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Youth justice in canada
Youth crime in canada
Juvenile Courts in Crime Prevention
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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.
Canada’s criminal justice system largely focuses on rehabilitation, but Bourque’s harsh sentence is similar to the sentencing practices of the United States (Gagnon 2015). This is troubling as Canada’s rehabilitation focused criminal justice system appears to be working. Canada has a low rate of recidivism for offenders who have been convicted of murder (Gagnon 2015). Research shows that Canada’s rehabilitation focused criminal justice system has also worked with crimes that are not as severe as murder. Between 2010/2011 and 2013/2014, there was a 12% decrease in completed adult criminal court cases. Most cases in adult criminal court involve non-violent offenses (Maxwell 2013/2014). Similarly, in 2013, the police-reported crime rate was at it lowest since 1969 (Statistics Canada). The homicide rate is also declining, as in 2013, it represented less than 1% of all violent crime (Statistics Canada). Notably, probation was the most common sentence given in adult court cases and custody sentences were less than six months (Maxwell, 2013/2014). These types of sentences showcase the rehabilitation focused thinking of the Canadian criminal justice system and reinforce the impact and possible repercussions of Justin Bourque’s
The purpose of this report is to provide the courts and judges in the matter of Martin A. case an overview and critical analysis of his case through the evaluation process of Youth Court Action Planning Plan (YCAPP). Before discussing Martin A., it is a good idea to understand the roles and functions of the YCAPP. Over the course of history, the Canadian legal system has always struggled with successfully dealing with youth offenders until the introduction of youth criminal justice act in 2003. Youth criminal justice act has reduced the number of cases, charges, and convictions against the youth hence resulting in a much more efficient way to deal with youth crime across the country (Department of justice, 2017). A vital component
“Y-CAP is the single most effective program I have seen for righting the path of wayward youth. My experience as a DeSoto County attorney has shown me the long term benefit to the county that Y-CAP offers. Y-CAP is able to intervene in the lives of young people and provide an opportunity for that young person to become a productive citizen. By proper guidance through Y-CAP, juvenile offenders and at-risk youth are able to contribute to the community, rather than drain its law enforcement and other resources. Y-CAP is proven successful in helping youth by involving the entire family. The benefits of a successful graduate are far reaching and an asset to the community that is immeasurable.”
The YCJA also known as the Youth Justice criminal act was put into action by the liberals on April 1, 2003. This act/law was created to prevent young offenders ages 12-17. Ages 14-17 can receive adult sentence depending on the seriousness of the crime. But in my opinion the YCJA is an ineffective law because it puts public safety at risk. The policy I put down was that youth 13 and under cannot be charged as an adult. The reason I think this is and horrible policy because they are suggesting that if you are under the age of 13 you can do whatever you want, and only put through minor punishments such as community service or writing an essay of what you did wrong. The case study I based my argument on is the Medicine hat girl who killed her entire
Youth crime is a growing epidemic that affects most teenagers at one point in their life. There is no question in society to whether or not youths are committing crimes. It has been shown that since 1986 to 1998 violent crime committed by youth jumped approximately 120% (CITE). The most controversial debate in Canadian history would have to be about the Young Offenders Act (YOA). In 1982, Parliament passed the Young Offenders Act (YOA). Effective since 1984, the Young Offenders Act replaced the most recent version of the Juvenile Delinquents Act (JDA). The Young Offenders Act’s purpose was to shift from a social welfare approach to making youth take responsibility for their actions. It also addressed concerns that the paternalistic treatment of children under the JDA did not conform to Canadian human rights legislation (Mapleleaf). It remained a heated debate until the new legislation passed the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Some thought a complete overhaul was needed, others thought minor changes would suffice, and still others felt that the Young Offenders Act was best left alone.
People have, not too long ago, realized that youth and adults are very diverse and should not be treated the same. They gave no time for children to develop the “meins reis”, therefore, they were not given the opportunity to learn. People were not aware that the brain of the youth were not fully developed and were not given the chance of change. They thought that once guilty you shall remain guilty. For that reason they were considered adults, when in reality, adult criminals will only continue to infatuate their mind with evil. The new Youth Criminal Justice Act focuses on change and reintegration with society. We have learned that the youth have not fully developed and do not have the full ability to comprehend such judgements.
The analyst analyses the process of development of the attitude and social stigma attached to youth and then makes reverse action for delinking youth with demonization. When youth is demonized in terms of crime they tend to align themselves with one stereotype of social values and move away from other but more necessary social values (Goldson and Muncie, 2009). Moreover, the highlighting of youth in mass media also makes these youth confined to their negative roles as mass media makes these criminals more important and psychologically they tend to attract the immediate attention they receive. The attention may be for the wrong reasons but the criminals interpret it as different and consider it as fame and glory. The policy analyst needs to identify the political motivation behind demonizing youth into criminals and attend to the specific belief to address the rise of such illegitimate magnification. The juvenile system of care and welfare has been taking new forms and gets demanded to be renewed as the old efforts have not been able to curb the recurrence of juvenile and youth crimes (Musto, 2002), but has in fact segregated the rich and poor even terms of equal treatment. These factors of wilful and policy motivated practices of segregation further leads the
When thinking about youth crime do you envision a country with a high rate of young offenders, gang activity and re-offending? Or do you envision a country with a significant increase of young offenders either being successfully reintegrated into society, or helped by a community when seeking forgiveness for a minor offence that they have committed? Since the passing of Bill C-7 or the Youth Criminal Justice Act on February 4, 2002 by the House of Commons, many significant improvements have been made in Canada’s youth criminal justice system on how to handle and care for young offenders. Some of the reasons why Bill C-7 was passed in Canada was because the bill before it, Young Offenders Act, had many problems and suffered large amounts scrutiny by Canadian Citizens. It’s because of these reasons that Bill C-7 had been revised multiple times before being passed, having previously been called Bill C-68, March of 1999 and Bill C-3, in October 1999. With this all being said, many Canadian citizens are still left to ponder a question of if there is even significant improvement in our Youth Criminal justice system when comparing the Youth Criminal Justice Act to the Young Offenders Act? In my opinion, there are many significant improvements that have been made in the Youth Criminal Justice Act which have aided our justice system. By addressing the weaknesses of the Young Offenders Act, the Youth Criminal Justice Act has helped Canada improve in the field of youth criminal justice by implementing better Extrajudicial Measures, ensuring effective reintegration of a young person once released from custody and providing much more clarification on sentencing options.
...ing beckoned in with the 21st century. While U.S.’s JLWOP laws are inconsistent with many human rights treatises and with international law, it is more important for our policies to be based on a thorough understanding of the issue- the most essential being a separation of the processes for juvenile and adult criminal offenders. With an emphasis on rehabilitation for juvenile offenders, and the goal of encouraging maturity and personal development after wayward actions, the futures of many teens in the criminal justice system can become much more hopeful.
Within the legal system, there is the Canadian criminal justice system, which is meant to guarantee the safety of citizens within the country and is used to sustain social control and deliver justice for a society. The criminal justice system is made up of many components that are constructed to ensure justice for victims of crimes along with criminals. It is designed to guarantee that punishing those who are guilty will protect the innocent. Within the criminal justice system, there is a document that consists of all the jurisdictions of criminal law. This document is called the criminal code and entitles the offences that are acknowledged in the jurisdiction along with consequences that are enforced for these crimes. Throughout the years, there are offences constantly being added to the Criminal Code of Canada and many proposals being made by the Law Reform Commission of Canada.
This paper will discuss the history of the juvenile justice system and how it has come to be what it is today. When a juvenile offender commits a crime and is sentenced to jail or reform school, the offender goes to a separate jail or reforming place than an adult. It hasn’t always been this way. Until the early 1800’s juveniles were tried just like everyone else. Today, that is not the case. This paper will explain the reforms that have taken place within the criminal justice system that developed the juvenile justice system.
... crime and should adopt policies that compliment better socialization of youths. The seriousness of youth crime trends must be addressed with punishments that pay retribution to society. It is equally important that youths are not excluded from society by a legal system that does not recognize their special needs. Rehabilitation measures must address the socialization problems that children are facing with their families, schools, and media pressures. Children will be given alternatives to their delinquent behaviours that may not have been obvious or initially appealing. These changes will result in the prevention and decline of youth gang related crime. Youth gangs are not inevitable. Some social reorganization backed by government policies will eliminate the youth perception that youth gangs are socially acceptable. The Youth Criminal Justice Act (2002) adopts socially focused policies that will better address the social disorientation of youth that lead them into youth gangs. Its implementation is a positive step towards effectively dealing with the changed social forces affecting Canadian youths. Better socialization of youths is paramount to eliminating youth gangs in Canada.
Youth and juvenile crime is a common and serious issue in current society, and people, especially parents and educators, are pretty worried about the trend of this problem. According to Bala and Roberts, around 17% of criminals were youths, compared to 8% of the Canadian population ranging from 12 to 18 years of age between 2003 and 2004 (2006, p37). As a big federal country, Canada has taken a series of actions since 1908. So far, there are three justice acts in the history of the Canadian juvenile justice system, the 1908 Juvenile Delinquents Act, the 1982 Young Offenders Act, and the 2003 Youth Criminal Justice Act. In Canada, the judicial system and the principles of these laws have been debated for a long time.
The Canadian justice system is organized into the police, courts and prisons (Goff, 2013, p.295). When a crime is committed it is up to the justice system to insure that justice is served.
General Statistics show that between 1986 and 1998, the number of Canadian teens charged with violent offences has t...