NCJ Number
128888
Date Published
1985
Length
120 pages
Annotation
Judges, crown attorneys and crown agents, defense counsel, probation officers, and police in six provinces were surveyed in the summer of 1982 to determine their reactions to the measures of Canada's Young Offenders Act (YFA) and to explore the relationships between attitudes regarding one component of the legislation and opinions on its other features.
Abstract
The attitudes of professionals to the new legislation varied according to their role in the system and by Province. A professional's role in the system was considerably more influential in determining acceptance of the legislation. Defense counsel and probation officers in all jurisdictions were the most positive towards the YFA; crown prosecutors and police were considerably less in agreement with many components of the legislation. Some aspects of the legislation evoked almost unanimous resistance among all the professionals surveyed. However, there was considerable general support for several components of the Act including the rights of appeal, the right to legal representation, most of the notice to appear measures, and detention separate from adults. 42 figures