The first Young Offenders Act was introduced in 1984, and changed the judicial system radically for young people. The reasons for introducing this act were primarily to change current views regarding young people and crime in society. But also to provide non-violent young offenders a more fare and lenient system, regarding their age. .
I plan to show with the following points that young offenders should be punished to reflect the seriousness of their crime and age of the offender. A high percentage of non-violent crimes should have alternative punishments beside incarceration, which will provide a more constructive solution. This view is also much more supported in the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The philosophy of the young offender's act is outlined in the Declaration of Principle and the core principle of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which are the due process and the balance between punishment and rehabilitation. Some basic points which is the concrete base of the act are, young people charged with offences should be held responsible and accountable for their actions appropriately according to their age; promotes accountability, responsibility and meaningful consequences for a full range of youth crime; society has the right to be protected from young offenders ill behaviour; young people have special needs for their age, and should not be punished as adults; young people also require additional legal rights under the law (Core Principles, 2003, Preamble and declaration of principle). The latest version of young offenders justice system is the Youth Criminal Justice Act. This new act, as recent as April 2003, brought in a new perception of how youth crime should be punished; in this essay I"m going to help you to better understand the justice system used for criminally charged youth in our society.
Should violent teens be expelled from school to protect teachers and other students? Is the school's duty of care high enough that they must expel these young people to try to prevent violent crime? Are these students putting the community at risk? Or should people at such a young age be giving alternatives? These are some interesting and important questions.