answering your youth justice questions - Public Legal Information

ANSWERING YOUR YOUTH JUSTICE QUESTIONS
Please Note: The information provided on this page is of a general nature and does
not constitute legal advice. For legal advice, please consult a lawyer.
Q. What is the Youth Criminal Justice Act?
The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) is a federal law that applies to Canadian youth
ages 12 – 17 who are accused or found guilty of committing a criminal offence. The
law also applies to people 18 and older who are accused of having committed an
offence as a youth.
This law came into force on April 1, 2003 and replaced the older Young Offenders
Act.
The YCJA sets out the principles, rules and procedures for young people who come
into conflict with the law. Recent amendments to the YCJA have highlighted
protection of the public as a key goal of the youth justice system.
Q. How is the criminal justice system meant to protect the public?
The youth criminal justice system is intended to protect the public by:
1. Accountability and meaningful consequences: The youth criminal justice
system tries to make young people take responsibility for their actions, and
understand why their actions were harmful and wrong, and to help the young
person fix what harm they caused. The punishment a young person receives
depends on how serious or violent the crime they committed was. The more serious
the crime, the more serious the punishment.
2. Reintegration and Rehabilitation: Reintegration means bringing a young
person back into the community safely and successfully after an offence has
been committed. Rehabilitation means helping a young person with problems or
issues through community and other programs so that he or she does not reoffend.
For example, some young people commit a crime because they were

pressured by their friends. The right services offered to them by the community
will help them learn to stand up to peer pressure.
3. Prevention: Crime prevention means that our system in Canada tries to deal
with the problems or issues that may make a young person commit a crime in the
first place.
Q. What happens if a child under 12 years of age commits a crime?
Children under the age of 12 years are not dealt with by the formal youth justice
system. This means that they are not arrested or will not go to court. The majority
of youth under 12 are not involved in crimes. The system works under the assumption
that the small numbers of youth under 12 who do engage in serious crimes can be
dealt with more effectively by child welfare or mental health agencies when
parents cannot deal with the problems.
Q. Does a young person between aged 12 to 17 always go to court if they come into
conflict with the law?
No. There are other options available called “extrajudicial measures” that allow
youth to be dealt with outside of court when appropriate. Instead of going to court
and having a judge decide the consequence for the offence, extrajudicial
measures offer an alternative. There are different types of extrajudicial
measures such as police warnings, Crown cautions, conferencing, referrals to
community programs and extrajudicial sanctions.
The police are now required by law to keep a record of any extrajudicial measures
used against a youth. Having a record of these informal incidents will allow the
police and courts to respond more effectively to any future offences committed
by a young person.
Q. What are extrajudicial sanctions?
These may be used to deal with a young person alleged to have committed an
offence that cannot be dealt with by a warning, caution or referral because of a
serious offence, previous offence or any other aggravating circumstance.
Extrajudicial sanctions may not be used when a young person denies participation
or involvement in the offence or expresses the wish to have the charge dealt with
by a youth justice court. Extrajudicial sanctions may only be used if the young
person accepts responsibility for the offence and agrees to be subject to the
sanction. If a young person fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the
sanction, the case may proceed through the court system.

Q. Have there been any major changes to the YCJA?
Yes, the Safe Streets and Communities Act made some significant changes (also
referred to as amendments) to the YCJA. Those changes came into effect on
October 23, 2012.
Q. How has the Safe Streets and Communities Act changed the YCJA?

Q: Do the police have to read a youth accused their rights if arrested?
Yes, if arrested a youth must be advised of their rights without delay by police
including the right to a lawyer, to have parents present, and to know for what
crime he/she has been arrested.
Q: How is a youth accused supposed to get a lawyer?
Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, young people must be given an opportunity to
obtain counsel (a lawyer). If the youth is not represented by a lawyer, the court
will advise him/her of their right to speak with a lawyer. Also, if a youth can’t afford
a lawyer and meets the required criteria, he/she may be entitled to a Legal Aid
lawyer. In some cases the Attorney General may be ordered to appoint a lawyer on
a youth accused’s behalf.
Q. Is a youth’s identity kept private if they are charged with a criminal offence?
As a general rule, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) protects the privacy of
young persons who are accused or found guilty of a crime by keeping their identity
and other personal information confidential. There are exceptions to this general
rule:
where the young person is found guilty of a crime and the court imposes an
adult sentence;
where the young person has received a youth sentence for a violent offence
and the court determines that the young person poses a significant risk of
committing another violent offence and the lifting of the ban is necessary to
protect the public against that risk;
where the publication is made in the course of the administration of justice
(for example, the inclusion of a young person’s name in a court document for
use by court administrators);
where a young person alleged to have committed a crime is at large and a
court determines that the young person is a danger to others and publication
is necessary to apprehend him or her (publication may be permitted for up to
five days);
where a young person has turned 18, he or she may publish or agree to the
publication of their information provided they are not in custody at the time of
publication; and
where a young person has applied to the court, the court may make an order
permitting publication if it is satisfied that the publication would not be
contrary to the young person’s best interests or the public interest.

Q. What kind of youth sentence will a youth receive if convicted of a crime?
If a youth is convicted of a crime, a judge will decide on an appropriate sentence
(punishment). The type of sentence received will depend upon the crime committed,
whether the youth has been convicted of a crime before, the circumstances
surrounding the crime, and many other factors.
Q. Can a youth ever be sentenced as an adult?
Yes. In certain circumstances and for certain types of offences, a judge may
decide to sentence a young person as an adult.
The Crown (government lawyer) must consider asking for an adult punishment if a
youth is charged with certain crimes (such as murder, attempted murder,
manslaughter, and aggravated sexual assault). If the Crown chooses not to seek
an adult sentence they must inform the court that the Crown considered asking
for an adult sentence, but decided not to ask for it.
Q. If a youth gets placed in custody, will the youth be put in with adults?
No. The law is very specific that youth under 18 years of age have to serve custody
in youth facilities regardless of whether they are given a youth or adult
punishment. This means that youth who receive custody sentences will serve their
sentence in a place with other youth. If a youth reaches the age of 18 while serving
a youth custody sentence, the YCJA sets out a process for transferring the youth
to an adult facility.