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Canadian Youth Crime: The Labelling Theory

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Youth crime is one of the most prevalent, ongoing issues within Canadian society. Beginning predominantly in the 1960s with the baby boomers and reaching dangerous levels with the crime spike leading into the 21st century, adolescent crime has become a topic of strong interest. Over time, multiple methods have been implemented to eliminate these young offenders. Although large strides have been made in reducing the amount of crime among Canadian minors, the nation is still burdened by this serious matter. In 2014, Allen and Superle (2016) found that 13% of all people accused of crime were Canadian youth. However, it was found that youth, between the ages 12 to 17, accounted for only 7% of the population (Allen & Superle, 2016). This is of much significance considering the length of time since the crime rate began to fall in the 1990s. In order to solve this problem, one must find the root of it. Many perspectives lay the blame on Canadian youth for their poor decisions and rebelliousness. However, I believe that young people are uncontrollably bound to deviant behaviour. Are Canadian youth, as a whole, required to evade a predestined life of crime? …show more content…

The labelling theory, also known as the social reaction theory, claims that people begin to self-identify as specific labels given to them by representative members of society (Siegel, Brown, & Hoffman, 2013). The correlation between teenagers and criminal labels will be further researched in this study. Bernburg, Krohn, and Rivera (2006) support this perspective on youth crime claiming that “official, or formal, adjudication for an offense may create or enhance the reputation of a juvenile as a criminal in his or her community” (p. 69). This can lead to prejudicial labels on innocent teenagers resulting in a vicious cycle. The widespread branding of adolescents created by the labeling theory is significant proof of

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Director of Justice Reform and the MacArthur Foundation, as well as Christopher Simmons advocate Laurie Garduque reminiscences on the disregard for criminal juveniles during that time: “As concern about increasing juvenile crime peaked, we were alarmed at the wave of harsh juvenile justice reform sweeping the country that blurred lines between adults and juveniles… Existing research did not address the legal implications of adolescent developmental immaturity with respect to competency, culpability, and capacity for change” (“Roper v. Simmons Ten Years Later”). A similar sentiment was shared with Columbia Law School professor Elizabeth Scott, who recalled the conditions for criminal youth in the early 1990’s, asserting that “...attitudes about juvenile crime became more punitive, and it was clear that lawmakers weren’t focusing on developmental differences between teens and adults or how immaturity might contribute to juvenile offending” (“Roper v. Simmons Ten Years Later”). There are a myriad of scary commonalities between these anecdotes, such as the legal disregard for youths despite their underdeveloped brains. There are many factors that make adolescent minds susceptible to committing crimes.

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57). Research shows that delinquency and youth violence have been on the rise over the decade growing in epidemic proportions since 1993 (Hoyt & Scherer, 1998). Delinquency means for one to break the law and does not have to involve any form of criminal activity in one doing so. However, it is known that antisocial behavior, delinquency, and violence share common roots and similar consequences according to Mcwhirter et al. (2013). Violent crimes committed by youth has escalated by youth victimized by youth violence doubling the in juvenile arrests for violent crime by 2010, and fueled anxieties about future crime wave as the juvenile delinquents mature into adults (Hoyt & Scherer, 1998) with female delinquency making its mark up the ladder according to research.

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Retrieved from https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/508315/COCE_113782_01_Dec_14.pdf. Cunneen, C., White, R., & Richards, K. (2013). Juvenile justice: youth and crime in australia. Retrieved from EBook Central.

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In response to the concerns of having one of the highest youth incarceration rates in the world in the late 1990s, Canada introduced the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) to counteract the high incarceration rates and to put an emphasis on extra-judicial measures (EJMs) to deter youth from the criminal justice system. While the YCJA has shown success, and to have strike a balance that the Act’s predecessors were lacking, it still has underlying issues. Youth whom are most vulnerable, such as those with mental illness, homeless, abused or in poverty are most susceptible to getting involved in the youth criminal system. According to the More Less Court report by the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, the province of New Brunswick has been

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People have always considered children kind, generous, caring, and playful, but never crminal offenders. The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), as Canadians know today, as we know it today, was only sometimes the YCJA. It all started as the Jjuvenile Ddelinquent Aact (1908-1984), which then evolved into the Yyoung Ooffender's Aact (1984-2003) and finally evolved into the YCJAyouth criminal justice act (2003-present). The YCJAS's prmary goal is to protect the community by holding Canadian youth accountable, rehabilitating and reintegrating youths back into society, and preventing crime amongst youth. However, is the YCJA effectively dealing with youth crime in Canada?

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This has been a tremendous development, since for the longest time adults were most often studied. However, labeling theorists stress the importance of understanding that offenders can be labeled both formally and informally, and some believe that juveniles take the brunt of this the most. To be formally labeled, a juvenile would be labeled by the control agencies such as criminal courts, juvenile detention centers, etc. Informal labels would be produced by friends, parents, teachers, social networks, community members, etc. While there has been more research on formal labeling, both seem to be taken quite seriously (Adams et al.,

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