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To What Extent Is The YCJA Fair And Equitable In Addressing Youth Crime In Canada

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To What Extent Is The YCJA Fair And Equitable In Addressing Youth Crime In Canada
To what extent is the YCJA fair and equitable in addressing youth crime in Canada?

Today, crime is an almost impossible thing to get rid of in our society. Every week we turn the TV on and see on the news of someone getting murdered, robbed, or hurt. But the way we punish these “criminals” depends on the circumstances of the offender. For example the way we punish adult criminals is not same way we punish youth criminals. Adults will always get punished harshly compared to youth when accused of a crime and the reason why is because of the youth criminal justice act (YCJA). The YCJA are the law that governs Canada 's youth criminals. It applies to youth who are at least 12 but fewer than 18 years old and the objectives of the youth justice system are crime prevention, rehabilitation and reintegration, and meaningful consequences. I think that the YCJA is fair and equitable in addressing youth crime in Canada because they give kids second chances and rehabilitate them so they can get back into society.

A reason why they are fair and equitable is that they give second looks at troubled kids and give them more opportunities to be better in life. The YCJA use rehabilitative methods that help reintegrate youth back into society as normal functioning citizens. They will not allow any youth to have a criminal record because that criminal record will be part of who that individual is. It is a permanent part of your reputation and it will follow you wherever you go. Young people deserve different punishments than adults because they are in the course of developing emotionally, physically and mentally therefore they do not fully comprehend the consequences of their actions. Say if the YCJA was not fair and equitable and it wrongly gave a criminal record to a youth, that criminal record now has the potential to ruin that person’s life. The youth’s well-being and quality of life is affected since a criminal record can make it hard for a youth to re-enter society and also


References: 1. Lychak, P. (2008) Issues for Canadians. Toronto: Nelson Publishing 2. Wikipedia contributors. "Youth Criminal Justice Act." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 29 Sep. 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Youth_Criminal_Justice_Act&oldid=627598526 3. Canadian Government, “youth criminal justice act” Department of Justice. 24 Dec. 2013. http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/yj-jj/ycja-lsjpa/index.html 1
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