Deck 3: Understanding the Youth Criminal Justice Act

Question 1

The Strategy for the Renewal of Youth Justice in 1998 provided a set of goals for new youth crime legislation in Canada including which of the following?

A) Prevention and meaningful alternatives
B) Meaningful consequences
C) Rehabilitation and reintegration
D) a and b only
E) All of the above

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The Strategy for the Renewal of Youth Justice 1998 report was predicated upon the notion that a Canadian "youth justice system must ________."

A) protect society
B) reinforce social values
C) give youth every opportunity to become productive, responsible citizens
D) None of the above
E) All of the above

Answer 2

E

Question 3

According to the YCJA, a young person is defined as someone who is between ________ and ________ years of age at the time of the offence.

A) Seven and 12
B) Nine and 18
C) 12 and 18
D) 12 and 24
E) 15 and 18

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The YCJA (Youth Criminal Justice Act) came into law in which year?

A) 1984
B) 1993
C) 2003
D) 2012
E) 2015

Question 5

In general, the YCJA's declaration of principles sets out that it should ________.

A) establish a youth criminal justice system that promotes protection of the public and prioritizes rehabilitation
B) administer justice in ways that resonate with the needs of youth
C) provide for measures that balance restorative justice with accountability
D) define special considerations for proceedings against youth
E) All of the above

Question 6

With youth, studies have demonstrated that some of the most effective ways to reduce recidivism is to ________.

A) divert them from the criminal justice system
B) incarcerate them
C) apply mandatory minimum punishments
D) apply corporal punishment
E) None of the above

Question 7

Extrajudicial Measures under the YCJA essentially replaced which section of the YOA?

A) Extrajudicial measures
B) Alternative measures
C) Alternative sanctions
D) Presumptive sentences
E) None of the above

Question 8

The YCJA provides an escalating schedule of measures to apply to youth including which of the following?

A) A warning
B) Police caution
C) Referral to a community program
D) a, b and c
E) None of the above

Question 9

In order to be granted an extrajudicial sanction, the youth in question must first ________.

A) admit to the crime and all previous crimes
B) accept responsibility for his/her actions
C) fully accept and agree to participate in the sanction
D) attend trial in court
E) attend a period of probation

Question 10

An English Common Law defence of doli incapax, a Latin term that translates to "incapable of crime," which generally held that children under the age of ________ were incapable of differentiating between good and bad.

A) Five
B) Seven
C) Nine
D) 12
E) 15

Question 11

The JDA (Juvenile Delinquents Act) came into law in which year?

A) 1889
B) 1899
C) 1908
D) 1921
E) 1951

Question 12

Which two sections of the YCJA provide instructions for establishing and operating youth justice committees and youth justice conferences, which can provide advice and expertise to the court when considering a youth in conflict with the law?

A) 18 and 19
B) 25 and 26
C) 28 and 29
D) 33 and 34
E) 40 and 41

Question 13

The term parens patriae essentially means ________.

A) buyer beware in the eyes of the court
B) external to law
C) parent of his or her country
D) None of the above

Question 14

In terms of chronological ordering, what is the correct sequence of the three youth criminal Acts we have had in Canada starting from the first?

A) The YOA, followed by the YCJA, followed by the JDA
B) The JDA, followed by the YOA, followed by the YCJA
C) The YCJA, followed by the JDA, followed by the YOA
D) All of the above are correct as each Act is still currently active.
E) None of the above shows the correct chronological ordering.

Question 15

Presumptive offences include all of the following except ________.

A) murder
B) attempted murder
C) robbery
D) manslaughter
E) aggravated sexual assault

Question 16

Approximately ________ per cent of Canada's incarcerated youth are in custody before they have been legally convicted of anything.

A) 20
B) 30
C) 40
D) 50
E) 60

Question 17

The changes made to the YCJA in 2012 by the Conservative Government were generally ________.

A) more punitive
B) centered around rehabilitation
C) centered around victims of crime
D) centered around parenting
E) There were no changes made to the Act in 2012

Question 18

By the end of the 1990s, youth crime had been effectively framed as ________.

A) an out of control problem
B) under complete control
C) diminishing rapidly
D) unchanged over the previous two decades
E) None of the above

Question 19

In the context of criminal justice, what does the term populism refer to?

A) Rehabilitation
B) Tough on crime legislation
C) Less police involvement
D) Less court involvement
E) Less correctional involvement

Question 20

Extrajudicial Measures ________.

A) are most often used for violent cases
B) do not often hold the young person accountable
C) are often the most effective way to deal with youth crime
D) can be used for youth who have committed multiple offences in the past
E) None of the above

Question 21

A young person is defined by the YCJA as a person who is between ________ and ________ years of age.

A) nine and 16
B) nine and 18
C) 12 and 18
D) 12 and 21
E) 12 and 25

Question 22

The concept of diversion means that a young person ________.

A) will be diverted from the criminal justice system
B) will not be charged with an offence by a police officer
C) will be sent to court but cannot be found guilty
D) will be diverted into adult court
E) None of the above

Question 23

The film Little Criminals articulates how the moral panics can affect young people in conflict with the law.

Question 24

By the end of the 1990s, youth crime had been effectively framed as an out-of-control problem that was inadequately curbed by the YOA.

Question 25

Populism is the term for appealing to or aim at what are popular concerns amongst the public.

Question 26

Prevention and meaningful alternatives are terms used to describe community-based crime prevention strategies to address the "root causes" of delinquency

Question 27

Rehabilitation and reintegration are terms used to describe community-based crime prevention strategies to address the "root causes" of delinquency

Question 28

A young person defined by the YCJA is a young person who is at least 12 but younger than 18 years old at the time an offence is committed.

Question 29

Diversion means keeping young people out of the criminal justice system through extrajudicial measures.

Question 30

Youth justice courts are not the only body of court to have jurisdiction over Canadian youth

Question 31

S. 718(d) of the Criminal Code (1985) explains that one of the primary purposes of sentencing is to assist with rehabilitating offenders.

Question 32

Broadly defined, extrajudicial refers to actions taken outside of the court.

Question 33

Crown cautions are like police cautions but a probation officer gives the caution after the police refer the case to them.

Question 34

Doli incapax is a Latin term that translates to "incapable of crime".

Question 35

Jurisprudence literally translates to "practical wisdom about the law" and describes the process by which past legal interpretations of policy or law inform present applications.

Question 36

The term just desert refers to a legal philosophy that gives primacy to rehabilitation over retributive punishments.

Question 37

Under the YCJA personal identifying information about justice-involved youth is protected equally to that of what is expected for an adult

Question 38

Research has proven that restorative justice practices are just as punitive as current criminal justice practices.

Question 39

The restorative justice paradigm holds that the removal of transgressors from the public, or society, to which they belong, alienates them from their communities and impedes social healing processes.

Question 40

Parens patriae literally translates to "parent of the nation".

Question 41

The YCJA defines a parent as any person who has a legal duty to provide for a young person, or any person who has custody or control of a young person otherwise.

Question 42

Roughly 53 per cent of Canada's incarcerated youth are in custody before they have been legally convicted of anything.

Question 43

Discuss the significance of the 1995 a made-for-TV movie called Little Criminals.

Question 44

Briefly discuss the three main goals of the Strategy for the Renewal of Youth Justice.

Question 45

According to the YCJA, how is the youth criminal justice system intended to protect society?

Question 46

What is the purpose of diverting youth from the youth criminal justice system?

Question 47

What does it mean when we say that the YCJA provides an escalating schedule of measures?

Question 48

Discuss the schedule of extrajudicial measures.

Question 49

What is meant by the term acute developmental crisis?

Question 50

What does the term diminished moral blameworthiness mean?

Question 51

What does it mean when we say that youth are in a state of "diminished responsibility"?

Question 52

In the context of the YJCA, what does proportionality mean?

Question 53

Discuss the four main principles as declared in the YCJA.

Question 54

The 1998 Strategy for the Renewal of Youth Justice provided a set of goals for new youth crime legislation in Canada, focussing on three main points. Discuss these points in detail.

Question 55

According to the YCJA, how is the youth justice system intended to protect the public?

Question 56

In a Canadian context, rehabilitation is included as one of the primary goals of our legal and corrections system. Discuss what is contained in the YCJA that promotes rehabilitation.

Question 57

Discuss how the YCJA has addressed issues concerning victims of crime.