Should the YCJA be eliminated

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How is crime treated in Canada? Canada has different legislations for young offenders and adults. The Criminal Code of Canada was passed to handle crimes committed by adults aged 18 and above. The YCJA was enacted last 2003 to deal with young people aged 12-17. The Criminal Code of Canada is known to have a harsher approach on the offenders, while the YCJA focuses more on putting them back into society. The YCJA determines the consequences for specific offences, with the help of agencies and officials. There are consequences such as counselling and community and service. The YCJA is basically proposed to address young people’s challenges and needs as they proceed to adulthood. It does not release names, hence protecting youth’s privacy and identity. It also helps them to avoid criminal records, and prohibits adult sentences for 12-14 year olds. Their main objectives are to rehabilitate which means re-establishing positive behaviours and reintegrate which is making them part of society. They also give meaningful consequences to help the offender understand the harm they have done to the victim and to reinforce good morals into their thinking. They assess further information on the offenders’ background, history and attitude. In terms of their consequences, severity and repetition of the crime if much taken into consideration. Even if there are many controversies behind the YCJA, I do not think it should be eliminated.
Since the YCJA was enacted in April 2003, the youth crime rate have been decreasing. According to the Youth Court Statistics, the number of cases decreased 32% over the past decade. The most evident decrease occurred in 2003/2004 and 2004/2005, years after the YCJA was proclaimed. The total cases include violent, pro...

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...ded to rehabilitate and reintegrate in order to fix their characters. Their skills are enhanced and improved, so that they could focus more on their skills than committing crimes. Because of the YCJA, youth will have a second chance to get back to society and move on.
In conclusion, the YCJA in an overall advantage for Canada’s justice system. It separates adults from the youth, taking their level of maturity, level of development, and other factors into consideration. The youth cases have been continuously dropping, in general. Both violent and non-violent crimes are declining. This act helps the youth to rebuild themselves and recover. Because they do not focus on punishments, the juveniles are changing for the better. The YCJA prioritizes rehabilitation and reintegration. They help the offenders fix their wrongdoing. Clearly, the YCJA should not be eliminated.

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