1 « * number or the opinion poll (a 1-900 | (This is the first instalment of a North Shore News series on the Young Offenders Act by reporter Anna Marie D'Angelo.) THE FEDERAL government is making good on its clection promise to increase jail sen- tences for violent youths through amendments to the controversial Young Offenders Act. (YOA) tabled in Parliament on Thursday. By Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter The bill would see youths, aged 12.t0 17,.who-are convicted in youth court of first-degree murder. serve 10-year sentences; second- degree murder convictions would carry jail terms of up to seven. years. Currently a youth convicted in youth court of murder faces a maxi- mum jail term of five yeurs. Also included in the YOA bill were amendments to: . ®M raise 16- and 17- year- -olds” charged with serious personal injury offences to adult court unless they. can show a judge that public protection and rehabilitation can both be achieved through youth court; fa extend the time that 16- and 17- year-old offenders who have been convicted of murder in an adult court must serve before they can be ‘considered for parole; @& improve “information sharing” between school officials, police and “selected” members of the public eferendui SOME PEOPLE like it. Other . people call it-ill- conceived and | “a waste of money. Still others are not quite as nice. By Anna Marie D'Angelo “News Reporter . But North Vancouver Reform MP Ted White doesn’t seem to care what people call it, he just wants them to call. The MP is conducting what he ‘calls “teledemocracy” in the form ’ of an “election quality” referendum . phone-in between June 14 and June 20. » Referendum ’94, as White calls it; will focus on three questions about changes to the Young Offenders Act (YOA). The ques- tions are timely considering the federal government tabled changes to the YOA Thursday in 1 the House of Commons. Said White, “I think this referen- dum is now..more important because the Justice Minister has not lowered the age at which charges can be laid.” White said he was approached by MTT Technologies, a subsidiary of Maritime Tel, to conduct the phone-in referendum for the North Vancouver riding. If no one calls the referendum number, meaning callers will be CALL US... North Vancouver o Xe a a Seenasih aay ie PASE West Ges Vancouver fie a | Bylaw caves ore Municipal Bylaw offences (0 yim cuoes are Municipal Bylaw offences (0. poral Young Offendors Act (¢. Suramaty Conviction cases ara offences under Provinetal Statutes 3% Traffic coaca are offences under the Provincia) Motor Vehicle Act (0.9. Prepared by: Ron Rayner, Senior Information “analyst Source: Court Services Branch, Statistics Management Group, CSS Database y. Nolse Bylaw, Aninial Control By! (0.9. erese'n 2 etune 6 Controt NEWS graphic Jonathan Sell “OF A total 429 new court cases involving young people on the North Shore in 1993, the majority addressed offences, such as break and enter, covered by the federal Young Offenders Act. when public safety is at risk. The following proposals made it to the short-list of YOA changes, - according to a Justice Department source, but didn’t make it to the final “crack down” version tabled in the federal legislature: fi permitting publication of the identity of any youth convicted of a violent crime; NV REFORM MP Ted White charged), White will be out of pocket approximately $12,000. He said he could recoup the money by taking it out of his office budget. But he said a private donor has offered to help if the experiment is not firiancially successful. It will cost.each person with a PIN number $1.95 to answer the following questions: Should 10 years of age be made the lowest age limit for charges to be laid under the YOA? $8 Should there be automatic trans- fer to adult court for young offend- ers charged with serious offences such as murder? & Should there be a special catego- making it casier for repeat offenders to be tried in adult court; creating a new designation of “dangerous young offender” to be ‘ dealt with entirely under the adult system, but limiting charges under which young offenders can be transferred to adult court. According to the Justice Department, public consultation on wrangle ry in the YOA which would pro- vide harsher penaitics for danger- ous, violent and repeat offenders? White said he defined the ques- _ tions based on his own research along with input from letters and phore alls from his constituents. “Over a three- to four-week period. | discussed it with every- body I could — teachers, people | met.on the streets, experts like a prosecutor in Alberta... “I hear every day from my con- ._Stituents that they’re sick of experts telling them what to do every day,” said White. White had intended to include secondary school students in class- es to participate in his phone-in, but North Vancouver District 44° School Board (NVSB) declined to " have students participate on school time. Said NVSB chairman Pat Heal, “We don’t feel it’s appropriate when it’s not part of a lesson being taught in school.” She said there are policies in place against political activity with- in the schools. ; But White said the school board's reasons for denying student participation from class was “total- ly ridiculous.” “They sent me a bylaw that said you can’t exploit students for com- mercial purposes,” said the Reform the YOA indicated a “profound dis- satisfaction with the current treat- ment of violent young offenders” while at the same time recognizing there was a need to rehabilitate non- violent offenders. The Justice Department indicat. ed that the “serious personal injury” offences to be tried in adult court would include murder, attempted Young C murder, manslaughter, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated assault, Offenders aged 16 and 1:7 are affected by the majority.ef YOA changes because, according to the Justice Department's latest statis- tics, 16- and 17-year-old youths make up more than half the young people tried in youth court and receive 57% of custody sentences. Part of the public consultation process for YOA changes started last) fall when the Justice Department published Toward Safer Communities, violent and repeat offending by young people. The 24-page booklet was called a consultation paper intended to provide Canadians with facts on the nature of youth crime in Canada. More than 1,000 people nation- wide responded in writing to the Justice Department by January con- cerning the Young Offenders: Project, which was aimed at inctud- ing public input in the process of proposed amendments to the YOA. The booklet outlined various public concerns, including: . / B8 lowering the minimum age of.a youth from 12 to 10. A 10-year-old — could be criminally responsible for his actions; - @ lowering the maximum age ofa youth from.under 18 to the.“most often suggested” 15 years; " EH automatically transferring more’ youths to adult court, especially when a second violent offence has _ been committed or if “older” youths are charged . with murder, . manslaughter or sexual assault}. i publicizing the namés of of charged * and convicted youths. 7 Act ng Obende 1908 legislation _ THE YOUNG Offenders Act (YOA) was implemented in 1984 and replaced the Juvenile Delinquent Act of 1908. | The YOA deals with criminal - offences committed by youths * aged 12 to 17 (under age 18). Canada’s policy with respect to young offenders is outlined in the YOA under “Declaration of Principle.” The declaration, to be “con- strued liberally,” includes the fol- lowing: young people should bear responsibiltyfor their behavior, but not in the same way as adults; society has to'be protected from illegal behavior; Bi young people who commit offences require supervision, dis- cipline and control, but also have special needs and require guid- ance and assistance; @ young persons have rights and freedoms in their own right, including Charter Rights and tights provided under the So THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: 983-2208 Should violent youth crimes be automatically tried in adult court Canadian Bill of Rights; a Among the practical ramifica-'- : tions of the YOA are:.. ,- youths convicted of murder i in - youth court can receive a maxi- .mum sentence of five years. According to the: Justice Department, a youth will usually spend the first three years in cus-.. tody and the last two under “‘com- munity supervision.” : @ youths convicted of murder'i in adult court are, eligible for parole’. after five to 10 years. 'A murder “ conviction in adult court may, involve sentencing the youth ‘to a youth facility, depending on a judge’s decision; i fa the names of youths charged and convicted of crimes are pro- hibited from being published; . @ adults convicted in adult court are sent to jail; youths convicted in youth court go to detention centres, group homes, child-care institutions or wilderness camps; @ youths over age 14 may be tried in adult court on a serious charge; an application to have the trial in adult court is required.