NCJ Number
215410
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice Volume: 48 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2006 Pages: 609-622
Date Published
July 2006
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This Canadian study examined sentences for juveniles brought before a youth court for "failing to comply with a disposition" (FTC).
Abstract
Of the 9,211 cases that involved FTC convictions in 2002/2003, 46 percent involved only a FTC charge. Another 20 percent had one FTC conviction and conviction for one other type of non-FTC offense. The rest (34 percent) had multiple FTC convictions along with other types of convictions. The most serious sentence for the current FTC conviction was predominately custody (47 percent), evenly divided between open and secure custody; approximately one-third of the cases received probation. The strongest predictor of a custodial sentence for a FTC conviction was the type of sentence received for the youth's most recent offense. Sentences for a FTC conviction tended to be more severe than the previous sentence, regardless of the nature of the offense. Section 39 of Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) states that custody can be imposed only if one or more of four conditions are met. One condition is that the youth previously failed to comply with a non custodial sentence. The author discusses the issues raised by a custodial sentence for a FTC conviction when the conviction under which the FTC occurred was for a minor offense. The study included all cases in Canada that were completed in 2002/2003 with at least one conviction for FTC. In addition to obtaining data on the current FTC case, data were also collected on previous convictions and sentences for each youth. The sample consisted of 9,211 cases. 2 tables, 9 notes, and 10 references