Juvenile Offenders Flashcards
Adolescents age
older than 12 younger than 18
Juvenile Delinquents act
1908
- 7-16 years old (up to 18 in some places)
- separate court and correctional facilities established
- offending seen as symptom of the disease “delinquency” caused by society and family
- truancy and promequincy could be subject to sanctions - adults could not be
- denied procedural rights (public hearing, legal counsel etc.) - as seen as helping them and not to punish so unnecessary
- indeterminate sentences permitted - however long to treat or cure
- parents encouraged to be part of process
Concerns:
- lack of due process
- inequity of trying and holding for non criminal behavior
- efficacy of treatment programs - open ended sentences with no empirical support
- need to hold youth accountable for criminal behavior
Prior to 1908 juvenile justice
1600
- under 7 not criminally responsible
- 7-14 if could prove malice were responsible
- tried and housed in adult facilities
Youth offenders act
1984 major reform of JDA
- 12-18
- under 12 through child and family services
- young offenders must take responsibility for actions
- need to protect society from illegal behavior
- youth afforded all Charter rights
- special needs and should not be help accountable to same manner as adults (lack of maturity for example)
- youth courts still in place
- serious indictable offences such as murder, can be tried as adult in adult court if at least 14
- diversion possible if plead guilty, absolute discharge, fine, compensation, restitution, probation, prohibition order, community service, or custody
- open (community residential facility) or secure custody (incarceration)
criticisms:
- violent crimes get light sentences- age of responsibility at 12
types of youth custody
open
- community residential facility, group home, child care facility, or wilderness camp
secure
- incarceration in prison facility
Bill C-106 section 16
YOA amendment 1986
- required youth court to consider whether crown or defense would like to make an application to transfer to adult court
- to address people making pleas to avoid transfers
Bill C-37 section 16
YOA amendment 1995
- 16 and 17 year old’s charged with murder, manslaughter or aggravated sexual assault go to adult court
- sentences changed:
- first degree murder: 10 year max, 6 min
- second: 7 year max, 4 year min
youth criminal justice act
2003
objectives:
- to prevent youth crime
- to provide meaningful consequences and encourage responsibility of behavior
- to improve rehabilitation and reintegration into community
- more focus on extrajudicial measures
- need to keep records of extrajudicial measures
- intensive rehabilitative custody supervision order (IRCS) now available for serious mental health issues
- no transfers to adult court but can be given adult sentence by judge (14 and up), if crown applies, crown has to notify will be seeking adult sentence
- victims are recognized
extrajudicial measures
measures taken to keep young offenders out of court and custody, such as giving a warning or making a referral for treatment
Youth offenders act to Youth criminal justice act
successfully reduced rates of incarceration especially in less serious offences
- increased number being sentenced to supervision in community as well as deferred custody orders
- greater emphasis on extrajudicial measures like restorative justice
naming youth offenders
YCJA
- only if 14-17 and convicted of serious, violent offences like murder or aggravated sexual assault (Bill C-10, clauses 185 and 189)
- if considered dangerous photo may be published
- if not yet been apprehended
Safe streets and communities act
changes to YCJA
- changes way serious violent or repeat offenders dealt with
- definitions of serious violent offences and violent offences (section 167, 1-3)
- inclusion of sentencing principles
Stefanie Rengel
14 year old murdered by 17 year old ex who was convinced to by his new 15 year old girlfriend
- both convicted and given adult sentences
- privacy ban not upheld - names posted on Facebook
Youth crime in Canada
more likely to be accused of crime
- 2017-2018
- 10% decrease in accused
- YCSI (youth criminal severity index) 11% decreased
- 25% of police reported incidences involve more than one accused
- 56% of accused not charged
- 58% found guilty given probation
- 2013-2014 - 15% sentenced to custody - decrease
internalizing problem
emotional difficulties such as anxiety, depression, and obsessions experienced by a youth
externalizing problem
behavioral difficulties such as delinquency, fighting, bullying, lying, or destructive behavior experienced by a youth
- long term persistent, harder to treat
- stable, symptoms low in childhood and peak in adolescence, decrease in adulthood
- males more likely to experience
- to access need multiple sources and to view within developmental context
Attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder
AD/HD
disorder in youth characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and hyperactivity or impulsivity
- some symptoms before age of 7 that cause impairment
oppositional defiant disorder
ODD up to 18
disorder in youth, persistent pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behaviors
- lasting at least 6 months
- 40% with ODD have CD, if qualify for CD, CD diagnosis is used instead
- at least 4 symptoms, and one interaction with someone other than a sibling
conduct disorder
CD up to 18
disorder characterized by a persistent pattern of behavior in which a youth violates the rights of others or age appropriate social norms or rules
- 3/15 criteria in past 12 months, 1 in past 6
- 30-50% of youth with CD diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder in adulthood
assessing children or youth consent
2 levels
- parent or guardian
- child or adolescent
accessing externalization disorders
in youth
- to access need multiple sources and to view within developmental context
- duration, severity, and frequency of troublesome behaviors should be measured
assessing adolescents in court
no consent needed
- determine level of risk for reoffending
- static and dynamic factors
- interviews, case files, and history used
- more relevant risk factors = more likely to reoffend
- any professional (front line staff at institution, probation staff, credentialed professionals) can conduct assessment
- short term predictions generally more accurate than long term
Risk assessment tools for youth
SPJ:
- early assessment risk list Boys (EARL-20B), girls (EARL-20G)
- structured assessment of violence risk in youth (SAVRY) - uses protective factors
- START - adolescent version
others: ACDI - corrections version 2 - 12-17 to screen for substance abuse HCR-20 ORAMS - ISA -young offenders - PRA - young offenders YLS/CMI YO-LSI
Rates of behavioral disorders in youth
worldwide
-5.7% any disruptive disorder (3.6% ODD, 2.1%CD)
-3.4% ADHD
Roberts et al., 2007
- disruptive disorders more prevalence than ADHD
Comorbidity of ADHD and CD
Yoshimasu et al., 2012
- diagnosed with ADHD, 22.5% also diagnosed with defiant disorder (CD/ODD)
-20-50% of ADHD have symptoms consistent with CD or ODD
Youth offending trajectories
life-course persistent/ child onset
- 3-5% general population, 1% in females
adolescent- limited offenders/adolescent onset
-70% general population
- 9.9% males, 3.5 % females in offender samples
- less than 10% of young children/ boys with high aggression continued to engage into adolescence
- predictor of physical and nonphysical delinquency in adolescence
Life course persistent offenders
child onset
- behavioral problems and antisocial behavior that begin in early childhood, continue into adolescence and often persist into adulthood
adolescent limited offenders
adolescent onset
- first offense occurs during adolescence and who typically do not have early childhood antisocial and behavioral problems
Biological theories of antisocial behavior in youth
association between frontal lobe functioning and antisocial behavior
- frontal lobe - controls executive functions of the brain related to decision making, not fully developed until mid 20s
- frontal lobe inhibition in CD
CD
- frontal lobe inhibition
- slower heart rates
Genetic links
- link to paternal antisocial behavior and offspring
- biological link to offending - family, adoption, and twin studies
- aggressive social behavior in youth and self reported antisocial of parents
- genetic factors play greater role in pervasive antisocial behaviors for both boys and girls
- genetic play role in early onset
Cognitive theories of antisocial behavior in youth
Dodge et al.
- thought processes that occur in social interactions
- CD - cognitive deficits and distortions– attend to fewer cues and misattribute hostile intent to ambiguous situations
- – limited problem solving skills
- likely present in early childhood - child onset CD
- reactive aggression -deficiencies in early cognitive process (cues and misattributing hostile intent)
- proactive aggression - deficiencies in generating alternative responses and choose aggression
reactive and proactive aggresion
reactive
- emotionally aggressive response to perceived threat or frustration
- early cognitive process deficiencies
- early onset more likely
- related to substance use and anxiety in adulthood
proactive
- aggression directed at achieving a goal or receiving positive reinforcers
- alternative responses deficiencies
- related to antisocial behavior, binge drinking, antisocial personality traits, violence and delinquent behavior
- long term offending
Social learning theory
Bandura 1965
theory of human behavior based on learning from watching others in social environment and reinforcement contingencies
Social learning theory and antisocial behavior in youth
- highly aggressive children often have witnessed family members engage in aggression and antisocial behaviors
- intergenerational aggression
- not increased risk if father convicted before born (social learning not genetics) – Van Weijer et al., 2014
- violent movies where awarded for aggression - increase likeliness of children aggression
- video games
- mixed findings
- may have desensitization to real world violence
what need to assess youth
- capacity to understand rights
- fitness
- adult sentences?
- risk
- disposition
Youth individual risk factors
- genetic history of ADHD 14 violence - ADHD - lack of engagement in school and low grades - peer delinquency mother use of drugs/ alcohol pregnant - risk behavioral problems diet and exposure to lead as baby - externalization disorder risk child's temperament - negative disposition at risk for later - impulsive children's
Khurana and Gavazzi 2011
teen dad risk factors
- African American dad’s
- more prior offences, associated with more delinquent peers, more traumatic backgrounds, risky sexual behavior, greater educational risk factors
- European American dad’s
- more likely to engage in substance abuse
Familiar risk factors for youth
- neglectful parents
- no secure attachment to parents
- divorce and familiar conflict
- parenting style – inconsistent and overly strict or not supervising properly
- parental drinking
- abuse
- low socioeconomic status, large family size, parental mental health problems
Cohen et al 2002
physical abuse during adolescence increases risk for lifetime mental health difficulties and behavioral problems
School and social risk factors for youth
trouble reading and lower intelligence
- antisocial behavior
play with aggressive peers at early age
- externalizing behavior
Early CD symptoms that do not end up with CD
- associate less with delinquent peers compared to CD
gangs
- as gang presence increases so does guns and drugs
- engaging in delinquent behavior, using alcohol and drugs – positively related to gangs
-15-19% of boys brought guns to school
social disapproval and rejection
- behavioral problems
Youth Gangs
- must identify as a group
- other people see members as a distinct group
- members commit delinquent acts, often imposing on rights of others in community
- African Canadian (25%), Caucasian (18%), First Nations (21%)
risk factors: - engaging in delinquent behavior, using alcohol and drugs
Protective factors: - parental supervision and coping skills
Resilient
characteristics of a child who has multiple risk factors but does not develop problem behaviors or negative symptoms
Rutter (1990)
why protective factors are effective
- reduce negative outcomes by changing risk level of child’s exposure to risk factor
- change negative chain reaction following exposure to risk
- help develop and maintain self esteem and self efficacy
- they provide opportunities to children that they would not normally have
Youth individual protective factors
resilient temperaments
- exceptional social skills
- child competencies
- confident perceptions
- values, attitudes and beliefs within the child
- motivation to change
reoffending protective factors
- older when first arrested
- offending less overall
- having fewer psychopathological problems
Familiar protective factors youth
- positive/ supportive relationship with an adult
- protective factors for children growing up in underprivileged community
youth social/ external protective factors
- associating with prosocial children/ peers
youth understanding rights
YCJA: must be explained in language appropriate to age of understanding
- under 15 poor comprehension
- McLachlan et al (2011)
- younger adolescents and adolescents with lower intellectual ability had greater comprehension impairment
Youth Fitness
- adult laws apply to youth
- FIT-R has been used with youth
- functional component - understanding charges and possible consequences, understand and appreciate role of participants – applies to youth
- issue with causal component
- age, cognitive development, maturity vs psychosis for adults
Adult sentence for Youth
- all youth tried in youth court or superior court
- prior to youth plea, Crown declares whether it may apply for adult sentence
- adult sentence presumed for certain serious offences
- risks of adult facility
- 5x more likely sexually assaulted, 2x beaten, 50x attacked with a weapon
- psychologists:
1. risk
2. maturity and sophistication
3. amenability for treatment
Dispositional Assessment for youth
- what are most important characteristics
- what needs to change
- what modes of intervention could be applied towards rehabilitation objective
- what is likelihood of change, given the relevant interventions
Primary intervention strategies
broad groups/ general public
- implemented prior to any violence occurs, with the goal of decreasing the likelihood of future violence
- Family oriented strategies
- parent focused
- family supportive
- school oriented strategies
- community wide strategies
Parent focused interventions
assisting parents to recognize warning signs for later youth violence and or training parents to effectively manage any behavioral problems that arise
- some short term success
- parents of high risk children discontinue training at 50%
family supportive interventions
connect at risk families to various support services
- ex incredible years parenting program (IYP)
- 12 week training, build bond, how to set behavioral expectations, etc.
- benefits for completers, fewer conduct problems
- only around 50% completion
school oriented intervention strategies
ex project head start
- reduce disadvantages that may interfere with learning
- preschool programs - short term positive
Chicago Child parent center (CPC) program
- lower rates of juvenile delinquency
social skill training
CBT
alter school environment - improve academic success but offending results are unclear
Community wide intervention strategies
providing structured community activities for under 12, to increase community cohesion
Ex SNAP (stop now and plan) under 12 outreach project (ORP)
- standardized 12 week outpatient program
1. SNAP children’s club- teaches children a cognitive behavioral self control and problem solving technique called snap
2. concurrent SNAP parenting group that teaches effective child management strategies
3. one on one family counselling based on SNAP parenting
4. individual befriending of at risk children
5. academic tutoring for children not performing at age appropriate level
- effective at reducing aggressive and behavioral difficulties in high risk children
Secondary intervention strategies
attempt to reduce the frequency of violence
- prior to serious offending in high risk groups
- diversion programs
- alternative and vocational education
- family therapy
- skills training
- multisystemic therapy (MST)
Diversion Program intervention strategies
divert youth offenders from justice system to community or school based treatment programs
- CJS may cause more harm than good
- reduces antisocial behavior
Multisystemic Therapy (MST)
- examines a child across the context or systems in which they live, school, peers, family etc.
- 24/7 access to case manager
- cognitive therapy
- family communication, parent management
- not more effective than other strategies in general
- more effective with younger adolescents (15 and under) with serious offending
Tertiary intervention strategies
treatment
- attempt to prevent violence from re-occurring
- in patient treatment/ institutional, residential
- community based treatment
- retribution or rehabilitation
- retribution = held accountable and punished, held in intuitional setting
- rehabilitation = treatment based in community
- shorter institutional stays and greater involvement with community services most effective
Grunwald et al., 2010
neighborhoods and reoffending likeliness
- reduce only drug offences not violent offending or property offences
Grow Academy
residential program - tertiary intervention
- learn skills like farming, nutrition and cooking, financial literacy, horticulture therapy
- CBT and community involvement
definition of a gang
3 or more people that plan and carry out crime for profit, often using violence many do not identify as belonging to a gang - drug trafficking - weapons trafficking - driver/passenger - recruiter - exploitation - hang around - enforcer - "girlfriend"
average age of a gang member
half under 18, majority male
Dial-A-doping
gang, drug trafficking
- designated vehicle picks up from stash house and returns money to stash house
How do gangs recruit
social media glorify the lifestyle coercion exploitation through networks
Women and gangs
get involved for: - protection - money - excitation - sense of belonging - sell drugs - easy access to drugs - think they can change him Role: - trafficking - storing weapons - hiding drugs - drivers - used to rent vehicles - escorts - girlfriends -money laundering - counterfeiting - credit card theft all female gangs - rare
Gang assessment tool
- 8 risk factor domains for returning to gang
- criminal history, trauma and victimization, living arrangements, lifestyle and friends, family relations, education and employment, lifestyle related attitudes, substance use, physical and mental health
gang desistence client demographics
- majority south Asian or Caucasian
- 75% male
- 16-20, average 22
gang risk factors
parental addiction
- sexual/ physical abuse
- childhood trauma
- mental health