The national number of Canadian youth in custody continues to decrease, according to Statistics Canada data.
According to Anthony Doob et al. in their 2018 Policy Options article titled "Learning from our success in reducing youth imprisonment," the discussion around reevaluating Canada's youth justice legislation has been ongoing since the early 1960s, beginning with Canada's Department of Justice Committee for young offenders. While outlining the history of the Canadian Justice System for young offenders, Doob et al. explain that in addition to official government committees, Canadian officials, such as the Liberals and the Conservatives have also been advocating to keep youth (ages 12 to 17) out of prison since the 1970s. In 1994, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) was put in place and it was later re-evaluated in 2003. This conversation spanning over four decades and the constant effort to protect Canadian youth could explain Statistics Canada's recent data shows, which shows that approximately 68 per cent less females and 47 per cent less males were incarcerated over the past five years (from 2014 to 2019).
In "Canada: Repenalization and Youth Offenders' Rights" Russel Smandych addresses the decreased amount of youth in custody in 2003 due to the country's efforts to reduce youth incarceration. Smandych believes that if certain steps/measures are taken, the youth incarceration rate, as well as the repeat offenders rate will continue to decrease. Recent Statistics Canada data supports Smandych's claim. It seems as though Canada did, in fact, implement new ways to help its youth.
In Priscilla Hwang's 2017 CBC News article titled "Youth crime frequency drops and severity drops across the North, especially in N.W.T" Iris Hamlyn, executive director of a Yellowknife youth centre, emphasizes the importance of community youth programs, as they steer young people away from crime. Hamlyn is not alone in this sentiment. Public Safety Canada has also noted the significance of youth programs across Canada, and they have implemented crime prevention programs across the country. One such program is partnered with the Canadian Police Association (CPA). This program rewards police officers for finding alternative solutions -- as opposed to custody -- for youth who partake in criminal activity.
While recent data shows youth incarceration rates have decreased from 2014 to 2019 by 38 per cent, defence lawyers like Peter Harte are still concerned. In Hwang's "Youth crime frequency drops" Harte expresses his concern that the decreased number of youth in custody could simply be due to aging individuals; therefore, those same individuals are now being charged as adults. Harte also explains that youth crime may continue to be an issue in the future, as a result of intergenerational trauma.
"In effect, youth may be carrying their troubles into adult life and adult court, and in turn may pass those problems onto their own children who later enter the system as youth offenders. It could be just a matter of time before the numbers rise again," says Harte.
Harte's concern about intergenerational trauma and crime is valid. A more detailed and up-to-date data report, including whether or not incarcerated youth attended youth crime prevention programs and whether or not incarcerated youth has family within the justice system may shed light on this decreasing, albeit ongoing, problem.
Hi Lakeisha,
ReplyDeleteI liked your final data report a lot! The charts are great and help to visualize the decrease in youth incarceration, and the sources you include offer an excellent and compelling explanation for this trend. My only suggestion is to define what "in the criminal justice system" means in relation to your second chart. Does it refer to youth who were arrested? charged? given a non-custodial sentence? Regardless, the final product looks great overall!
Hi Lakeisha! Lovely article you have here. The only suggestion I would have is to make your lead sentence a bit shorter or to break it up into two sentences. Also, since you're discussing the incarceration of youth, you could also mention that in your headline. Overall, I thought this was really great and all your links work. Nice charts! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Lakeisha,
ReplyDeleteGreat work on your report! I do agree with Netanya that your lead sentence is a bit long, making it a little confusing. However simply breaking it into two sentences would do the trick! The two charts, with colours to emphasize your point, are well created. Amazing work on your report!!
Hello Lakeisha, I really enjoyed reading your final data report and the charts that you provided! You raise many important points through out your post and the hyperlinks you provide also work really well in bringing it into context. Good work! The choice of a line chart was great too, as you are looking at data over time (perhaps one of the best ways to display this data). The lead is good, and is backed up by the discussion that follows. However, it does seem a little general/vague (minor issue with a quick fix though!).
ReplyDeleteHi Lakeisha! I really enjoyed reading your final report and seeing it all come together in the end! I liked how you talked about the potential of the rates lowering simply because the people are growing older. I think this is something that a lot of people might have overlooked initially. It's a really well put together report!
ReplyDelete