Youth and Crime

1. Youth and Crime

2. Beliefs . . . • Society should concentrate on preventing crime and devoting more resources to the rehabilitation of young people who break the law. • Many adolescents will break the law and will simply make mistakes. Does this mean that all young people are destined to become criminals. • Thoughts?

3. Facts • Females between the ages of 12 and 17 represent one of the fastest-growing areas of youth crime in Canada. • Serious violent crimes, such as murder or aggravated sexual assault, represents a small fraction of reported crimes committed by youths. • Critics claim that popular entertainment that glorifies violence as well as mass media exaggerating behaviour of youth intimidates the older population. • American youth commit homicide six to ten times more frequently than Canadian youth. • At one point, children seven years of age and over were tried as adults (until 1908).

4. Factors can lead to criminal behaviour • Abused or neglected children tend to be prone to violence. • Parents who abuse drugs or alcohol or are involved in criminal activity can have a negative impact on a youth’s respect of the law. • Youth who leave home and live are the streets may be more inclined to break the law.

5. Juvenile Delinquents Act • Juvenile delinquents – children who committed crimes or were considered ‘unmanageable’ or ‘sexually immoral’. • Also included children who ran away from home, skipped school. • They were not treated like criminals but misdirected children who needed encouragement and help turning their lives around. • Were often send to training schools to receive disciplinary and vocational instruction. • Focused on the ‘welfare of the child’.

6. Young Offenders Act • Replaced the Juvenile Delinquents Act in 1984. • Shifted from a ‘welfare’ system to a criminal system. • Minimum age moved to 12 years. • Applied the same in all provinces. • Held accountable for their crimes but at a lower level than adults. • Recognized the Charter. • With amendments to this act, youth could receive a sentence of 10 years for murder.

7. Youth Criminal Justice Act • The purpose – long-term protection of society. • Address the circumstances underlying a young person’s behaviour and focusing on measures that will impact the youth’s rehabilitation. • Make the sentence match the crime – consider ways other than custody. • Adult sentences are imposed by justice in youth court for first- and second-degree murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, aggravated sexual assault, and repeat “serious violent offenders”. The identity of these youths are made public after they have been sentenced.

8. Incapacity of Children • The law assumes that children under the age of 12 are incapable of appreciating the nature and consequences of a criminal act and is, therefore, not criminally responsible. • They are dealt with by consequences given by their parents or according the the social welfare and mental health laws of each province or territory. • The police can apprehend a child and place the child in a temporary care facility. • Children can be removed from their parents’ homes on a permanent basis and be placed in foster care. • Violent children or those with serious behavioral problems can also be sent for treatment in a secure mental-health facility.