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Youth Criminal Justice Act Essay

1064 Words5 Pages

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? Some people believe that the YCJA is effectively dealing with youth crime …show more content…

One of the core principles of the YCJA is that each young person is viewed as an individual and is entitled to have their uinque circumstances taken into account when they come in contact with the law. This means that the YCJA recongnizes that young people who come in conflict with the law are not neccessarily criminals but may be dealing with various issues, including family problems, mental health issues, substance abuse, and other relevant factors. For example, as it states on the Crime Prevention website, “http://www.ccsd.ca/resources/CrimePrevention/index.htm” . As a result, the YCJA focuses on the importance of reintegration and rehabilitation rather than punishment. Overall the YCJA is based on the idea that young people are still developing and have the potential to change their behavior. By looking at each kid as an individual and providing them with the support and resources they need, the YCJA aims to reduce recedivism and promote positive outcomes for young people in conflict with the …show more content…

While the effectiviness of the YCJA is a subject of an ongoing debate some people argue that the act is not effectivivley dealing with children who are inviovled in criminal activitity. One commmon criticisism of the YCJA is that it is too leininant on young offenders. For example some people beelive that the act places too much emapapshis on rehibiblatation and reintegration and not enough on punishment. They Argue that this approach does not hold young offenders accountable for their actions and does not deter them from from engaging in in criminal behaviour in the furtutre.

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The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) aims to help young offenders to have a new and positive outlook. It’s goal is to rehabilitate and reintegrate youth back into society. In the novel Changing Jareth by Elizabeth Wennick the young offender Richard Peterson should be punished for the crime of selling marijuana. Richard Peterson is a 14 year old boy that is a character in the book Changing Jareth. Richard is a first time offender who is selling marijuana to some students at his school.

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The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) is a Canadian law that was established in 2003, replacing the Young Offenders Act. The YCJA was created with the intention of promoting rehabilitation and reintegration of young offenders, as well as ensuring that they are held accountable for their actions. The act recognizes that youth are still developing and should be treated differently than adult offenders. In this essay, we will explore the key aspects of the YCJA and how it has affected the Canadian justice system.

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