NCJ Number
153334
Journal
Forum on Corrections Research Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: January 1995 Pages: 10-13
Date Published
January 1995
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Patterns and trends in the incarceration of youthful offenders ages 15-19 in Canada since 1978-79 are examined, with emphasis on the impact of the Young Offenders Act of 1984.
Abstract
The Act directly affected adult corrections by establishing a uniform minimum age for adults across Canada and by restricting the opportunities for trying juvenile offenders in adult courts. As a result, offenders under age 18 have almost disappeared from the annual adult admission rolls. An average of only five youths ages 15-17 are admitted annually, compared with 42 per year between 1983 and 1988 and 88 per year between 1978 and 1983. The law also appears to have affected the admission of youths ages 18-19 into the Federal system, in that the number of admissions from this age group has declined 50 percent since 1985. Despite these changes, the characteristics of the youth population admitted into the adult system have remained the same. Figure, tables, and 5 reference notes