A Parents Guide To Helping Their Young Offenders Though Their Day In Court - Part 1

By Author: Jonathon Pyzer
Total Articles: 2
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In all of the provinces of Canada, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) is the body of law that establishes the procedures for youthful offenders. The YCJA covers young people who were between 12 and 17 years old when they committed the action of which they stand accused.

When a person in this age group breaks the law in Toronto, Ontario, the authorities will refer to YCJA to determine the appropriate handling of the charges. Following a number of progressive reforms throughout the last half of the 20th century, the police and the Ministry of the Attorney General make every effort to deal with these young people without initiating formal court proceedings, called "extrajudicial measures."

Those accused of very serious or violent crimes, many repeat offenders and youths that fail at the prescribed extrajudicial measures will be charged and go to court. If they are found guilty, the court will hand down a sentence that does not include the options available extra-judicially.

Extrajudicial measures

Throughout Ontario, it is the Ministry of Children and Youth Services that oversees the programs and ...
... services for young people who have been deemed acceptable for extrajudicial handling, or have been determined to be "at risk" of breaking the law by one or another public agency. The ministry's services are designed and applied with the intention of

* building safer communities and preventing crime,
* empowering young people to make better choices,
* confronting youths' issues to keep them from getting into trouble again, and
* holding them accountable for their choices and actions.

If your child is scheduled for a "day in court," it means you have already gone through an assessment by the police as well as the Ministry of the Attorney General (AG), the department that oversees the court processes for young people. Working closely with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (CSCS), which oversees the police, the AG initially attempts to handle the youth's troubles outside of the formal court system.

It is not unheard of for some cases to be referred back to this phase even after a "day in court" has been scheduled, as Canadian juvenile justice is predicated on the belief that young offenders have wholly different needs and propensities than do adults.

This realization has prompted the Province of Ontario to provide young people with chances to take advantage of effective diversion programs before initiating court proceedings. These extrajudicial measures and sanctions are put into practice in schools throughout the province, bringing together the police, educators and community agencies address a range of youth issues and help troubled young people stay in school

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