A is good for t] Core group of teens caused half of NV LAST WEEK, a 17-year-old North Shore youth was sen- tenced to six months ina Wilderness camp for hitting another teen with a tire iron, By Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter The assault took place at North Vancouver's Red Robin restaurant. Fortunately there were no seri: ous injaries in list September's attack. The weapon-wielding boy hit the victiin'’s arm a couple of times instead of the intended target of his head, said a Crown lawyer, At least one other lawyer called the sentence harsh, Six months in open custody is a tong time for someone who is 17, Hut Crown luwyer Ralph Keefer doesn't think the sentence was harsh. ' He notes the Supreme Court of Canada decided last year that ‘Tonger jail sentences have a role to play in the Young Offenders’ Act —(YOA), “That decision may lead to longer jail sentences over the next . few years which hopefully will dis- courage these types of offences,” said Keefer. He is quick to say that the majority of cases that come across _ his desk concerning, youths do not involve weapons. ‘Keefer said most cases relate to “kids being kids” who act-out anti- social feelings while in the process "+ of growing up. : “It’s important to realize that 95% of the cases which we handle youth court are not the serious Crimes which Come to the attention of the public through the media,” ; said Keefer. ~! “Defence lawyer David Walsoff says half of his North Shore clients are teens under age 18. A: majority of the cases, he says, ‘involve shoplifting, break and enters, and minor assaults. CAR - RELATED THEFTS BANGEROUS ORIVING POSSESSION OF STOLEN PROPERTY THEFT UNDER $1,000 WEAPONS, "Sunday, June 12, 1994 - North’Shore News - 3 y NEWS photo PROPERTY OFFENCES, such as the graffiti vandalism on this North Vancouver buitaing, are some of the main crimes dealt with In youth court on the North Shore. Like Keefer. Walsoff feels the YOA works well in the majority of cases. “It does what it's supposed to do. Kids are dealt with appropriate- ly.” said Walsoff. “You have to try and keep it in perspective, the objective is to try and help them.” According to 1993 statistics comptied by the court watchers pro- gram for youth court in North Vancouver, there were 121 young offenders in court for the year. Thirty-four of those young peo- ple, mostly males, were responsible for 22% of the crimes. A full 11% of the cases involved a breach of probation. Tracking and publicizing the activities of an apparent “core group” of kids who get into serious rs | Source: West Vancouver Provincial Court Watchers 20 30 40 ~#850 Hed 1993 NEWS graphic Vicki Magnison WEST VANCOUVER Youth Justice Committee recorded cases. Saseline figures represent the number of convicted youths. CALL US: 983-2208 and repetitive trouble is difficult to do, The YOA prohibits publicizing the names of charged or convicted youths, Newspapers such as the North Shore News which report youth crimes without any names attached sometimes create a sense that a larger number of !6- and 17-year- olds are on a rampage in the com- munity. Tt turns out that, often, it is the same, small group of teens commit- ting high-profile crimes. Most people working with youth court contacted by ithe News favor maintaining the anonymity of crim- inal teens. A majority of youths are con- victed of relatively minor offences and should be allowed to make a mistake without everybody know- ing about it, they claim. Meanwhile the North Vancouver Court Watchers, who actually sit in court and follow youth proceedings, indicate from their 1993 stats that “violent crimes” have more than doubled to 47% of charges com- pared to 1992’s 21%. The court watchers included all types of assaults, robberies and weapon-related charges under vio- Jent crimes. Property-related offences (car break-ins, burglaries, shoplifting, mischief) made up 40% of the charges for 1993, down from 53% in 1992, The percentage changes in the two years may be related to the - number of cases the North Vancouver RCMP present to Crown lawyers as police pursue a ereriae oe e bad kids youth crimes last year “sto toleraace” policy converniny: violence. Both Keeler and Watseff, atong with Noh Shore youth court work: er Chris Dabrowski, all paused before guardedly confirming Uiat asaaults involving youths are tend: ing to be mare violent, The assaults abso tend to involve weapons more Frequently. Some YOA crities say Chiat young criminals are being cuddled, Walsolt disagrees. He said he would rather be incarcerated in the Vancouver Pretrial Centre than the Willingdon Youth Detention Centre. “Willingdon is like going to boot campo” said Walsot, Closed custody YOA convic- tions from the North Shore are served at Willingdon or at Boulder Bay near Maple Ridge, according to Dabrowski. He said open custody sentences may involve stints at wilderness camps in’ Chilliwack or on Vancouver Island. Suid Dabrowski, “The only home we provide is jail.” He said approximately 80% of convicted youths complete the community work service require- ments that are linked to probation term sentences. According to the North Vancouver Court Watchers, con- victed youths received probation 50% of the time in 1993, 4% were sentenced to closed custody and 6% received an open-custody sentence. As it stands now the maximum jail sentence under the YOA is three years except for murder which carries a maximum five ycars: Dabrowski admits there is a core group of about 30 convicted youths who are “forever on probation” and tends to create a lot of work for the probation office. But he added, “For the average ~ kid, it (the YOA) works.” ; Walsoff said the system, as it stands now, allows some cases to “be dealt with harshly. Sentences not solution LOOK AT a young person facing a charge in youth court and you are likely seeing someone with parental prob- lems. By Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter And if you are looking for the court to solve youth crime prob- lems, you are probably looking in the wrong place. North Shore youth court work- er Chris Dabrowski said 15 or 16 years of family dysfunction cannot be reversed with four months of probation handed out by a judge under the Young Offenders Act (YOA). “The court is not a parent,” said Dabrowski, who deals with approximately 12 youths a day who are on probation. The youths Dabrowski moni- tors, mosty males age 16 or 17, have been convicted of variety of offences in North Vancouver or West Vancouver provincial courts. Lawyer David Walsoff has defended teenagers in. the North Shore provincial courts for six years. He agrees with Dabrowski about the apparent misunderstand- ing of the court’s job. “The (court) system is nota cure-all and an end-all.” said’ Walsoff. “It has its limitations.” Walsot? said he often gets frus=~ trated parents coming in with their. kids. “What happens often is par- ents come and say, ‘Do something to this kid,” (to improve his behav- ior)” said Walsoff. Dabrowski said he too hears anguished remarks from parents, “They say, ‘I can't control my kid’,” said Dabrowski. “What kind of relationship is that? Saying that, alone, is very telling.” Dabrowski said some parents don’t understand that what worked “in controlling” a child of seven, will not work for a 14 year old. But the youth court worker said most North Shore parents he encounters care about their tcens, unlike other places he has worked on the Lower Mainland. THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Should tolls fund a new First Narrows crossing? Dabrowski said the perception that single parenting is linked to youth crime is untrue. He said a lack of parenting skilis is likely a factor in youths committing crime. The lack of those skills, he said, can apply to single parents or couples. Walsoff said common factors he has seen over the years that relate to some teens ending up in youth court include being: @ male (although that is chang- ing): B adopted; B® from a single-parent family; and @ native. : Meanwhile, North Vancouver RCMP Insp. Jamie Graham admits he might be a littl more sympa- thetic to troubled youths troubling the community than his front-line officers who have to deal with them and their victims everyday. But he said, “There is not a constable here that has dealt with a kid over and over, that you can’t ge back and find problems with the family.”