ABSTRACT
In the criminological literature, Zedner used the term "precrime" to indicate a shift from a post-crime society to that of a pre-crime society. Zedner's work has been profoundly influential in the criminological realm, but conceptions of precrime are less often mined in the analysis of the language and work that Canadian courts do. Precrime thus draws on three threads from our earlier work: the Supreme Court's willingness, despite uncertain evidence, to allow for greater surveillance in Canada. Administrative and discretionary practices thus prevent and simultaneously achieve the traditional objectives of criminal law—the protection of society from harm. In giving effect to precrime, the author notes that there is an overlap between changes in the deployment of criminal law in Canada and the notion of penal populism that has animated critical corrections studies in the last decade or so. Finally, this chapter also provides an overview of this book.
