Restorative Justice and Young Offenders in Canadia

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Voltaire once said, “Fear follows crime and is its punishment.” (Voltaire). Respectively, the concept to use opportunities that attempt to restore moral justice in Canadian youth punishment is indispensable. The Youth Criminal Justice Act enacted on April 1st, 2003 recognizes in the preamble that incarceration should only be exercised as a last resort sentence for violent youth ages twelve to seventeen, (Youth Criminal Justice Act (S.C. 2002, c. 1), 2002; Barron, 2009; Tustin & Lutes, 2011; Olivo, 2012, pp. 234-235, 456; Justice Education Society of British Columbia , 2013). The restorative justice approach enables consideration of many youth suffering from mental disorders that need more mental health support than punishment (Bala, Youth Criminal Justice Law, 2003; Gretton & Clift, 2011) corresponding to the evergrowing concern of more imprisoned youth, despite the decreasing delinquency rate (Ruddick , 2004; Linton, 2003). Therefore, reintegration and rehabilitation techniques are imperative to resolving youth in conflict with the law (Savignac, 2009; Anand, 1999; Doob A. N., 2004). An analysis of the complications and advantages of the restorative justice opportunities concerning young offenders ages twelve to seventeen will endorse that collaborating family connections, educating youth while integrating gang prevention, and community involvement will positively enhance youth prosperity and societal security.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act has many concerns creating inequalities in the restorative justice approach. For instance, juvenile delinquents who develop from a background that is impoverished may lack the ability to satisfy the reparative objectives of punishment and may not be ready to be reintegrated back into socie...

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...rative justice: More than simply procedural justice. International Review of Victimology, 118-120. doi:10.1177/0269758012472764

Varma, K. (2007, April). Parental Involvement In Youth Court. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 49(2), 231-260. doi: 10.3138/9565-1823-66UT-507K

Voltaire. (n.d.). The Punishment of Fear. (BookRags Media Network) Retrieved November 20, 2013, from http://www.culturality.net/culture/cul_punish_fear.htm

Yoshikawa, H. (2000). Long-Term Effects of Early Childhood Programs On Social Outcomes And Delinquency. In R. M. Mann (Ed.), Juvenile Crime And Delinquency (pp. 368-372). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Scholar's Press Inc. Retrieved November 6, 2013

Youth Criminal Justice Act (S.C. 2002, c. 1). (2002). Retrieved October 7, 2013, from Department of Jusitce: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/yj-jj/ycja-lsjpa/index.html

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