The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA; ) is a federal Canadian statute that covers the prosecution of youths for criminal offences.
Coming into effect on April 1, 2003, the Act replaced the Young Offenders Act, which itself was a replacement for the Juvenile Delinquents Act.
Definition of youth The Act governs the application of criminal and correctional law to those 12 years old or older, but younger than 18 at the time of committing the offence (Section 2 of the YCJA). Youth aged 14 to 17 may be sentenced as adults under certain conditions, as described later on in the Act. The Criminal Code, section 13, states "No person shall be convicted of an offence in respect of an act or omission on their part while that person was under the age of twelve years."
Preamble The preamble of the Act recognizes that youth have rights protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Bill of Rights and the United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Declaration of principles The Act includes four general principles found in section 3(1).
Basic principles and intentions Paragraph (a) addresses the basic principles of the Act and the Act intentions on dealing with young offenders and youth crime. More specifically, paragraph (a) sets the basic principle that the YCJA attempts to address underlying behaviour, such as pre-existing conditions or circumstances that would lead to an offending behaviour.Books.Google.ca, Rock, N. (2008). Law and Legislation for Social Service Workers. Emond Montgomery Publication. Page, 211. Retrieved July 26, 2009. It also seeks to, above all, reintegrate young persons who commit offences into society through means of rehabilitation.
Accountability, rehabilitation, and reintegration Paragraph (b) incorporates a recognition that young people need to be held accountable for their crimes, and have a greater opportunity to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.Endres, Karen. 2004. The Youth Criminal Justice Act: The New Face of Canada's Youth Criminal Justice System. Family Court Review. 42(3). pp. 526–539 The criminal justice system for young persons must be separate from that of adults and emphasize the following:
(i) Rehabilitation and Reintegration: The implementation of extrajudicial measures instead of more punitive sentences for less serious offences "address the rehabilitative needs of youths within the limit of a proportionate response to the offence". The goal is to first rehabilitate and then reintegrate (assisting a young offender to adjust back into their community).
(ii) Fair/proportionate accountability with greater dependency and reduced maturity: During sentencing "proportionality determines the degree of intervention of the sentence".Barnhorst, Richard. 2004. "The Youth Criminal Justice Act: New Directions and Implementation Issues" Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice 46(3)231–250. The court must hold the offender accountable only for the acts committed. Therefore, "accountability is to occur through the imposition of meaningful consequences and measures that will promote the rehabilitation and reintegration of youth into society". The offender's level of maturity is considered when deciding on a response to the offence that is both fair and proportionate.
(iii) Enhanced procedural protection, fairness, rights: These procedural protections are there to guarantee that young people's rights are protected and that they are treated fairly. Some of these rights include but are not limited to: right to privacy, right to talk with a lawyer and an adult.Minacker, Joanne C. and Bryan Hogeveen. 2009. "The Operation of the Youth Criminal Justice System." Pp 85–109 in Youth, Crime, and Society Issues of Power and Justice. Toronto, ON: Pearson Education Canada.
(iv) Ensure timely intervention reinforces link between offence and consequence.
(v) Promptness and speed with which persons responsible for this Act must act, given young persons' perception of time.
Social values Paragraph (c) is meant to reflect social values while taking into account each individual's unique situation. It outlines the parameters within which the measures taken against a youth offender are set:
(i) Reinforce respect for societal values by implementing exercises that contribute positively to a youth's rehabilitation.
(ii) Encourage repair of harm done to victims and emphasizing their rights. Furthermore, repair of harm done to the community is also encouraged.
(iii) Be meaningful for the individual young person given their needs and level of development and, where appropriate, involve the parents, the extended family, the community and social or other agencies in the young person's rehabilitation and reintegration. The Act provides a much bigger role for the parents and the community.
(iv) Respect gender, ethnic, cultural and linguistic differences and respond to the needs of aboriginal young persons and of young persons with special requirements.
Rights and considerations Paragraph (d) describes the special considerations for criminal proceedings against young persons. It highlights four in particular.Tustin, L. (2004). A Guide to the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Toronto: Dayton Ohio.
(i) The rights of young persons, such as right to be heard in the course of and to participate in the processes and the special guarantees of their rights and freedoms
(ii) The rights of victims. They should be treated with courtesy, compassion and respect for their dignity and privacy and should suffer the minimum degree of inconvenience as a result of their involvement with the YCJS - youth criminal justice system.Books.Google.ca, Mccaslin, W. D. (2005). Justice As Healing: Indigenous Ways. Washington DC: Living Justice Press.
(iii) The role of victims. They should be provided with information about the proceedings and given opportunity to participate and be heard.
(iv) The role of parents. The parents should be informed of their child's proceedings, and are encouraged to support them in addressing their offending behaviour. (vi)
Extrajudicial measures
Under Part 1 of the Act, extrajudicial measures are used for responding to less serious youth crimes in a timely and effective manner. Police are the first officials to be encountered within the system and possess the power to use discretion in deciding whether to issue a warning, a police caution, or a charge. If the youth agrees, the police can also refer the youth to a program under section 7 of the Act. If the police decide to refer the case to the courts, the Crown can choose to issue a Crown caution.Minaker, Joanne, and Bryan Hogeveen. Youth, Crime, and Society: Issues of Power and Justice. United States of America: Pearson Education Center, 2009.
If a warning, caution or referral was issued it means that the police officer has taken no further action on the offence. If a warning, caution, or referral is not appropriate, an extrajudicial sanction may be considered as well.
Principles Section 4 of the Act sets out principles that govern the establishment of policies about extrajudicial measures:
They are often most appropriate to address youth crime;Campbell, K. (2005). "Understanding Youth Justice in Canada". Pearson Education Canada, 182–183. They allow for effective intervention focused on correcting offending behaviour; They are presumed to be adequate for young persons charged with a non-violent offence and are not guilty of any prior offence and They should be used if they are sufficient to hold a young offender accountable and may be used if a young person has previously been dealt with by extrajudicial measures.
Objectives These measures are applied by police and Crown attorneys with the intention that youth can be held liable through non-court measures for their offence(s).(2004)."Moving Forward: Pocket Guide to the Youth Criminal Justice Act Canada". Second Edition: British Columbia. Retrieved July 23, 2008 Gov.bc.ca
Under Section 5 of the Act, objectives of these measures are to: Provide an effective and timely response to offending behaviour outside of judicial measures.Marinos, V., & Innocente, N. (2008). "Factors influencing police attitudes toward extrajudicial measures under the Youth Criminal Justice Act". Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 50(4), 469–489. Encourage young persons to acknowledge and repair the harm caused to the victim/community. Encourage families and members of the community to get involved in implementing the measures. Provide victims with a chance to take part in the decisions relating to the measures and to receive reparation. Respect the freedoms of young persons and ensure proportionality to the seriousness of the crime.
These objectives are specially designed so that a wide range of diversionary options are available to achieve an array of objectives and it is important to take into consideration many factors when deciding on a fair response to the offence. For example, if the young person has already started reparation to the harm done to the victim, the person deciding on the type of extrajudicial measure should consider that factor when determining an appropriate response.(2008). "YCJA explained – resource manual for police- extrajudicial measures – principles and objectives". Department of Justice Canada. Retrieved July 23, 2008, Justice.gc.ca
Types of extrajudicial measures There are four types of extrajudicial measures (not including extrajudicial sanctions):
Warnings are informal warnings issued by police officers. They are usually used for minor crimes.Canadian Legal FAQs Law-faqs.org , January 2005. Retrieved July 21, 2009Department of Justice. "The Youth Criminal Justice Act: Summary and Background." Department of Justice. December 13, 2008. July 26, 2009, Justice.gc.ca Police cautions are formal warnings from the police. In some jurisdictions, it is expected that police cautions will be in the form of a letter from the police to the young person and the parents, or they may involve a process in which the young person and the parents are requested to appear at a police station to talk to a senior police officer. Crown cautions are similar to police cautions but prosecutors give the caution after the police refer the case to them. In one province where they are currently being used, the caution is in the form of a letter to the young person and the parents. Referring to different community
Extrajudicial sanctions An extrajudicial sanction is defined as a type of extrajudicial measure used to deal with a young person only if they cannot be adequately dealt by a warning, caution or referral as outlined above. Conditions that dictate this are the seriousness of the offence, the nature and number of previous offences committed by the young person or any other aggravating circumstances.Department of Justice. 2008. "Extrajudicial Sanctions." Canada: Department of Justice, Retrieved July 24, 2009, Justice.gc.ca Extrajudicial sanctions examples include restitution or compensation, service to the victim or community, attendance and participating in counselling and treatment programs, etc.Public Legal Education Association of Saskatchewan.2008. "A Look at the Law." - Public Legal Education Association of Saskatchewan, Retrieved July 23, 2009, Plea.org
Formerly termed as alternative measures under the Young Offenders ActDepartment of Justice. 2008. "Types of Extrajudicial Measures." Canada: Department of Justice, Retrieved July 24, 2009,