According to Statistics Canada, Canadian youth courts heard more than 60,000 cases last year. Over the last few years, the Canadian government has been working to establish a new youth justice system. The efforts culminated in the passing of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) in 2002. The YCJA seeks to promote accountability and responsibility for crime while providing meaningful consequences for young offenders; provide long-term, sustainable solutions to youth crime; and, at the same time, protect human rights. The YCJA also makes provisions for how the courts should deal with young offenders in regard to charges levied, sentencing and reintegration into society among others.
Canadian Opinion on Youth Criminal Justice
The Canadian justice system, like the U.S. system, has different provisions for how youth who commit crimes are treated compared to adults. But do most Canadians feel young people who commit crimes should be treated differently?
In March 2000*, when Gallup asked Canadians about some of the proposed (at the time) changes to the youth justice system, a majority of Canadians responded that they wanted stricter policies for young offenders across a variety of different aspects of the justice system. In 1998**, a majority of Canadians told Gallup that accused young offenders between the ages of 12 and 17 should not be treated differently than accused adult offenders. Fifty-seven percent of Canadian adults agreed that youth should be tried similarly to adults, while 38% said that there should be special provisions and sentences for accused young offenders. These responses were similar for both adults living in households with children under 18 and those living in adults-only households.
U.S. Opinion of Youth Criminal Justice
According to a question asked of U.S. residents in 2000***, sentiments in the United States are even more unforgiving of youth who commit violent crimes. Almost two- thirds (65%) of American adults believe that juveniles between the ages of 14 and 17 who commit violent crimes should be treated the same as adults, rather than receiving more lenient treatment in a juvenile court. Less than a quarter (24%) of U.S. residents believe juveniles should be treated more leniently.
Implications of YCJA
Regardless of public opinion, the YCJA will dictate how the courts should proceed in regards to youth who are accused of crimes in Canada. One of the problems the YCJA seeks to alleviate is the relatively high level of youth incarceration in Canada. Figures demonstrate that the youth incarceration rate was higher under the previous system than in any other country in the Western world, including the United States. "Primarily the system lacked proportionality," says Catherine Latimer, Director General of Youth Justice Policy at Canada's Department of Justice. "The seriousness of the offense was not linked with the consequences. Two outcomes to this: overcharging and over incarceration of young persons and reduced confidence that serious crimes were being taken seriously enough by the system."
According to Latimer, the new legislation promotes a strategy that focuses on prevention, accountability and rehabilitation. "The overall direction of the new Act is that penalties be instructive, that youth understand that their behavior has negative consequences and that rehabilitation and reintegration is a focus."
Key Points
Overall, it seems that both Canadians and Americans support stricter treatment of youth offenders. The basic tenets of the YJCA promote more effective treatment of youthful offenders, with the emphasis on "making the punishment fit the crime" and ensuring that punishments serve some purpose other than removal from society. It will also attempt to assist the youth in their reintegration into society. It remains to be seen if these standards will be successful in the eyes of Canadians, especially those Canadians who feel that young criminals should be treated the same as older criminals.
*Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,002 Canadian adults, aged 18 and older, conducted March 13-19, 2000. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3%.
**Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,005 Canadian adults, aged 18 and older, conducted March 18-24, 1998. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3%.
***Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,012 U.S. adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Aug. 29 to Sept. 3, 2000. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3%.