Developmental Perspective on Antisocial Adolescents (From Young Offenders Act: A Revolution in Canadian Criminal Justice, P 186-196, 1991, Alan W Leschied, Peter G Jaffe, et al, eds. -- See NCJ-134506)

• NCJ Number: 134516
• Author(s): P G R Patterson
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 11 pages
• Sale Source: University of Toronto Press
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

The Young Offenders Act of Canada is based on many incorrect assumptions about developmental processes related to juvenile offenders and should therefore be changed to include not only its emphasis on personal accountability and responsibility, but also the individualized approach on which the previous Juvenile Delinquents Act.

Abstract

Passed in 1908, the Juvenile Delinquents Act was the first Canadian law to recognize and make provision for young people's differences both from adults and from each other. The Young Offenders Act tried to rectify the perceived inequities that resulted from the previous law by specifying a standardized approach based on individual accountability and responsibility. However, developmentally many juvenile offenders are still struggling with issues from the preschool level and are not developmentally capable of being responsible for their actions. However, they vary widely in their developmental issues and treatment needs, as shown by the hypothetical example of a 15-year-old who has assaulted a teacher. Therefore, the Young Offenders Act should be changed to recognize differences between offenders and provide for greater flexibility and a wider range of dispositions and varying combinations of custody and treatment, based more on the needs of the whole person. 8 references