The Youth Criminal Justice Act overview for educators

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The Youth Criminal Justice Act overview for
educators
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Overview

• Background
• Facts about Youth Crime
• The Concept of Youth
• Legislation Addressing Youth Crime

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Overview continued

• The Youth Criminal Justice Act
• Philosophy and Principles of the YCJA
• Meaningful Consequences
• Rehabilitation and Reintegration

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Facts about Youth Crime
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Under the Young Offenders Act

• Canada had the highest youth incarceration rate
  in the Western world, including the United States
• Saskatchewan had one of the highest usage rates
  of youth court in the country
• most cases in youth court were non-violent
• minor assaults made up nearly half of the violent
  offences

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The Concept of Youth
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Historically

• there were no separate laws to deal with youth
  who committed crimes even the very young were
  treated like adults
• by the 1700s children aged 7-13 were generally
  considered incapable of appreciating the nature
  and consequences of their actions
• by the 1800s western societies began to develop
  special laws for youth who committed crimes

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Legislation Addressing Youth Crime
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1908 The Juvenile Delinquents Act

• first Canadian legislation that dealt with youth
  who broke the law
• generally applied to youth aged 13-16 (in
  Saskatchewan), but could be applied to youth aged
  7-12 if their ability to form intent could be
  established
• treated young persons in trouble with the law as
  misguided children, rather than as adults legally
  responsible for their behaviour

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1984 The Young Offenders Act

• replaced the Juvenile Delinquents Act
• raised the minimum age to 12, based on the belief
  that children under 12 do not have the capacity
  to be held criminally responsible
• set a unified maximum age at 17

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Under the Young Offenders Act

• youth were to be held responsible for criminal
  behaviour
• societys right to be protected was principal
• young people were entitled to the same rights as
  adults
• youths special needs were recognized, based on
  their level of development and maturity

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1998 - The Youth JusticeRenewal Initiative

• set out to
• increase measures outside of the formal court
  process to respond to youth crime
• establish a more targeted approach to custody
• improve youth justice systems ability to
  rehabilitate and reintegrate
• increase the use of community-based sentences

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and

• set up special measures for violent offenders to
  focus on intensive supervision and treatment
• increase public confidence in the youth justice
  system
• The Youth Criminal Justice Act is a central
  part of the Youth Justice Renewal Initiative.

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2003 - The Youth Criminal Justice Act

• Accountability
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Fairness

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The Youth Criminal Justice Act

• based on the belief that incarceration is
  over-used, and that the courts are over-used for
  minor cases that could better be dealt with
  outside the court
• makes a clear distinction between serious violent
  offences and less serious offences
• recognizes that effective rehabilitation and
  reintegration is key to the long-term protection
  of the public

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Philosophy Principles of the YCJA
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Intent of the Youth Justice System

• to prevent youth crime by addressing the
  underlying circumstances of a young persons
  offending behaviour
• to rehabilitate and reintegrate youth who have
  committed crimes
• to ensure that youth are subject to meaningful
  consequences for criminal behaviour
• Together these objectives are believed to
  promote long-term protection of the public.

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Youth Justice System Must Be Separate from the
Adult System

• youth are defined as being between the ages 12
  and 17 inclusive
• children under the age of 12 cannot be charged
  criminally
• these ages are the same ones previously used
  under the Young Offenders Act

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Ways Youth Are Treated Differently

• youth justice system emphasizes rehabilitation
  and reintegration
• consequences take into account greater dependency
  of young persons and their reduced level of
  maturity
• enhanced procedural protections for youth to
  ensure fair treatment including right to counsel,
  right to privacy, right to be heard and right to
  participate in processes that affect them

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Youth justice measures must be fair and
proportional, and should

• reinforce societal values
• encourage the repair of harm done to victims and
  the community
• be meaningful to the youth given their needs and
  level of development

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and

• involve parents, extended family, community and
  social or other agencies in the youths
  rehabilitation, where appropriate
• respect gender, ethnic, cultural and linguistic
  differences
• respond to the needs of Aboriginal youth and
  youth with special requirements

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Right to Counsel
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Under the YCJA, a young person

• has the right to talk to a lawyer without delay
  at any stage of the proceedings
• must be advised of this right upon arrest or
  detention, in any written notices, and during any
  proceedings
• must be given a reasonable opportunity to
  exercise this right
• has the right to consult with a parent or other
  adult upon request

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• Meaningful Consequences

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Philosophy

• Youth Justice should
• reserve its most serious interventions for the
  most serious crimes
• reduce the over-reliance on incarceration for
  non-violent young persons

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Extrajudicial Measures

• Responding to Youth Crime
• outside of the
• Formal Court Process

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Extrajudicial Measures

• are often the most appropriate and effective way
  to address youth crime
• allow for effective and timely interventions
• should be used whenever they are adequate to hold
  young persons accountable
• must be considered as an option by police before
  decision to lay charges

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Extrajudicial Measures

• are presumed to be adequate to hold first time
  non-violent offenders accountable
• may be used even if they have been used with the
  youth before
• may be used even if the youth has previously been
  found guilty of a crime

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Extrajudicial Measures include

• taking no further action
• warnings
• cautions
• referrals to community agencies with the consent
  of the youth
• extrajudicial sanctions

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Extrajudicial Allowings

• are the most formal type of extrajudicial measure
• similar to Alternative Measures under the YOA
• can include restitution, compensation, community
  service work, mediation, counselling and treatment

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Judicial Measures

• Responses within the
• Youth Justice Court

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Youth Sentences

• Are intended to
• hold young persons accountable for their actions
• utilize just sanctions that ensure meaningful
  consequences
• promote the youths rehabilitation and
  reintegration

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Youth sentences must be

• proportionate to the offence and degree of
  responsibility of the young person
• the least restrictive sanction required and the
  most likely to rehabilitate and reintegrate the
  young person
• designed to promote a sense of responsibility in
  the young person and an acknowledgement of the
  harm done

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Non-custodial Options

• The Youth Justice Court must explore all
  reasonable alternatives to custody. In fact,
  custodial orders are prohibited unless the young
  person has
• committed a violent offence, or
• failed to comply with non-custodial orders, or
• committed a serious offence and has a pattern of
  offending behaviour, or
• committed a serious offence and there are other
  aggravating factors

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Non-custodial sentencing options include

• reprimand
• discharge
• compensation order
• fine
• community service
• probation
• attendance order for specific program

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Custody and Supervision

• sentencing a young person to custody is
  considered a last resort
• young persons may not be placed in custody in
  place of appropriate child protection, mental
  health or other social measures
• young persons must not be placed in custody where
  an adult would not be jailed for the same
  behaviour
• young persons will generally serve their time in
  a separate youth facility

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Custodial Sentences

• all custodial sentences now include a period of
  supervision in the community
• a young person will generally serve a portion of
  their sentence in custody and a portion in the
  community, with conditions
• if a young person breaches a community
  supervision condition, the conditions may be
  modified or the young person may be returned to
  custody

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Youth sentences carry different maximums than
adult sentences

• 10 years for first degree murder
• 7 years for second degree murder
• 3 years for other offences where an adult could
  receive a life sentence
• 2 years for all other crimes

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Adult Sentences

• For an adult sentence to be imposed, the court
  must determine that a youth sentence would not be
  sufficient length to hold the young person
  accountable.

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Rehabilitation Reintegration

• custody provisions recognize that young person
  will eventually be released back into the
  community
• youth workers help young persons develop a
  reintegration plan aimed at maximizing the young
  persons chances for a successful reintegration

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Youth Justice System generally protects the
identity of young persons

• to maximize the chances of rehabilitation and to
  allow young persons to put their criminal past
  behind them
• BUT

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Information in a record may be shared

• by a peace officer if it is necessary to do so in
  the course of an investigation
• by a provincial director or youth worker who is
  preparing a report requested by the court if it
  is necessary to do so to obtain information for
  the report

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and

• Information may be disclosed to any person
  involved in the supervision or care of a young
  person if it is necessary to
• ensure compliance by the young person with an
  order of the court
• ensure the safety of staff, students or other
  persons
• facilitate the rehabilitation of the young person

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Conferences
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Youth Justice Conferences

• provide community members and victims with an
  opportunity to participate in reaching a creative
  solution for instances of youth crime
• can involve any group of people convened to give
  advice to a decision-maker under the Act (police
  officer, justice of the peace, judge, prosecutor,
  youth worker, etc.)

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Youth Justice Conferences continued

• a conference can be called anytime a decision has
  to be made under the Act
• individuals who participate may have access to
  the youths record if it is required for the
  administration of the case at hand

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Involving the Community
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Youth Justice Requires a Community Approach

• Members of society share a responsibility to
  address the developmental challenges and
• needs of young persons and
• guide them into adulthood.

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A community approach means

• communities, families and others should work in
  partnership to prevent youth crime by addressing
  its underlying causes, responding to the needs of
  young persons and providing guidance and support
• parents should be informed of measures or
  proceedings involving their children and
  encouraged to support them in addressing their
  offending behaviour

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The YCJA A New Approach to Youth Justice

• the YCJA recognizes that it is important to
  maintain a separate system to apply the criminal
  law to young persons
• because of their youth, young people also need
  special procedural protections within the youth
  criminal justice system

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and

• because of their level of development and
  maturity, criminal behaviour may be less
  ingrained and easier to correct with proper
  support and supervision
• the Act emphasizes accountability,
  responsibility, respect and makes a clear
  distinction between serious violent offences and
  less serious offences

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The Challenge

• The implementation of the Youth Criminal Justice
  Act poses a challenge to youth and society.
  Knowledge and understanding of youth justice
  issues will help individuals and communities rise
  to the challenge.
• For more information about the YCJA, contact
  PLEA or the Department of Justice Canada.