As stated in the article every day, a crime is happening somewhere in the GTA: shootings, drug trafficking, graffiti.Today, youths are being arrested for a variety of crimes. The major offence in Canada is still property crimes, such as vandalism, graffiti and defacing public property. Since 1992, when it peaked at 4,000 youth for every 100,000, property crimes have been on a sharp decline. In 2006, property crimes were 2,300 for every 100,000 youth. Which was still a lot, but since there was a decrease of property crimes there was an increase of other crimes such as murders, beatings and robberies. According to a StatsCan report, violent crimes were 12 percent higher in 2006. The amount of drug crimes committed by youth has drastically increased in the past decade. Drug crimes were 91 per cent higher in 2006 than in 1997 at 6,382 per 100,000 youth.
In Ontario, there are programs called Reduce Abuse in Drugs (R.A.I.D) which can help prevent kids from committing these unlawful acts. Due to these programs, we have the second lowest youth crime rate in Canada. For every 100,000 Ontarian youth, only 5,956 were charged from the criminal code in 2006.
In order for us to aid other provinces to lower their crime rates, on April 1st 2003, the Youth Criminal Justice Act has replaced the Young Offenders Act. This new act implemented a policy that distinguis
Rob Nicholson, minister of justice and the attorney general of Canada states, "I believe that our youth criminal justice system must effectively hold young offenders accountable for serious crimes with meaningful consequences; instil within them a sense of responsibility for their delinquent or criminal behaviour; and give them a better opportunity for rehabilitation so that they do not re-offend."
I agree with Rob, the youth should be given consequences that reflect the amount of severity of the criminal act that the youth had committed. But at the same the government should implement programs and help sessions that can help the troubled youth and give them a sense of direction.
Feel free to state your thoughts and opinions.
http://www.thestar.com/News/GlobalVoices/article/464542
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