I'd like you to remember is that forensics can't solve every case and that the forensic analysis of crime scenes is a tedious, slow meticulous and process.