PSYC 3210U Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Youth Criminal Justice Act, Young Offenders Act, Juvenile Delinquency
UNIT 11 NOTES
Young Offenders
Current and Historical Treatment of Young Offenders in Canada
Early Young Offender Legislation
• 17th/18th Centuries
• No formal rules regarding treatment of adolescents
• Charges, sentencing and incarceration were as with adults
• : The Juvenile Delinuents’ Act JDA
• Applied to children between the ages of 7-16 (18 in some jurisdictions)
• Separate, somewhat more informal, court system was established
• Sentencing options were expanded to include less formal options
• Parents were encouraged to be a part of the proceedings
Young Offenders Act (YOA)
• Replaced the JDA in 1984
• Represented a shift in how adolescent offenders were perceived
• While younger, were still viewed as an equal threat to society
• Were thus:
• afforded all rights stated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• to be held fully responsible for their actions
• Youth falling under the act were between the ages of 12-18
• Under 12, were handled through child and family services
Young Offenders Act (YOA) cont.
• Some differences between adults and youth were still recognized (e.g. cognitive
development)
• These differences were addressed through differential levels of accountability, and
differential consequences for their actions
• Diversion was possible: to have the adolescent undergo educational or community
service instead of formal prosecution
Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA)
• Replaced the YOA in 2003, and remains active today
• The three main objectives of the YCJA are:
• To prevent youth crime
• To provide meaningful consequences and encourage responsibility of behavior
• To improve rehabilitation and reintegration of youth into the community
• There is a push for extrajudicial measures
• Measures taken to keep youth out of court/custody if possible
Youth Criminal Justice Act cont.
• Youth must remain anonymous, except under special circumstances
• Sentencing options have increased
• Transfer to adult court has been eliminated
• However, adult charges can still be requested, and applied at times
• Victims are given the opportunity to participate in the process
Practice Question #1
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The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) replaced the Young Offenders Act (YOA) in 2003. Which of
the following is not a main objective of the YCJA.
Answer: to increase the extent to which prison sentences feel punitive.
Youth Crime Rates
• Youth crime has been decreasing since 2001
Assessment of Young Offenders
Assessment Procedures
• Often assessment of youth is mandated by the courts
• For the purpose of determining reoffending risk
• In other cases, youth may be assessed voluntarily
• Assent gathered from parents
• Often to determine mental stability
• Offense history is often limited
• Context may play a greater role in offending
• Thus, unlike adults, history is often not a major risk consideration
Risk Assessment
• Generally mandated by the court
• Assesset istruet geerall etails a heklist or risk-relevant characteristics
• Eg. age at first arrests, antisocial attitudes
• Generally assumed: more risk factors = higher reoffending risk
• Example assessment instruments:
• HCR-20
• ORAMS
Mental Health Assessment
• Often undertaken with assent/consent
• Intends to evaluate the mental health of the adolescent
• Internalizing problems: emotional difficulties including anxiety, depression and
obsessions
• Externalizing problems: behavioral difficulties including delinquency, fighting,
bullying and lying
• Externalizing problems are often considered to impart greater risk for
reoffending
Behavior Disorders in Youth
• The Ontario Child Health Study (1987):
• 18% of children between 4-16 experienced conduct disorder, hyperactivity
and/or emotional disturbance
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder
• A patter of egatiisti, hostile, ad defiat ehaior APA, 994
• Conduct Disorder
• Initiates fights, cruel to animals, sets fires, lies, truancy
• 40% with ODD develop CD; 50% with CD develop ASPD
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Trajectories of Youthful Offenders
• Adolescent-limited (AL)
• Crime increases drastically in adolescence
• Tends to dissipate in late 20s/early 30s
• Ma relate to a oral aout of adoleset isehaig
• Life-course Persistent (LCP)
• Crime remains stable through the life-course
• Crime does not increase in adolescence
• Suggests more stable personality characteristics
• Note that crime also tends to start earlier for LCPs
Practice Question #2
Which of the following is true about Adolescent-Limited and Life-course Persistent patterns of
antisociality?
Answer: adolescent-liited atisoialit a relate to oral adoleset isehaig.
Theories of Youthful Offending
Personality-based Theories
• Personality: stable patterns of behavior, thoughts or actions that distinguish one person
from another.
• Thus, personality theories presume that characteristics about the individual may
predispose to antisociality
Personality-based Theories
• Personality: stable patterns of behavior, thoughts or actions that distinguish one person
from another.
• Thus, personality theories presume that characteristics about the individual may
predispose to antisociality
• Big-five Pesonality Chaacteistics
• Extraversion
Neuroticism
Conscientiousness Very Low
Agreeableness Very Low
Openness
Personality Applied to Youth Offenders: Callous/Unemotional Traits
• Paul Frick and colleagues:
• Have identified a cluster of personality characteristics which may identify youth
ith allous/ueotioal traits
• Increased reward orientation / decreased punishment sensitivity
• These children:
• Show more conduct problems in adolescence (Frick et al., 2003)
• Show more criminal problems as adults (McMahon, Witkiewitz & Kotler,
2010)
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Document Summary
Current and historical treatment of young offenders in canada. The youth criminal justice act (ycja) replaced the young offenders act (yoa) in 2003. Which of the following is not a main objective of the ycja. Answer: to increase the extent to which prison sentences feel punitive. Youth crime rates: youth crime has been decreasing since 2001. Assessment procedures: often assessment of youth is mandated by the courts, for the purpose of determining reoffending risk. Risk assessment: generally mandated by the court, assess(cid:373)e(cid:374)t i(cid:374)stru(cid:373)e(cid:374)t ge(cid:374)erall(cid:455) e(cid:374)tails a (cid:862)(cid:272)he(cid:272)klist(cid:863) or risk-relevant characteristics, eg. age at first arrests, antisocial attitudes, generally assumed: more risk factors = higher reoffending risk, example assessment instruments, hcr-20, orams. Mental health assessment: often undertaken with assent/consent. Intends to evaluate the mental health of the adolescent. Internalizing problems: emotional difficulties including anxiety, depression and obsessions: externalizing problems: behavioral difficulties including delinquency, fighting, bullying and lying, externalizing problems are often considered to impart greater risk for reoffending.
