Youth Court Action Planning Plan (YCAPP)

Introduction

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

of that positive change is Youth Court Action Planning plan. It is run by staff who are experts in social services, social work and criminal justice whose goal is to provide a plan for youths who are a risk of reoffending, denied bail or have little experience with the justice system through various positive, goal-oriented, and rehabilitation programs (Regent Park & YCAPP, n.d.). In the case of Martin A. youth court action planing plan has defined community service, and education as the most applicable and appropriate methods for Martin A. to be granted a formal letter in withdrawing the charges against him.
Incident
The incident of Martin A.

was a simple argument between his father and their neighbour which resulted in Martin A getting charged for Mischief under $5000.00 by Toronto police. Mischief often refers any person interfering with property, or just plain causing a disturbance by displaying reckless behaviour. While the police were investigating the argument, Martin assumed they were siding with their neighbour and neglecting his father's part of the story. Hence making Martin angry and he began to harass the police officer to show his frustration. Shortly after Martin started his deviant behaviour, he was warned by the police officer to stop his disrespectful antics. However, he still continued, and the officer was forced to arrest him and charge him for mischief under $5000.00. If convicted Martin A. could be sentenced to either an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a summary conviction. (Mischief, n.d.). Following the incident, Martin A. was referred to YCAPP by the duty counsel for a pre-release/ bail plan on conditions that he would develop a plan to be released into the community on bail. The YCAPP representative Irene Marynowicz met up with Martin to discuss how YCAPP can assist him in dealing with the justice system. She explained to Martin that the YCAPP is a completely voluntary program and after Martins consent, she proceeded to develop a plan for Martin to achieve his goals and conditions set by the

courts.
Background
Martin is an African Canadian teen heading into in high school in the upcoming September year.

He stems from a relatively stable family but unfortunately struggles with many external factors that could explain his deviant behaviour. He is a reasonably good child with no past criminal history or contact with the police before this incident. However, He does have his moments of rebellious behaviour towards his father and his family. His father described him as being a rebellious youth at home when compared to his brother and sister, he often failed to obeyed house rules and acted in a manner which was both unacceptable and disrespectful. To further add to his bad behaviour he was heavily influenced by his peers. His father also stated that he was far more focused on his friends around his neighbourhood as opposed to his studies. In summary, Martin was severely affected by his external factors such as his family disagreement, peers, and community influence had a considerable impact in shaping his current attitude towards law an

authority.

Plan of Care: Community Service & Education
In the efforts to reverse the effects caused by Martin towards police and the justice system. YCAAP has developed a plan to intergrade community service and education in the hopes to help Martin recover his negative perception of law and authority and regain a sense of respect and responsibility. The first key component of this program is to instill a sense of responsibility and respect in Martin, based on the way he treats his authoritative figures it undoubtedly shows that he has no value or respect for them. To achieve this goal, community service would be a viable option for him. Community service can be beneficial for both Martin and his community since it will offer him an opportunity to learn responsibility and consequences for his actions. Furthermore, his contribution to a community-based program or services chosen for him can also be useful for Regent Park whose in a desperate need of help to repair itself. The last component of this plan is to provide Martin with education after evaluating him YCAPP has determined it would be appropriate for the courts to place a particular expectations on him and his schooling. YCAPP suggests that the courts mandate Martin attend a certain percentage of his classes and demonstrate his ability to learn and improve by maintaining reasonable grades in his classes. YCAPP came to this conclusion for Martin using various factors such as severity of an offence, criminal history and other external factors associated with him. The use of community service and education both fall under the umbrella of restorative justice and countless studies have proven restorative justice is effective in reducing recidivism rates, has a higher success rate and allows the offenders to express their remorse through their actions and words (Community Justice Network of Vermont, n.d.). Therefore making it a perfect fit for Martin who needs to be taught respect and responsibility.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) operates on couple key principles which are meant to help both offenders and the justice system. Over the years YCJA has evolved significantly to accommodate the needs of the offenders and reducing the work encountered by the courts. The first crucial aspect of YCJA is extrajudicial measures which refers to police officers using their discretion for non-violent youth offenders and referring them away from the justice system by citing them a warning, a caution or a referral. However, in the case of Martin, the officers did warn him to stop heckling at them, but he failed to comply hence resulting in him getting arrested and charged. However, the Crown can still work with Martin through the use of extrajudicial sanctions, which are much more formal ways to deal with bad or uncompliant behaviours by using volunteer work or attending specialized programs (Department of Justice, 2015). Relating this back to Martin and considering all the factors of this case, YCAPP believes it would be sufficient for the judge, in this case, to refer to extrajudicial sanction since it would offer Martin a sense of responsibility and respect.