Meaningful consequences.

• Author: Goodfellow, Cathy Lane
• Position: Feature on Youth Justice

For some reason teenagers frighten us. They are loud, sometimes aggressively disrespectful, and wear clothes that provoke us to feelings of disapproval and hateful staring. We don't understand them, but still wonder why they don't care to understand us. When teens commit crimes, we experience a melancholy hopelessness and, as a society, judge their actions as adult in nature. However, stakeholder groups and social agencies involved with youth in conflict with the law urge us to treat their actions as adolescent, or more simply: recklessly blind, peer-pressured, hormone-led, adrenaline driven, thoughtless, and sometimes just childlike. These same groups and social agencies have tried to bridge that gap in thinking which is at the crux of the fear and loathing directed towards the offending teen. In reality, we just want teens to grow into good citizens and feel invested in the moral and social principles that we value. In turn, we have to learn to value teens. Does the youth criminal justice system promote the dosing or narrowing of the gap?

The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) came into force on April 1, 2003. According to our Minister of Justice, the Honourable Martin Cauchon, "The YCJA will provide meaningful consequences for young people who commit offences, encourage and facilitate rehabilitation and reintegration, and, through these these provisions, contribute to the prevention of crime in the future, We believe that this is the best way way that the youth justice, system can contribute to the long-term protection of society" (Department of Justice, Canada, Youth Justice--The Youth Criminal Justice Act. Summary and Background, foreword by Minister of Justice Martin Cauchon, September 2002) The concept of "meaningful consequences" may well represent a means by which the justice system can promote a cooperative community response to teen offenders, and perhaps instill some public confidence in the system. However, for there to be public confidence, there must be public ownership in the criminal justice process. The YCJA makes community ownership a primary principle. The first paragraph that appears in the YCJA states the following:

"WHEREAS members of society share a responsibility to address the developmental challenges and the needs of young persons and guide them into adulthood."

The language of this part of the Act's Preamble is clear. Our response to it is a challenge to the advocates in the system, judges, organizations, parents...