From Boys to Men

1. Responding to Juvenile Crime in Canada From Boys to Men By Andrew Carvajal Nov 21st 2007

2. Two Justice Systems Why Little Jim and Big John belong in separate cells

3. dolixincapaxdoctrine • Common law conception of “incapacity to do wrong” • Child under seven deemed incapable of possessing criminal mind • Could be extended to children up to the age of 13 but rebutted if child had sufficient mental capacity • Reasonable person • Discernment • Youths are limited in other ways • Vote, marry, consent to sex, drink, smoke, jury duty

4. Doing Good or Doing Justice? • Anna Leslie (1996): 2 concepts of social control ideology in legal regulation of youth • ‘Doing good' (inclusion)  rehabilitation as the primary aim of punishment • Integration, tolerance, incorporation to the community • ‘Doing justice' (exclusion)  fairness, openness, and safety from abuse • Stigmatization – delinquent label • Segregation from community

5. Doing Good or Doing Justice? (Doob et al. 1998)

6. The Age-Crime Curve • Life-course persistent criminals are rare (Moffit 1993) • Most common type is the adolescence-limited type • Depends on interaction with others at this time of life • Individual is trapped in a maturity gap • Crime is relational and a product of turning points in life (Sampson and Laub1993) • Stops when contingencies shift • Maturity gap is overcome and commitments costs to society increase • Informal social bonds in adulthood take priority

7. The Age-Crime Curve • If young criminals “fixed” by time, then why punishment? • Crime-age curve peaks in late teens, when public opinion and judges are more willing to impose harsher sentences on youths • Some may already be at the age where they can be tried as adults • Ignoring that criminality will decrease, they will be in prison when they are no longer at risk of engaging in criminal activities

9. Labelling Theory • Crime as matter of social definition (Schur 1971) • Results from the labelling of a person as such • “The person becomes the thing he is described as being” (Tannenbaum, 1938) • Initial delinquent acts are relatively harmless instances of primary deviance • BUT, as children go through the criminal process, secondary labelling leads to a self-concept and attitude that fits the label (Matsueda 1992; Schur 1971) • A socialization process that is virtually irreversible • Crime then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy

10. Labelling Theory • Most youths will commit delinquent acts but only a few will be labelled criminals (Becker 1963) • This will limit their future opportunities • The individual is segregated form mainstream society (Becker 1963) • Studies find that prior delinquency largely influences future delinquency (Matsueda 1992) • Criminality changes as the definitions of crime change (Schur 1971) • Importance of agents of social control and powerful economic and political groups behind it

11. Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice System A historical account

12. The Early Days • Colonial influence of French and English law • Most common source of juvenile delinquency was the fur trade • Mostly urban boys who suffered parental neglect • Children generally expected to accept difficulties of life and often treated the same as criminal adults • Youth sentencing was met with mixed feelings and arbitrariness • Combining harsh punishments and some justice tempered with mercy • Usually those under 7 not punished regardless of crime, and those under 14 spared of most severe punishments

13. An Air of Reform • Influence of the Enlightenment • Behaviour is influenced by social structure and people’s behaviour can be rehabilitated • Greater attention to the welfare of children • Movement to separate adult and juvenile offenders • Offer education and religious services instead • Act respecting Arrest, Trial and Imprisonment of Youthful Offenders (1894) • Separation of young and old offenders at arrest, trial, custody • Trials of young persons under 16 to take place without publicity • 1982 Criminal Code • S.9 : No one under 7 could be convicted of an offence • S.10: Convictions of children under 14 only when competent to know the nature and consequences of their conduct

14. Juvenile Delinquency Act - 1908 • First major legislation to establish a separate system for criminal youths • Doctrine of parenspatriae • State intervenes as "kindly parent“ when family could not provide for the needs of its children • “Every juvenile delinquent shall be treated, not as a criminal, but as a misdirected and misguided child” • Established separate juvenile courts in all cases involving children • Juveniles over 14 charged with an indictable offence (such as treason or murder) would face ordinary court

15. Young Offenders Act - 1984 • Maintained distinction in the treatment of juvenile and adult crime • But ended the paternalistic approach of the JDA, awarding same legal rights to juveniles and adults, like right to counsel and appeal • Raised minimum age of prosecution to 12 and the a maximum age for some criminals to be tried as youth offenders to 17 • Although it allowed transfers to adult court in certain situations, its intent was that most cases be tried in youth court

16. The Young Offenders Act – A Public Relations Disaster • Many individuals thought that the YOA was too lenient on young offenders • 80.6% of Canadians felt that youth court sentences were not severe enough (Barber and Doob 2004) • More than 4/5 respondents identified “increasing sentences for violent youth” as the number one criminal justice priority (Tufts and Roberts 2002) • Between 1991 and 1996 Statistics Canada reported that violent crime by young offenders had increased by 16.1 percent

17. The Young Offenders Act – A Public Relations Disaster • Others criticized the overuse of incarceration on young offenders • Parliament could only encourage provincial governments to adopts alternative measures to custody • Too little use of alternative punishments and too many substantial disparities in sentencing • Amongst most frequent offences, except for robbery, youthful offenders were likely to receive a longer custody than their adult counterparts (Statistics Canada, 2000) • In 1997, Canada had the highest rate of youth custody in the Western world (including the US), incarcerating juvenile offenders at four times the rate for adults (Bala 2004) • In 1999, approximately 3 out of 5 youths in custody at any given time, where there on pre-trial detention and not for a trial imposed custody

18. Convicted Cases in Youth Court to Receive Custody (Doob & Sprott 2006: 226)

19. Youth Criminal Justice Act - 2003 • Sold by the Government as a “tough” response to youth crime, but is it? • The Act’s preamble proposes: • A more selective use of the formal justice system in the treatment of young offenders • Toughen the response to grave violent offenders • Reduce over-reliance on incarceration for non-violent youth • Greater use of extra-judicial measures and increasing youth reintegration into the community after custody • Pay greater attention to the victims of youth crime • It further calls attention to the role of the community in addressing the needs of young people

20. Youth Criminal Justice Act • Unlike previous acts, the YCJA explicitly states the purpose, principles and factors to be considered in sentencing young persons • A sentence must be fair and proportionate (ss. 3 & 38) • No more transfers to adult court, but a youth may receive an adult sentence if over 14 and convicted of an offence punishable by more than 2 years in jail • The identity may also become publicly disclosed • Pre-trial detention was further limited, and assumed to not be necessary unless if the offense, if convicted, would warrant custody

21. Youth Criminal Justice Act • Amongst alterative measures to custody are the following: • Encourage police warnings and cautions • Pre-court referrals to community programs • Deferred custody and community supervision • Judicial reprimand • Interestingly the objective of deterrence has been left out of the Act

22. Where are we? Where are we heading?

23. Does Canadian Legislation Measure up to Sociological Theory? • Incarcerations • The imposition of adult sentences under the new act for violent offenders seems to defy the age-crime curve • Less reliance on custody for minor offenders looks promising in this respect • Less pre-trial detention may lead to less labelling and less interaction with more serious criminal offenders • Proportionality and the idea that a sentence is appropriate for the time needed for treatment to occur • Compatible with the conception that crime changes over time • But, are youths reformed or do they simply stop committing crime once they become older?

24. Is Incarceration Decreasing? • Generally speaking it seems that the YCJA has led to substantial reduction in incarceration of young offenders • Since less reliance in custody for lesser crimes, there are less short-custodial sentences (Bala 2004) • Comprehensive statistics on the new law and number of youths in court and custody does not yet exist

25. One Example: Ontario (Doob & Sprott 2006: 231)

26. Are Custodial Sentences Effective? • Doob (2000) - if people who feel sentencing is too lenient knows: • Cost to maintain a 17 year old in prison can be 6000 dollars/month • Most people in custody are released in less than three months • Unlike prison sentences, community service and fines are supposed to be carried out in full • There is the possibility of group conferences as restorative approaches with the victims • Their support for incarceration declines

27. From Harsher Sentences to what is Reasonable and Fair • Lawmakers and law enforcers reacting to people’s comments that sentencing is too lenient may be reacting to people with mistaken assumptions • Alternative sanctions should be made more salient amongst the public discourse • Doob (2000): less attention to “too soft” or “too harsh” and more towards what is intelligent and fair

28. Who’s in Custody? • In 1998–1999 Aboriginal youth were heavily overrepresented in detention centres • While they account for only 5 % of the total youth population, Aboriginal youth made up to 24% of total admissions to custody • In Manitoba and Saskatchewan 75% of youth sentenced to custody were Aboriginal (Statistics Canada) • Those who are most often labelled deviant are at the margin of society (Becker) • Less access to good attorneys, knowledge of their rights and being able to negotiate a non-guilty plea • Less capable of obtain psychiatric or other means of help that keep them away from receding

29. More on Labelling and the New Law • Greater use of extra-judicial measures can lead to less labelling and its impact on crime • Publishing the identity of violent youth offenders can jeopardize their future • Less opportunities to integrate to adult and community life once out of custody, because of the criminal label