1. Chapter 12: A Century After the Fact: What Do We Know? Where Are We Going?

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. According to the text, which of the following has remained consistent over the last 100 years about Canada’s response to youth crime?

a. the options for sentencing youth

b. the reliance on probation and institutions

c. the fundamental principle of a separate system

d. the language used in the youth justice system

2. How have Western governments’ shift from welfare orientations toward neoliberal forms of governance changed the way North Americans think and talk about youth crime and justice?

a. changed from exclusionary approaches to the inclusion of young people in proposals for change

b. changed from concerns about “at risk” youth to a focus on rehabilitation and reintegration

c. changed from crime prevention and community protection to youth rights and protections

d. changed from rehabilitation and reintegration principles to youth risk and accountability

3. How has the integration between the medical/health field and delinquency causation research impacted youth crime programming in the 21st century?

a. less focus on the individual

b. more single-focus approaches

c. less evidence-based interventions

d. more emphasis on risk and protective factors

4. Which one of the following statements best characterizes “Triage” programming for youth?

1. Youth with medical and mental health issues are a surveillance priority.
2. It provides a new way of thinking about delinquency causation.
3. High-risk youth receive more services than low-risk youth.
4. More resources are committed to community programs.

5. Which one of the following statements best describes the “science of crime prevention”?

1. The cost-effectiveness of programming relative to criminal activity is a low priority.
2. Programming strategies are designed and evaluated for their potential to rehabilitate offenders.
3. Alternative programming outcomes, such as improved family relationships or self-esteem, are a high priority.
4. A great deal of research energy and government money is devoted to developing assessment tools.

6. The example in the text of the “graduation incentive program” is an illustration of which of the following?

a. a new and innovative crime control strategy

b. a cost-benefit analysis of crime prevention

c. an expensive crime prevention approach

d. an effective way to reduce youth crime

7. What was the origin of restorative justice principles and programs that began in the non-Aboriginal community?

1. They had their origin in the work of the Mennonite Central Committee in Ontario.
2. They had their origin in the introduction of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
3. They had their origins in Quaker Committee on Jails and Justice.
4. They had their origin in the work of communities in Hollow Water, Manitoba.

8. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason peacekeeping circles might sustain and perpetuate existing injustices?

a. They are not restricted to dominant languages.

b. They include people and groups who are not “easy” to serve.

c. They comprise professionals and community participants from privileged groups.

d. They use language, vocabulary, and practices that are customary and commonplace to participants.

9. According to Ruth Morris, what drives the retributive crime-control system?

1. “revenge spirit”
2. “eye for an eye”
3. “a desire for order”
4. “anger and vengeance”

10. Which one of the following perspectives is a key element of the transformative justice model?

1. a realization that healing is the end result and primary objective
2. a recognition that victims and offenders are not likely to want to talk to each other
3. a view of crime as an opportunity to build a more caring, more inclusive, more just community
4. to transform the individual and community back to the state it was in prior to the criminal offence

11. What is the main difference between the transformative and community change models of justice?

a. Victims’ needs are central to the community change model only.

b. Focusing on the offender is more significant in the transformative model.

c. Only the transformative model addresses issues of distributive justice and injustice.

d. Providing answers to the victims’ questions is important to the community change model.

12. Which of the following is the most likely consequence of “parental responsibility legislation”?

a. It will assist already impoverished families.

b. It will appropriately address youth crime problems.

c. It will intensify already strained family relationships.

d. It will make neglectful parents more accountable to their children.

SHORT ANSWER

1. What is parental responsibility legislation and is it likely to make parents more responsible for their children’s action?

• Parental responsibility legislation advocates retribution and punishment for the parents or guardians of young offenders.
• Parental responsibility is not likely to make parents more responsible with threats of punishment.
• Fining or otherwise penalizing parents for their children’s behaviours is likely to intensify already negative family relationships or further penalize those already dispossessed.
• These laws heap more injustices onto families already struggling with meagre resources, particularly single-parent families headed by women.

REF: 439-440

1. Explain the term “cross-over kids” and how the youth justice system has failed this group.

• Cross-over kids are children and youth who have a history of movement from the children’s mental health or child welfare system into the youth justice system.
• The YCJA prevents the use of custody for “social welfare purposes,” but examinations of detention decisions by police and the nature of administrative charges as well as risk assessments in pre-sentencing reports all indicate that social welfare issues put youth at risk for being pushed into the youth justice system.
• Young people themselves have described being placed in a group home by social workers as a “gateway to hell” and the road that sets them on the path to the criminal justice system through group-home-staff use of the criminal justice system as their support system.
• Overall the youth justice system is poorly equipped to address the needs and issues that initially brought children into the mental health and child and youth services systems.

REF: 448-449

ESSAY QUESTIONS

1. Explain the three different types of peacemaking circles that are currently in practice in Canada in both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities. Use examples to help illustrate the different types of peacemaking circles.

• Healing circles work outside the formal justice system and bring people together to solve problems before criminal incidents occur; they also provide support for people already serving sentences.
• Sentencing circles work inside the formal justice system. They are supported by and referred to in the YCJA as “sentencing conferences” and in some discussions as “circle sentencing.” All refer to an alternative to standard sentencing practices, where the Crown and the defence make recommendations at sentencing hearings or make a “joint submission” to the court based on former meetings and agreements. The sentencing circle brings the Crown, defence, judge, court workers, and a number of other relevant professionals together, possibly with the offender and family members, for as many meetings as might be necessary. The purpose of these meetings is to gather information that will be useful in making decisions about sentences that will assist in the rehabilitation and reintegration of the youth.

– Example: Some Aboriginal communities, such as those in the Stó:lõ First Nation in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, use sentencing circles that are part of formal justice proceedings but attempt to give responsibility for resolution to the community. This is done by involving community members in the circle meetings and having either a respected community Elder or a court judge chair the circle process.

• Community peacemaking circles are used in cases where criminal charges have been or might be laid, and usually take place as a pre-plea form of conferencing, such as family conferencing. Police activity in this regard began before the YCJA, but under YCJA provisions, some judges (for example, in Newmarket, located in York Region, Ontario) are using this type of gathering in their courts. While the YCJA allows for and promotes this new practice, how it is organized and structured is left to provincial governments and sometimes to local jurisdictions.

– Example: in York Region, proceedings are recorded, but the sessions are closed to the public and information provided by the youth is not permitted to be entered into proceedings if the case ends up in a court trial. Sessions are used as a mediation and conflict resolution tool, and they involve the offender and victim, their supporters, court officials, and other professionals. Some judges see this as a highly useful and productive form of “conferencing” because it allows them to make decisions about diversion or accepting a guilty plea with a full knowledge of the youth, the circumstances of the offence, and community resources available for assistance with rehabilitation and reintegration.

REF: 429-431

1. Compare and contrast the transformative justice model with the community change model.

Transformative justice model

• The transformative justice model entails addressing the social inequities that existed before a crime was committed.
• This model sees crime as an “opportunity to build a more caring, more inclusive, and more just community,” and issues surrounding crime are not separated from issues of distributive injustice.
• Healing is not viewed as the end result, but as part of the path to transformation.
• “Creative listening” is a critical tool for transformative justice; to truly “hear” what someone is saying requires empathy, caring, and a will to hear what is being said.
• The key to the transformative process is “forgiveness.” Transformation cannot occur until people let go of their anger, their rage, and their desire for revenge.
• Victims’ needs are central to the transformative model, not just needs that are a result of the offence, but also those that arise from events occurring after the offence. Victims want to feel safe again, and need reassurance from the offender and her or his community, family, and friends, that they will be safe in the future.
• The last stage in transformation for the victim is “significance.” Victims need to feel there was some purpose or significance in what happened. This is when true healing begins according to Ruth Morris. Most commonly, victims want to use their pain and grief to build a better world for others. The organization of Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) is an example.

Community change model

• The community change model looks at the specific ways in which a community can address inequities and injustices, and has less of a focus on offenders.
• It focuses on the role of community as a change agent.
• This model complements the transformative model because it too addresses issues of distributive justice and injustice. A difference between the two is that the community model looks more at the specific ways in which a community can address these inequities and injustices and has less of a focus on offenders.
• The view in this model is that preventing crime is the responsibility of communities, and that communities are also a source of crime; youth behaviour is seen as a product of life circumstances within communities.
• Reform is seen as the responsibility of communities, as is the development of effective responses to youth issues.

REF: 433-436