Chapter 10: Youth Corrections: Going to Jail

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. What is the average cost in Canada of keeping a young person in custody for a year?

a. $40,000

b. $80,000

c. $100,000

d. $150,000

2. Which one of the following laws initiated the practice of institutionalizing Canadian youth separately from adults?

1. British North America Act (1867)
2. Act for the Establishment of Training Schools and Prisons for Youth Delinquents (1838)
3. Act for Establishing Prisons for Young Offenders (1857)
4. Juvenile Delinquents Act (1908)

3. Which of the following describes how custody sentencing under the YOA differs from the YCJA?

a. Under the YOA, custody was assigned in conjunction with an aftercare plan that involved programs and community supervision.

b. The YOA allowed provincial facilities to be differentiated by multiple security levels and to provide a variety of programs and intervention methods.

c. Under the YCJA, the level of custody to be served by youth offenders is determined by the provincial director, not the court.

d. Under the YCJA, Nova Scotia and Ontario had a split jurisdiction where youth 12 to 15 years old were processed differently than youth 16 to 17 years old.

4. Which of the following best characterizes the standards that are used to determine whether a youth custody facility was classified as open or secure?

1. They are consistent across the country.
2. They vary considerably across the country.
3. They were clearly defined under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
4. They were clearly defined under the Young Offenders Act.

5. According to section 83 (1) of the YCJA, what is the purpose of custody and supervision?

a. to reduce recidivism

b. to protect society

c. to act in the best interests of youth

d. to apply meaningful consequences

6. According to section 90 of the YCJA, which of the following is provided to every youth sentenced to custody?

a. a youth worker

b. a reintegration leave

c. a deferred custody and supervision order

d. an intensive custody and supervision order

7. For whom is the “intensive rehabilitative custody and supervision order” intended?

a. youth with no prior convictions

b. youth charged with violent offences

c. youth who have been labelled “high risk” by the police

d. youth without a mental illness, a psychological disorder, or an emotional disturbance

8. Which sentence in the adult system is comparable to the deferred custody and supervision order in the youth system?

1. parole
2. probation
3. house arrest
4. community service

9. According to section 98(4) of the YCJA, under what grounds can the youth court extend a custody period whereby a youth can be held in custody longer than his or her original sentence?

a. The youth does not have a sufficiently stable environment to return to in the community.

b. The youth does not exhibit signs of remorse for the offence.

c. The youth has shown a pattern of violent behaviour.

d. The youth has threatened to self-harm.

10. Which of the following correctional programming examples would be classified as an “offender-specific” program?

a. StopLift

b. life skills

c. education

d. substance abuse

11. Which two provinces implemented boot camps for young offenders?

1. Alberta and Quebec
2. Ontario and Manitoba
3. Saskatchewan and Quebec
4. Ontario and Alberta

12. What is the primary focus of cognitive skills programming?

1. reading and writing skills
2. self-esteem and motivation
3. self-analysis
4. family and peer relationships

13. According to a literature review conducted by the Department of Justice, which of the following is designated as programming that does NOT work to reduce youth recidivism?

a. leisure and recreation

b. anger management training

c. wilderness programs and boot camps

d. therapeutic treatment that involves multiple counselling methods

SHORT ANSWER

1. Issues over the location of youth facilities are sometimes the result of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) syndrome. Discuss some of the pros and cons of having a youth facility close to where you live, keeping in mind the perspectives of different stake holders.

Pros

• Community business leaders and politicians often want custodial facilities because of the money and jobs they bring to a community.
• Contribute to local economies through money spent on food and other maintenance costs for prisoners; more indirectly, they contribute through salaries paid to employees.
• Some facilities provide community access to their pools and gymnasiums.
• Institutions may also organize projects to raise money for volunteer organizations within the community, thereby helping to ensure good public relations

Cons

• Homeowners sometimes object to facilities in their neighbourhood and do not want to be in close proximity to convicted criminals.
• Politicians may object to the location of custodial facilities to keep the voters happy despite the positive benefit it may bring to a community.

REF: 357-358

1. Explain the three different types of correctional programs and give an example of each.

• General programs usually apply to all offenders.

– Examples: life skills, education, recreation, and counselling programs.

• Offence- specific programs- target specific types of offences.

– Examples: The StopLift program targets shoplifters, or specialized programs for sex offenders

• Offender-specific programs- target the offender’s problems and behaviours.

– Examples: substance abuse programs, leisure time programs, and anger management.

REF: 364

1. Why should more attention be paid to learning disabilities (LD) in the justice system and its impact on recidivism?

• Rates of learning disabilities in the general Canadian population are 4 to 5 percent, while rates for young offenders range from 30 to 50 percent and recidivism rates for young offenders diagnosed with LD are twice as high compared to non-LD young offenders
• This doesn’t mean that youth with LD are more involved with criminal activity; rather youth with LD are at a greater risk of getting into the youth justice system when their special needs are not addressed, and once in the system, it is harder for them to get out.
• The most important issue with LD in this context is that it is not a priority in justice/ correctional assessments, so it becomes invisible because of the number of issues faced by many young offenders, issues that often start with an undiagnosed LD.

REF: 372-373

ESSAY QUESTIONS

1. Summarize the five different categories of correctional programs discussed in this chapter.

• Substance abuse is considered a major risk factor in delinquent and aggressive behaviour and recidivism, so an important first step in programming for the young offenders is to successfully work through a substance abuse program. These programs are designed to provide resources, encouragement, and support that a young person will need to overcome physical, emotional, and/ or psychological addictions to alcohol and or drugs. An important part of substance abuse programming is to involve community support systems and groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous so that follow-up assistance can be provided when young offenders are released into the community.
• Educational programming is an important part of correctional programs because many youth have experienced failure in the regular school system and are poorly motivated with respect to academic studies. Educational programs aim to address self-esteem, motivation, and overall reading and writing skills, as well as academic subjects and vocational training. Some students work on academic credits through correspondence courses. Others are granted educational temporary absences for the purpose of attending local schools.
• Many young offenders are seen to have failed to acquire the cognitive skills that are essential to effective interpersonal relations. Problems with interpersonal relations are seen to stem from a lack of parental guidance, a poor home environment, and negative peer group influences. Life skills and social skills programs attempt to provide young offenders with an opportunity to develop appropriate cognitive skills and self-esteem, and to replace anger, hostility, and aggression with pro-social attitudes and behaviour. This type of programming is designed to help youth think about why they got into trouble with the law, how they might have avoided such an outcome in the past, and how they will avoid problems in the future.
• Those responsible for administrating youth facilities and programs see recreational facilities and programs as integral parts of the rehabilitation process and that there are therapeutic benefits of recreation. Programs are designed to teach youth to make productive use of their leisure time and to assist youth in improving their interpersonal and communications skills and ability to work cooperatively. Other program objectives include providing youth with a sense of accomplishment and well-being, and giving them an opportunity to explore their individual talents and interests.
• Daily work routines are another part of institutional programs. These programs are designed to meet institutional needs such as cleaning the facility and at the same time giving young offenders opportunities to develop good work habits. Institutions usually offer an allowance program as a positive behavioural incentive.

REF: 364-368

1. Outline the reasoning that has been used to support the use of boot camps. Does the evidence show that boot camps can successfully rehabilitate young offenders?

• Boot camps are programs or facilities that emphasize military-style discipline, physical conditioning, teamwork, and punishment in attempting to rehabilitate young offenders.
• People who believe that youth today lack discipline and respect for authority tend to be attracted to the idea of boot camps.
• For governments, boot camps offer a cheap alternative to incarceration.
• These programs have been adopted for political, financial, and ideological reasons, not because of any demonstrated success.
• The evidence has not shown that boot camps reduce recidivism.
• In 1992, the U.S. Department of Justice implemented the first three boot camp programs for juveniles. The primary motivation for the camps was financial because diverting less serious youth offenders from overcrowded juvenile institutions saved the government money. Each boot camp was evaluated over a two-year period and, while they were found to be cheaper than other institutions, they were no more effective than probation or custody in reducing recidivism rates. Recidivism rates were actually higher for boot camp participants in Cleveland compared to youth in state correctional facilities.
• Project Turnaround was Ontario’s attempt at establishing a “strict discipline” boot camp program. It opened in Barrie in 1997 and has since closed. The Ministry of Corrections had the program evaluated and announced that boot camp participants had considerably lower recidivism than a comparison group of young offenders. However, Doob and Cesaroni (2004) reviewed this evaluation and found that it had many methodological errors. They found that there was no statistically significant difference in rates of recidivism between boot camp participants and the comparison group.
• A 2003 meta-analysis conducted by the Department of Justice Canada, found that boot camps don’t reduce recidivism and some have been shown to increase offending.

REF: 367-369, 372