Should the Young Offenders Act be scrapped?

With younger and younger kids committing worse and worse crimes without any fear of actual incarceration do you think it is time to re-think the young offenders act or whatever the hell they are calling it now?

I dont find the young offenders act to be fair. As a minor they give you the bad side of being an adult. You can be tried as an adult, yet you dont have the rights of an adult.

Adults are using kids to commits crimes knowing that they will get off totally or at least with a slap... Kids are using this act to further thuer criminal careers.. I feel that kids of 13-14 years old know exactly what they are doing when they commit crimes and should be punished properly and with the full weight of the law... No more coddling these delinquints any more.. Kids of 15 years old are carrying knives and using them.. These same kids are selling crack and meth and comitting numersous crimes with imopunity... I say throw the book at them and then there will be a deterent to thier acts...

Afraid that it was a few years ago, and replaced with a bigger piece of crap known as the Youth Criminal Justice Act. I've worked as an educator and for the RCMP and this farce is going to lead to more social problems than the past lax laws we had. Under this minors are given carte blanche to do whatever they want free of reprecussions. We are constantly told that children need more and more rights and freedoms, yet they are given less and less responsibility for their actions. How is it, that we have to treat a 17 yr old as if he was an adult, yet the moment he breaks the law, he's a child who wasn't mature enough to understand the severity of his actions and therefore shouldn't suffer any consequences.

Recently in Regina a couple of young offenders torched part of a sporting venue that was to be used for the Canada Summer Games this year. The city is on the hook for roughly $70,000 to fix these idiots' actions. Of course even if caught these little bastards will basically get away with it. Personally I would like to see them be forced to give a public apology to the city and every athlete at the games. It should be held during the opening ceremonies and televised so everyone would no the identity of these idiots. Of course under the Youth Criminal Justice Act this will never happen.

Absolutely. And make them work to repair what they did! Why don't the idjits get the idea that if you come down hard on the kid the first time there's a problem the chances of a second problem go way down.
And give the law back its teeth. Not some old granny dentures either. Big, nasty, sharp pit bull teeth.

Get rid of the YOA and hold the yardapes accountable.We should get tough on crime.If the names of those delinquent little pricks who commit crimes are published in the paper, they will be pressured by the community to be law abiding.tougher sentencing will also help.

If children and teens should be tried as adults we should all the other rights that come with adult responsibility.

YOA is bs, hell kids arnt scared to do anything anymore, we always get away with it...

I think like lily said it should be modified to juvy instead of jail... cause send a 14 yr to jail and I dont like the odds for that kid coming out in one piece or sane... But if a kid goes to juvy more than 2 times the next time he should be sent to jail. We should get punished like the adults sept instead of prison it should be juvy.

Face it you guys were all kids once and hey we all make mistakes. Thats why were called kids because we make mistakes, but also in the same perspective were on are way to becoming adults so we should take charge for the choices we make.

From the age 14-18 you should be facing juvy no matter what the charge, unless its something dumb like J walking

After this happens to a few kids then the others will fall in line

If a minor commits a serious crime, such as murder, assault or rape, then the sentencing should be the same as an adult, which unfortunately today is insufficient. However, if the perp is say 14, they serve the first four years in a juvenile facility and then are transferred for the remainder of the sentence in an adult facility. Juvenilr facilities should also be run under the boot camp model, that is popular and seemingly effective.

We should send them in there with all those macho men who like having sex all the time. Too bad for those young offenders that the males and females are seragated.

Boot camps and plenty of them. Get kids out of there shitty environments and away from there trouble making friends. Call it the boot camp act. A kid gets busted twice, ship him off.

Perhaps a possible change tothe act would be to scrap the part where young offenders criminal records are expunged after they turn 18. Using Lily's list of serious crimes as would be advisable as well.

One thing I would like to add for those who think teens are just like adults in some wyas, they're wrong. Teens think only about themselves. There have been a number of studies that have shown that adolescents have an underdeveloped sense of right and wrong and that teens mature mentally at different rates. There is a reason for the YOA.

This sounds cliche but it is very apt, "If you are old enough to do the crime, you are old enough to pay the time." Everyone assumes kids are not as wise/smart as adults, thats bullsh!t. They know exactly what they are doing and what is worse, they know the law protects them from any real consequences.