Factors Influencing Police Attitudes Towards Extrajudicial Measures Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act

• NCJ Number: 224566
• Journal: Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice Volume: 50 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2008 Pages: 469-489
• Author(s): Voula Marinos; Nathan Innocente
• Date Published: July 2008
• Length: 21 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Canada Department of Justice; John Howard Soc of Ontario
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

The purpose of this Canadian study was to understand the factors that affect police attitudes towards a decision to divert or charge youth, particularly for minor offenses that are most likely to be diverted.

Abstract

It was found that some police have not reoriented their thinking consistently with the extrajudicial measures provisions. The study shows that extrajudicial measures represent an extension of the categories available to police, without the requisite changes in thinking about the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) (2003) that are, to some extent, necessary for its successful implementation. Consistent with past research on police attitudes and decisionmaking under the Juvenile Delinquents Act (JDA) (1908-1984) and Young Offenders Act (YOA) (1984-2003), police continue to be influenced by the seriousness of the offense, past police contact, and the youth’s attitude. It is suggested that emphasis given to these factors prevents police officers from considering extrajudicial measures as much as they could. The principle of screening cases by police and diverting them from court is an important one in Canadian youth justice history. A fundamental feature of the current YCJA is the emphasis on diversions, with specific principles, criteria, and prohibitions, now called extrajudicial measures and extrajudicial sanctions. Extrajudicial measures require police to reorient their thinking about how to respond to youth. The act provides specific structure and guidance to police about the appropriateness of extrajudicial measures and does not preclude its use when a youth received one in the past. The emphasis on accountability and proportionality suggests that police ought to be driven more by the seriousness of the youth’s offending behavior and much less by the youth’s record. The present study involved police attitudes towards diversion and charging, and their understandings about how they behave. The study drew from a sample of 70 police officers from 5 jurisdictions within Ontario, Canada. The study consisted of surveys and in-depth interviews. Tables, notes, and references