Y.C.J.A.

Youth crime has always been a high profile topic in the media. You see news articles title Youth Crime On The Rise. The media focuses on stories that involve youth crime because thats what people are afraid of. Today, despite the fact that youth crime rates have been steadily dropping for nearly a decade, Canadians still view youth crime as a serious problem. These days it's the Youth Criminal Justice Act that is to blame for our criminal youth. Before the Y.C.J.A. came into effect it was the Young Offenders Act that was the problem.

I have a problem with people who think that we need to get tougher on youth crime. They call for longer sentences and more incarceration. I thought thats what we getting away from. Under the Y.O.A. Canada was incarcerating youth at a highest rate in the developed world. I am not against incarceration of dangerous violent offenders but for less serious offenders we need to focus on altering behavior. The Y.C.J.A. is attempting to do just that, it has made clear that for less serious offences like vandalism, and theft there are more sentencing options, such as the use of restorative justice and diversion programs designed to integrate troubled youth into society productively. The Act also is attempting to make it easier to allow courts to sentence youth as adults in cases involving more serious offences.

The Y.C.J.A. is not yet two years old and its key mandate is to divert youth that has conflicts with the law before they commit more serious offences. Lets give it a chance to work before we start to demand tougher legislation.