Within Law Lies Injustice

Canada has many rules in place for all the crimes that happens throughout the country. However, people of different ages are treated differently. This is because of the YCJA, which gives youth who commit crime, under the age of eighteen, certain rights that adult criminals don’t get. This is a very debated and important topic because this act gives certain advantages to youth criminals because of their age and some people don’t think that this is fair.

The Youth Justice System uses rehabilitative justice when dealing with youth. This method is proven to be effective. If we compare this way of justice to United States (which uses retributive justice) we will see a difference in crime rates and notice that United States has a higher rate of people prisoned than Canada. This affects citizens of United States of quality of life since they have to pay more taxes to keep those people in jail. In Canada our quality of life is affected by this, because we have less people in prisons which means we have more people in society that our sharing the load of taxes. The Youth Justice System subjects the offender to just and meaningful consequences that will affect the young offender in positive way. Instead of just locking up the offender or using harsh punishments, it uses methods such as restitution, community service, counselling (social and mental health workers) to deal with the

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 Canadian population ranging between 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 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 principle of these laws have been debated for a long time. This paper will discuss how

Entry #1: Maynard, Robyn. "Incarcerating youth as justice? An in-depth examination of youth, incarceration, and restorative justice." Canadian Dimension Sept.-Oct. 2011: 25+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

In Canada when a young person gets in trouble with the law, the punishment given will be in accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The Youth Criminal Justice Act was created in 2003. The main objective of this legislation is to hold youth accountable for their actions through the promotion of “rehabilitation” and “reintegration” (Youth Criminal Justice Act, 2002, S.3a(ii)). Within the Canadian court system, there is a youth court for individuals who get in trouble with the law while they are still under the age of 18 years. In Calgary, Alberta the youth courtrooms are located in the Calgary Courts Center building, which is located at 601 5th Street SW. I attended youth court on Wednesday, October 26, 2016 and Monday, October 31th. This paper will shed light on the atmosphere of the youth courtroom, analyze how the criminal justice professionals are acting within the courtroom, and discuss certain cases that went through the youth courts.

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

The overwhelming majority of juveniles are involved in impulsive or risky, even delinquent behaviors during their teenage years. However, the majority go on to become very productive citizens who do not commit crimes. In order for this to continue the government established the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) which gives young offenders a chance to better themselves, and. By doing so, the YCJA helps teach youth that their actions are unacceptable and the punishments imposed are lesser then an adult. Through the analysis of their unacceptable actions, lesser punishments and a better future, it is clear that YCJA is highly effective at giving youth a better chance in society.

In the same fashion that a gardener does not deem some flowers worthy of their attention, the YCJA does not aim for inequitably. In fact, the Youth Criminal Justice Act is an exceptionally fair and equitable system. Each and every case brought to the YCJA is analyzed individually. As a matter of fact, the judge even takes the time to examine every youth offender’s circumstances. For instance, a homeless child stealing from a store could be punished differently than a wealthy child stealing from the

A lot of Canadian youth face issues such as living in poverty, living in violent neighbourhoods and sometimes that leads to them becoming young offenders. In order to help these youth become positive contributing parts of Canadian society the impact that the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the Safe Streets and Communities Act has had on them must be studied. Therefore this essay will address the questions of whether the purpose of the legislation we have to deal with youth offenders is to rehabilitate youth or punish them, and whether or not the method being used by the Canadian government is effective in allowing young offenders to create and lead a stable life after being released from jail. This paper will argue that the main goal of the

Imagine you're a parent, and your child has just gotten into trouble with the law. They are taken into custody, and the whole time, you are worried sick because you know that the current youth crime system can mean that your child could share a cell with a rapist, or murder. Before the Youth Criminal Justice Act was enacted, the youth of Canada would be sent to court or jail over minor things, such as petty theft or not showing up to court. They could be put into a cell where they share a room with a rapist or murderer, scared to death of what could happen to them. The Youth Criminal Justice act, enacted in 2003, ensured that troubled teens aged 12 to 17 could instead of being thrown in jail where they may even be further influenced by more

YCJA Essay by Salmaan Malik 9-1 The Youth Criminal Justice Act first came into effect on April 1, 2003. It was an act that was initiated to help deal with youth criminals that were above the age of 12 but under 18. And one of the main focuses of the YCJA was to provide meaningful consequences and then reintegrate the youth back into society. However since it was first introduced, the YCJA has raised many questions surrounding it with a major one being: Is the YCJA fair and equitable to youth?

The twenty-first century poses as an evolutionary revolution for young offenders. Barry Levinson’s Oscar nominated film Sleepers discloses many of the frailties previously encompassed within the youth justice system, shedding insight on the lack of legislative review. Although four young first-time offenders known as Tommy Marcano, Michael Sullivan, John Reilly, and Lorenzo Carcaterra are sentenced within the retributive justice system for crimes of mischief and theft, the Wilkinson’s Detention Center further victimizes these youth creating a deeper path of violence. In contrast to zero-tolerance policies enforced within the film, the establishment of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) in 2003 provides a structural framework that enhances

Tupac “Shakur once said “What I learned in jail is that I can't change. I can't live a different lifestyle - this is it. This is the life that they gave and this is the life that I made.” Many adults cannot learn or change during their time in the jail. But this is different for youth. Youth are still growing and their minds are still developing. Youth are more vulnerable to the negative aspects of society and hence have to be helped. The Youth Criminal Justice Act was created by the Canadian Government in 2003 to do just that. The act protects and enforces the rights and freedoms that a youth has. The act helps and provides guidance for youth in the trial process. Finally, the youth is protected in the sentencing and rehabilitation process.

High rates of recidivism demonstrate that the judicial system has been unsuccessful in determining criminal activity. Alternatives to incarceration known as restorative justice has existed for centuries, yet has only been recently implicated into the Canadian judicial system. The practices of restorative justice have been proven very successful for minor offences among adults and youth in bringing together the offenders, victims, and the community. However, acts of violence and serious offences committed by youths have no place in these resolutions. The act of violence is traumatizing to the victim. There is a high chance of re-conviction of a violent offence and these types of

In the beginning the Juvenile System was based on the welfare module which focused on understanding some of the reasons why individual’s commit crime and re-offend. The module looked for alternative ways to help the offender not to offend and re-offend.The juvenile system furthermore emphases that the state should be responsible for the well-being of individual of society and that the public should be protected from harm. As result of this notion the government was considered to be the main guardian of peace and order and no other power can override them. In the last Couple of decades the government’s responses in regards to juvenile delinquency have been punitive. This approach changed when a serious criticism was launched against the Youth