Youth crime

Most Canadians believe youth crime is on the rise and rank it as a high priority for the justice system. In a 1998 study, 77% of Canadians believed that sentencing of young offenders was too lenient.

Youth crime is not a new issue in Canada. The Young Offenders Act came into force in 1984 to make 12- to 17-year-olds more accountable for their actions, replacing the Juvenile Delinquents Act of 1908.

	Young offender ©2003 ICN-RCI / Hemera

There was a sharp rise in violent crime by youth from 1988 to 1995. As a result, the public’s scrutiny of the law increased. The Young Offenders Act was amended in 1995 to lengthen the maximum sentence for first-degree murder committed by a youth to 10 years and second-degree murder to a maximum seven-year term. Other amendments automatically transferred 16- and 17-year olds charged with violent offences to adult court.

On April 1, 2003, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) came into force. This Act encourages the use of non-court measures for less serious offences. These measures are to be used in all cases in which they would be adequate to hold the young person accountable. For example, extrajudicial measures are believed to be adequate to hold non-violent offenders who have not previously been found guilty in court accountable for their actions.

The YCJA established new sentencing principles—sentences must be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the young person. The sentence is required to be the least restrictive alternative and one that is most likely to promote rehabilitation. The Act also sets out specific restrictions on the use of custody. Custody is to be used primarily for violent offenders and serious repeat offenders when there are no other alternatives. The YCJA also created several new non-custodial sentencing options and provided that the custodial sentences include a period of supervision from the community.

The overall rate of youth crime—measured by the number of youth charged by police—decreased steadily from 1992 to 1999. There were slight increases in 2000 and 2001 before the youth crime rate dropped to less than 4,000 per 100,000 youths aged 12 to 17 in 2002. Youth crime is generally more property oriented than adult crime: property crimes accounted for 44% of youth crime in 2002, while violent crimes accounted for 24%. The remaining 32% was made up of other criminal offences, such as mischief and disturbing the peace or offences against the administration of the law.

After peaking in 1995, the violent crime rate among young Canadians declined for four consecutive years before again peaking in 2001 at an even higher rate. The rate dropped again in 2002 to 934 per 100,000 youths aged 12 to 17, significantly higher than the 832 per 100,000 reported in 1991.

Increased reporting to police may also account for the rise in violent crime and common assault—a reflection of more aggressive 'zero tolerance' strategies on the part of schools, social agencies and other institutions. In 2002, a full 7 out of 10 violent crimes committed by youth were assaults, though this represented only 17% of all youths charged with a Criminal Code offence that year. By comparison, property crimes such as theft represented 25%, and breaking and entering accounted for 12% of youth Criminal Code offences (excluding traffic).

All categories of violent youth crime decreased in 2002 except for level 3 aggravated assault, sexual assault with a weapon and aggravated sexual assault. Combined, these three areas accounted for less than 2% of the 23,364 violent crimes. In 2002, a total of 42 youths were charged with homicide. The number of 12- to 17-year-olds charged with homicide hit a low of 30 in 2001 after fluctuating throughout the 1990s, from a low of 36 in 1993 to a high of 68 in 1995.