NCJ Number
140364
Date Published
1992
Length
28 pages
Annotation
The Canadian government has introduced legislation concerning young offenders (Bill C-12, Young Offenders Act) which will make it easier to transfer youths to adult courts.
Abstract
The legislation assumes that current practices regarding transfer place the public at risk, although little research evidence supports this assumption. In order to evaluate the transfer issue, data were obtained from 20 case studies of youths who faced transfer proceedings in youth court. Information was specifically obtained on nature of the offense, previous record, transfer outcome, and case outcome. Data were also collected on sentences received by youths transferred to adult courts. Five of the youths were charged with murder, three with manslaughter, six with attempted murder, two with robbery, two with sexual assault, and two with aggravated assault. The final outcome in five cases was that youths would be transferred. No strong differences based on the most serious charge were observed in the outcome of the transfer decision. Youths 17 years of age and older were more likely to be transferred than youths under 17 years of age. The existence of a previous record did not explain differences between age and outcome. Overall, the data do not indicate a consistent pattern in transfer cases or outcomes. The authors conclude that the proposed legislation reflects perception rather than practice and that the rationale for the bill is questionable. An appendix contains a severity of offense scale. 16 references and 6 tables