Young Offenders... a loosing battle

Should the Young Offenders Act be abolished, or in the very least… revamped?

Abolished may be too harsh, some children do just make one bad choice, perhaps maybe.. just re-written.


There have been many reports lately of crimes being committed by juveniles, as there has always been, but it seems more so in the last few years.
With the recent beating of a young girl by her peers, the complainants are pushing or have pushed for the teens to be tried as adults.

Seen here....

ATS Thread


It saddens me to see/hear about the amount of children growing up in this manner, where respect is only earned or given based on how ‘Bad-Assed’ you are.
With no worries and very little remorse for the crimes they commit, knowing all repercussions will be minimal.

I took a browse through the following link from an Alberta, Canada paper.

Alberta Insight

I don't really agree with this statement...

It should also be noted that the 17-year-old maximum is consistent with other established social regulations which determine the boundary between youth and adulthood. There is public consensus that young people need to be protected from alcohol, drugs and cigarettes and are not competent enough to vote. However, there is also a growing public sentiment that young people deserve to be treated like adults when they do something wrong. These conflicting sentiments reveal an hypocrisy in our society's attitudes toward its youth.

I don't feel Juveniles should be lumped into the general scheme of things when comparing two different ends of the spectrum.

Crime is crime

I believe that under age offenders should start being accountable for their actions, and should have stiffer penalties based on the crimes they commit.

I feel the Act should be re-examined to reflect the current situation of youth crimes being committed.


Should more of these recommendations, being tried as an adult, be occurring to possibly curb future crimes?

If yes, do you think it would actually prevent future crimes perpetrated by juveniles?

Or who just feels that today’s youth is getting out of control and will just keep getting worse?

The young offender issue will never be solved.

With the worry over our children we will sacrifice their privacy for security.
Then they will grow up thinking being spied on is normal.

It may never be solved but we could do things to make it better.

They should re-evaluate its current state vs. our childrens current state and make appropriate changes.

Originally posted by Grailkeeper
It may never be solved but we could do things to make it better.

They should re-evaluate its current state vs. our childrens current state and make appropriate changes.

What they should do is allow spanking where it is currently outlawed. Then treat youth crime as adult crime.

Bring back national service for 2 years for any young person convicted of BOTP, vandalism etc.

Rather than getting an ASBO that they can brag to their chav mates about, they can spend 2 years in the army.

That would soon make them behave.

The Young Offenders Act is (in the vernacular) totally bogus. However, it is only a symptom of a larger problem which is the Canadian Justice system. If you murder someone in Canada you'll be out in a decade. They let everyone out here! Monthly the news warns me of a sex offender with a high risk of re-offending being released into this or that neighborhood. He's reoffended every time he's been let out before and yet he keeps being released! Remember Karla Homolka ? She and her husband raped and killed two teenage girls and she got out in 12 years. Basically, the message is that whatever you do, it's no big deal.

So yes, kids know that whatever they do it's not going to matter because they'll be out of juvy when they're 21. And they don't have to deal with the humiliation of everyone knowing what they did because of the publication ban on minors accused of crimes. And it's no different for adults because they know they'll be out of prison with plenty of time left to live.

There needs to be seriously stricter sentencing for everybody.

I agree with the newspaper article that said that there is a somewhat hypocritical attitude towards children as shown by wanting to sentence them as adults but not allowing them to make more of their own decisions. And I think the solution is to start treating them as adults for them to act like adults. Stop coddling them. And yet this is also indicative of a bigger problem, the liberal nanny state. We can't say that if they want to smoke and have health problems and die then let them, because we're paying for their cancer treatments. But the issue remains, even if people who are younger than 18 are not mature enough to vote or drink alcohol, they are certainly mature enough to know the difference between right and wrong. We learned that as soon as we could talk. And that's why they should be sentenced as adults period.

[edit on 9-4-2008 by sc2099]

Many problems in society can be resolved at the dinner table. Parents should take stock with what is going on in their children's lives. The dinner table is a great place to ask, answer and guide. Just start at a young age and be consistent.

Granted the "dinner table" isn't the be-all-solution. Its a metaphor. Just be in your childrens' lives, support and love them.

There is so much crap going on these days I don't even know where to start. This story really made me mad the other day. Read this.

A young man who killed a 17-year-old at a Saskatoon house party following a dispute over a baseball cap has been sentenced to a five-year prison term.

Source

Yeah the stuff that led up to it was not good either, but FIVE YEARS?

Search for youth and murder in Google news and you get more results that you ever should.


I hate when I watch the news and hear about some crime and youth being involved but they cannot release the names or show the face. Pfft.

If you do the crime, do the time no matter how old you are. If you kill an innocent person you deserve to die. Self defense is one thing, but cold blooded murder should end your life.

reply to post by sc2099


I agree our legal system is far to light on very horrendous crimes and really needs to be re-written. Most people I know favor the death penalty for really bad killers and imo lighter laws make for more crime.

Originally posted by guppy
Many problems in society can be resolved at the dinner table. Parents should take stock with what is going on in their children's lives. The dinner table is a great place to ask, answer and guide. Just start at a young age and be consistent.

Granted the "dinner table" isn't the be-all-solution. Its a metaphor. Just be in your childrens' lives, support and love them.

The trouble is, the parents dont care. They just want them out of the way, thats why you see groups of 14-15 year olds out at 2-3am.

Thats why I think the army would show them some discipline and respect because they have none, these kids are scum.

reply to post by Flyer



Our 14 year old daughter would love to be out at 2am hanging with friends, and on one occasion we found out she did (silently crept out of the house).

After that occurrence... martial law came to my house.

We took the cell phone, house phone, & computer away. She was still defiant for a month or two, but has come back around somewhat.

The worries I have, is she showed no remorse for any wrong doings she did (minor to most, big deals to us). I always fear this could lead to something bigger someday.

She wants to play the part of 'bad-ass' who has a 'won't rat out my friends' credo, this somehow trumps any outcome the judicial system would have.

reply to post by Grailkeeper


Thats part of being a kid and growing up, but the chavs over here are out at that time because their parents just dont care.

How are people supposed to grow up when they have zero guidance at all?

Thats why I suggest 2 years in the army for any youngster convicted of anything.

reply to post by Flyer


I think corporate life is also affecting the nuclear family more than people expect. Corporate life puts a strain on many people. You're stuck working menial jobs with 8 bosses (excuse me, 8? yes, 8!) and you have a 4' x 4' cubicle that is your world. Plus, many people have to work long hours. By the time they get home, the person is worn out and maybe itching for a fight.

When I was younger, I dreamt of being a CEO of a company. Then I realized how much time a manager has to work. On average a manager puts in 60 to 90 hours a week. Screw that! Stop and smell the roses.

If I did something wrong I think i should be tried as an adult. But if I'm going to be tried as an adult I also want to be able to vote. I know more about politics than most of the adults I know. So if I'm going to be tried as an adult I want to be treated like one too and be able to vote.

I believe that it should be more detailed, yes.

There is, after all - a difference between spray-painting a rather crude and inflammatory remark on someone's car because of a social factor such as "That guy is a pervert, he watches my little sister get changed" or something equally as viable and going out, getting ratted out your face and then stabbing someone for their small change.

Is the line too thin?

Methinks the line may be too thick - professionals have a habit of going overboard on easy solutions, i mean look at how they're trying to deal with the current economic problems; wouldn't it be so much simpler just to say "We're in the sh'tter here lads" and then store some money in order to rebuild once all the corporate interest had fled the scene?

As opposed to trying to stick it out as corporations bleed us dry, that is.


[edit on 10-4-2008 by Throbber]

As I mentioned earlier, the 'no remorse' shown by youth today is what scares me the most.

My thoughts are; if they feel retribution is minimal, what do they really lose?

I know there are numerous reasons for adolescent crime, the one that resonates with me is family structure. There is no such critter anymore.

I would say 75% family’s today are a two income household. Which means moms not there anymore to watch over the young one’s. I understand if some think this old-fashion, but I believe women are the nurturing one’s on earth and when children lack that in their lives, it opens Pandora’s box.

When I was growing up it was mother who made sure the children tolled the line, and let us know real quickly when we did not do so. I know it’s a cliché but what the world needs more of is LOVE, and for the most part children born today are not going to receive it from the young adults of today. As long as mothers have to stay in the system and not stay home to nurture and cultivate these kids I see it only getting worse.

Love and Light
Kanati

reply to post by guppy


That might be the case where you are but not here, parents simply dont care.

Someone on the block where I live went away for the weekend and left their 15 year old daughter alone, I saw her come back at 130am walking home alone.

Now I thought that was disgusting but thats sadly typical of the attitude of them.

reply to post by Flyer


Yup. A lot of people have kids and dont' realize the consequences. When you have a child, every priority you once had is now in the backburner. Children come first.