The Young Offenders Act (YOA; ) was an act of the Parliament of Canada, granted royal assent in 1982 and proclaimed in force on April 2, 1984, that regulated the criminal prosecution of Canadian youths.
The act was repealed in 2003 with the passing of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Overview
The Young Offenders Act replaced the earlier Juvenile Delinquents Act enacted in 1908.
The Act established the national age of criminal responsibility at 12 years old, and said that youths can be prosecuted only if they break a law of the Criminal Code (previously, youths could be prosecuted or punished solely on the grounds that it was in the youth's best interests). The Act operated on the principle that justice for Youths would be better served through redirecting their criminal tendencies, rather than simply punishing them..
The Act also indicated that the rights established in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms apply to youths as well.
Controversy dogged the act for many years. Many felt that the Acts limit on a three-year detention sentence for youths was overly lax, and allowed youths to get unreasonably light sentences for murder or sexual assault. led to the introduction of the Youth Criminal Justice Act to replace the Young Offenders Act in 2003.
See also
- List of youth detention centre incidents in Canada
- Juvenile Delinquents Act
- Youth Criminal Justice Act