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We trust that our presentation of a broader definition of and cost-effective solutions to the problem of youth crime has infused the Committee with the sense of hope and commitment shared by all CWLC members and supporters. As a national organization with a varied membership and strong base of support from the legal and academic community, we believe that the very process of preparing this brief shows the potential for cross discipline and inter-provincial co-operation in developing more suitable responses to youth crime. We would like to extend special thanks to Dr. Irvin Waller of the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime. His centre provides the crucial service of information sharing regarding international approaches to crime prevention, a service which is absolutely necessary if policy makers and advisors in this area are to do their job with effectiveness and creativity. In closing we wish to summarize the main points of this brief in the form of the following recommendations.
THE CWLC'S RECOMMENDATIONS
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The Development and Implementation of
A National Strategy for the Prevention of Crime
The CWLC recommends the immediate implementation of the following four recommendations which were first proposed in the Horner Report and later endorsed by Federal advisors and officials.
The CWLC believes that a share of the proceeds of crime should be included in this fund.
Allocation of Prevention Funding to Family Based Programming
A range of services should be planned so as to establish a full continuum of youth crime prevention. Such programs must include a more consistently and widely available system of alternative measures and other diversion strategies.
Consultation with Child Welfare and Mental Health agencies and professionals should be an integral element of this strategy so that services can be coordinated, strategies can be shared, and expertise in both service delivery and evaluation put to good use. Aboriginal and Ethnic Minority communities must be consulted and involved in this process. Gender issues should also be addressed.
This may well require an urgent review of the implementation of the Canadian Health and Social Transfer (CHST) which will replace CAP.
Recommendations Related to the YOA and its implementation
Consultants, CWLC members, and experts in the area, not to mention the Solicitor General and Honourable Chairperson for this Committee, have consistently stated that except for minor changes the legislation was more than adequate for dealing with serious offenders. The Committee should additionally bear in mind the remarks made by the Minister of Justice when he appeared before you in June of 1994. At that time, he stated that he would not be embarrassed if at the end of the Phase II consultations, some or all of the amendments had to be repeated.
The principles should also include a statement of commitment to preventing youth crime at all levels of the prevention continuum.
a) establishing which strategies constitute sufficiently rehabilitative alternative measures;
b) deciding how best to control the increased potential for sharing information about a young offender;
c) the necessity of continuity in sentencing;
d) the requirement of a rehabilitative and not a correctional approach to custodial sentences and the facilities in which they are served;
e) discretionary transfers to adult court;
f) pre-trial detention;
g) an increased emphasis on non-custodial sentences.
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