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Youth Criminal Justice Act Research Paper

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How the Youth Criminal Justice Act works well to deter juvenile crime

One large aspect of Canadian law is the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The Youth Criminal Justice Act is an act which respects the criminal justice for young people. Youth ages twelve to seventeen are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act if they have committed a crime. There has been much debate over the act because some people believe the act is too easy on youth, so youth get away with the crimes they commit. The law acknowledges the youth is culpable, but must take into consideration their level of maturity at a young age. The Youth Criminal Justice Act does a respectable job at deterring youth crime because it deals with protecting the youth, punishing the …show more content…

The Youth Criminal Justice Act has reasonable limits as to how much they can try to help the youth’s sentence or charges. For example, on January 22, in La Loche Saskatchewan, a seventeen year old male opened fire at school killing four people and injuring seven (Kruchak, February 24, 2016). The youth has committed such indictable offences that adult sentences will be imposed on him. This example indicates that youth are held accountable and the act does not prevent them from going to prison in all circumstances. Adult sentences can be given to youth if they are found guilty on any of these charges: attempted murder, murder, manslaughter and aggravated sexual assault. If the youth has committed a crime that an adult would serve more than two years for in prison, the youth would be charged as an adult. In this school shooting case this teen will face consequences for his actions, the act can do as much as placing a publication ban. When youth face consequences it helps to decrease youth crime rates because youth know the act can only do so much to protect them, which may scare the youth into not committing an offence. In conclusion, the Youth Criminal Justice Act contributes to the declining number of juvenile crimes because the youth is subject to …show more content…

The idea is that instead of putting youths in jail, rehabilitate them and get them back on their feet so they can be a contributor to society. All alternatives must be considered before imposing a jail sentence on a youth. For example, seventy-one percent of teenage clients who finished their program in rehab had significant improvement in their substance abuse patterns (Teen Addiction Recovery Statistics, February 25, 2016). This statistic shows people that youths can get a fresh start and not have to face greater consequences in their adult ages, because they have addressed their problems beforehand. The act gives youth a second chance that many adults do not have. The act believes that young people are still in the early stages of learning and are most likely to respond to treatment programs. The purpose of rehabilitation is to repair the relationships and the situations going on in the youth’s lives that drove the youth to commit the offence. Therefore, the Youth Criminal Justice Act is effective in deterring juvenile crime because the youth receives proper

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