DECLINING ROLE OF REHABILITATION IN CANADIAN JUVENILE JUSTICE: IMPLICATIONS OF UNDERLYING THEORY IN THE YOUNG OFFENDERS ACT (FROM YOUTH INJUSTICE: CANADIAN PERSPECTIVES, P 39-47, 1993, THOMAS O'REILLY-FLEMING, BARRY CLARK, EDS. -- SEE NCJ-148261)

• NCJ Number: 148264
• Author(s): A W Leschied; P Gendreau
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: Canadian Scholars Press
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

The authors draw upon recent evidence generated from one Canadian jurisdiction to clearly implicate the Young Offenders Act as a harbinger of benign neglect in the area of juvenile justice.

Abstract

The preoccupation with the politics of implementation has prevented critical analysis of the underlying theoretical assumptions of the Young Offenders Act (YOA). The philosophy underlying the YOA is strongly based on punishment not rehabilitation. In many respects, the state has legitimized the neglect of young persons who were previously cared for. Although its proponents claim it is progressive legislation unique to Canadian criminal justice, the YOA actually represents social policy borrowed from the United States. The author looks briefly at juvenile justice in the United States and Canada and at empirical data on the effects of the YOA. The legislation in its present form has created difficulties for proponents of rehabilitation. Future amendments to the YOA should recognize the need for a more balanced integration of civil rights and rehabilitation. Endnotes