Abstract
This paper will give a brief history of the YOA and give special attention to the Ontario Crime Control Commission (OCCC), which has recently made its own report on youth crime. The main thesis of this paper will be that the Commission's recommendations are prudent, but that they come up short in dealing with the social causes of juvenile criminality. The Commission should have spent more time and energy on considering why young people become offenders in the first place. Preventative measures are ultimately much more effective than state-sanctioned retribution.

Abstract
The paper looks at an article by Richard MacClure et al (2003) entitled, "Young Offender Diversion in Canada: Tensions and Contradictions of Social Policy Appropriation." As time permits, the writer argues that, while well-intentioned, MacClure and his colleagues have produced a deeply-flawed work inasmuch as the methodology is far too narrow for the question being pursued, the focus appears to be somewhat unclear (chiefly owing to the title) and the interview itself invites concerns about bias and about how truthful the respondents really were in answering the queries of the scholars. The writer reaches the conclusion that the article suffers because its methodology is simply far too superficial and limited.

From the Paper
"The following paper will look at an article by Richard MacClure et al (2003) entitled, "Young Offender Diversion in Canada: Tensions and Contradictions of Social Policy Appropriation." As time permits, I will argue that, while well-intentioned, MacClure and his colleagues have produced a deeply-flawed work inasmuch as the methodology is far too narrow for the question being pursued, the focus appears to be somewhat unclear (chiefly owing to the title) and the interview itself invites concerns about bias and about how truthful the respondents really were in..."

Tags:macclure, young, offender

Abstract
This paper researches the British legal system with regards to youthful offenders and the sentencing of juvenile offenders in British Courts. This research shows that more studies are necessary in order to develop a program to better assist young offenders in the British legal system.

Contents:
Research Proposal Objective
Statement of the Problem
Introduction
Methodology of the Research
Age of Juvenile Offender According to General British Law
Alternative Sentencing Solutions Available in British Courtrooms
Youthful Offenders: Custodial Sentence
Argument Both For and Against Custodial Sentencing of Young Offenders
Findings

From the Paper
"The age of 'responsibility' or 'accountability' in the criminal justice court in England and Wales is the age of 10. Juveniles in the age range between 10 and 17 years old must appear before a youth court upon receiving a criminal charge A National Institute of Justice report states that "the sanctions available to youth courts are more restricted than those for adult courts, the major differences being that fines can be imposed which parents must pay and supervision or attendance center orders may be imposed." (NIJ Report) Options exist that may be pursued in lieu of typical trial on the case the defendant is charged under. For example, the following options are available in the British Court/Legal System. Alternatives to trials exist, according to the National Institute of Justice Report due to the possibility of a "formal caution administered by the police, used disproportionately for young offenders...." Stated is that a caution of a formal nature makes as a requirement that specific conditions be met. Inclusive in these requirements is that the offender: (1) admit to the offense; and (2) The offender and their guardian must be willing to "proceed as the police wish".
The following is stated in relation to Youth Courts which are one within the division of various Special Courts: Courts. Youth courts are specialized magistrates' courts that adjudicate cases involving defendants less than 18 years of age. There are restrictions on the access of the public and press to such courts. The defendant and any other witnesses under 18 years old must not be identified. "

Tags:restorative, process, custodial, sentencing, probation, community, service

Abstract
This paper argues that instead of shielding young illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes, San Francisco should deport them. The paper takes a look at San Francisco's sanctuary policy and contends that the interpretation of this policy has been erroneous. The paper asserts that the welfare of the citizens needs to be at the forefront of every policy, and further argues that shielding these felons is a misappropriation of taxpayer money.

Outline:
The City's Sanctuary Policy Factor
Shielding Reinforce Crimes]
Shielding: A Misappropriation of Public Funds

From the Paper
"During the third quarter 2008, San Francisco's sanctuary city policy was subjected to public scrutiny due to the discovery that the Juvenile Probation Department has been shielding illegal immigrants involved in crack dealing. The probation chief flew these people home (to Honduras, Mexico, and El Salvador) - all at taxpayers' expense instead of simply deporting them. Upon the discovery of this action by federal immigration officials, the probation chief sent them to group homes (where after several days they all ran off) - at, again, the expense of San Francisco's tax-paying citizens (Tyler, 2008). Just a month after this news broke out, the news on the murder of a father and his two sons by a gang member, who was shielded from deportation, made it to headlines of newspapers and television news (KTVU.com, 2008)."

Tags:sanctuary, policy, taxpayers, crimes

Abstract
This paper discusses the implementation of the Young Offenders Act (YOA), that was enacted in order to attempt to reduce youth crime in Canada. The paper analyzes research that discusses the reasons why youth crime fell each year from 1991 until 1996 and the fact that apprehension and charging rates over time tended to be due to legislative changes rather than actual changes in criminal behavior.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Crime in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s: The Young Offenders Act
Youth Crime in Canada Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act
Comparison with "Other" Crime: Workplace Violence
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Overall, the findings indicate that in terms of youth crime in Canada, changes in apprehension and charging rates over time tend to be due to legislative changes rather than actual changes in criminal behavior. Recent results indicate that in the last few years, increases in chargeable youth rates were probably owing to technical reporting factors rather than changed police charging practices. Regarding another form of crime, workplace violence has decreased in Canada over the years in every sector apart from the health care, welfare and community service industries, which experienced marked increases. Reasons behind these changes are probably social and political in nature. Heightened scores in some provinces were found to be probably related to the fact that there are a greater proportion of residents in these areas working in high risk sectors for workplace violence."

Tags:violence, legislature, behavior, apprehension

Abstract
Youth crime - or the spectre of youth crime - concerns all of us. Suffice it to say, how this issue is addressed by the court system is a hot topic of discussion that invariably gets around to the central matter of whether or not the system is too lenient when it comes to young offenders. The following paper will argue that the conditions placed upon young offenders who are released from custody are frequently overused or misapplied and that they cause more harm than good. Of course, there are proponents of the current system who argue the exact opposite: the wide-spread imposition of conditions upon release cuts down on youth delinquency and allows the system to more carefully monitor at-risk young people. Nonetheless, the following paper will look at section 515 and its provisions, highlight just how over-used these provisions are, determine the role of the courts and the role of the police in creating this unhappy situation, and will finish up by looking at how the conditions which are applied often seemingly have no relationship to the actual nature of the crime. In the end, Canada is unjustly criminalizing its youth.

From the Paper
Youth Justice: Why (and How) the Conditions of Release for Young People Are Over-Used Youth crime - or the spectre of youth crime - concerns all of us. Suffice it to say, how this issue is addressed by the court system is a hot topic of discussion that invariably gets around to the central matter of whether or not the system is too lenient when it comes to young offenders. The following paper will argue that the conditions placed upon young offenders who are released from custody are frequently overused or misapplied and that they cause more harm than good. Of course, there are proponents of the current system who argue the exact opposite: the wide-spread

Tags:conditions, bail, youth

Abstract
The paper explains that the original goal of family court was to make sure that children were protected. They were believed to be innocent because they were too young to understand what they were doing when they committed the crimes. However, in the 1960s, they began to be treated more like adults in their actions and this greatly changed the face of juvenile justice. The paper discusses how most of the children are arrested today due to felony crimes instead of minor things and this leads to a debate about whether these offenders should be tried as adults or remain in the juvenile system. The paper considers that the punishment should be appropriate; if it is not, the offender learns nothing. The paper concludes that there must be a balance between protection of children that have made mistakes and punishment for those children that are criminals in the deliberate sense.

From the Paper
"In the 1960's things changed and the treatment of children who broke the law was affected. Due process came into the picture, and children were suddenly allowed lawyers in the court. They began to be treated more like adults in their actions, and this greatly changed the face of juvenile justice (Loeber, 1990). Whether it was for the better or not still really remains to be seen, but it would appear that changing the juvenile justice system has not really accomplished much. The goal was to make things tougher for juvenile offenders, but this really has not happened."

Tags:death, penalty, human, rights, children

Abstract
This paper examines how more and more states and the federal government have been considering or passing legislation that diverts juvenile offenders from the juvenile justice system to the adult justice system because of an increase in violent crime committed by juveniles. It looks at how major news stories such as the shooting at Littleton, Colorado is one reason, but so is the increase in gang shootings and similar violence in urban regions. It discusses how the development of a more violent youth population involves many forces and pressures and cannot be answered simply by shifting young people to adult courts. It looks at how critics claim that this has been done because the juvenile justice system has failed, however, statistics show that shifting juveniles to adult court is also a policy that fails, so it is hardly a reasonable substitute.

From the Paper
"Other statistics are even more frightening. Webber cites the Children's Defense Fund, which estimates that an American child is arrested for a violent crime every 5 minutes and is killed by guns every 2 hours. Nine in 10 young murder victims in the industrialized world are Americans. Between 1979 and 1991, nearly 50,000 American children were killed by guns, which is more than the number of Americans killed in Vietnam in 25 years. An American child is 15 times more likely to be killed by gunfire in the United States than is a child living in Northern Ireland. More than half the people arrested for murder in the United States in 1991 were under age 25, and juvenile arrests for murder and non-negligent manslaughter rose 93 percent between 1982 and 1991. It is more and more common for young people to kill each other, and 55 percent of juvenile homicides in 1995 involved friends and acquaintances (Webber)."

Tags:murder, crime, adult, courts, gangs

Abstract
The paper argues that the United States faces a dilemma in that it needs to decide how to handle juvenile offenders. Currently, with some exceptions, each state and municipality sets its own rules and the rules vary tremendously. The paper shows that children as young as eleven years old have been tried and convicted as adults. Juvenile systems do not always respond effectively to the youth charged to its care. Probation practices also vary widely. The paper argues that when the criminal system cannot decide whether to charge many juveniles as juveniles or adults it should not be surprising that probation practices vary as well.

Paper Outline:
The Problem
Complicating Issues
Innovative Programs
Solutions
Bibliography

From the Paper
"One of the difficulties in forming a plan to truly rehabilitate youthful offenders is that little systematic research has been done. In 2001, the Texas legislature attempted to determine the number of youth in their probation system who had mental health needs. They found that they could not determine the number. There are 168 different juvenile probation programs in Texas. They are not united under any kind of state program, and each probation program used its own system for assessing the needs of the youths under their probationary supervision."

Tags:commission, mental, health, community, monitors

Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts the cases of Lionel Tate and the King brothers, both juvenile offenders who committed murder in the state of Florida. The paper reveals that Lionel Tate stood trial and was found guilty of 1st degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, while the Kinb brothers pled guilty to 3rd degree murder and were setenced to less than 10 years each. The paper addresses issues surrounding lesser included offenses, available defenses and the 8th Amendment issue of cruel and unusual punishment.

From the Paper
"The facts in both of these cases of juvenile killers do vary significantly, the base fact is common is that another human being has been denied their right to enjoy the rest of their natural lives at the hands of the offenders. While a number of defenses or mitigating factors are present in each of the cases, reliance must be given to the tires of fact that the finds of the jury are the actual facts of the case and other theories proposed during the trials are not operative and thus should not be revisited when reviewing these cases. The outcomes of each of the cases are divergent however, where Lionel Tate..."

Tags:florida, juvenile justice, analysis