The Young Offenders Act Essay examples -- Young Offenders Act Canada C

The Young Offenders Act The federal government of Canada fifteen years ago, in 1984, the Liberal party changed the Juvenile Delinquents Acts to the Youth Offenders Act to have a â€Å"More human approach to the rights of young people before the law†(Leschild and Jaffe, 8:1991). In the present such as Premier, Mike Harris, of Ontario wants the federal government of Canada to scrap the Young Offenders Act. In 1999, the same party that came up with the act is making majors changes to the act. This report will look at the young offenders act at the present time, look at why kids commit crime, what is being done to improve the act, what has the province done towards teenagers and also a look at the United Sates youth system. WHAT IS YOA The YOA the Young Offenders Act, which replaced the 75 years old Juvenile Delinquents Act in 1984, came into effect because since the courts where acting in the best interest of the children, little attention was paid to the rights of the children (Dickinson et al, 1996: 403). This had to be changed because of the new Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom which was passed in 1982 stated that in section 15 that â€Å"equality before the law without discrimination based on age †(Dickinson and others, 1996:744). The changes that were made to the YOA were that age that a child under the age of 11 could not be held criminal responsible. While between the age of 12-17 he or she could be held partial criminal responsible. Once you reached the age of 18, an adult you were full criminally responsible (Dickinson, 404:1996). If a young offender is sent to court the detail of the crime may be published, but the young person’s name or a young witness’ name could not be identified. The reason for this was for young people to have another chance in life if they screw up and also to protect a young person’s identity especially a witness (Justice Canada, 19:1988). WHY DO KIDS COMMIT CRIME: Why do kids commit crime, they are many answers but are there any correct answers to that question. Andree Ruffo is a youth court judge in Pointe-Claire, Quebec. She believes that kids commit crime and have to appear in court because of expressing themselves or trying to tell someone that their something wrong with their life, or their needs are not being met. She also feels that parents have a lot of problems on their own as she stated that â€Å"M... ...en cutting the number of new crimes committed by teenagers as much as 70%. The provincial government is now using this program. This program is known as MultiSystemic Therapy or MST, which is working the problem with the troubled kid. You are in the kids home almost every second day and Kelly McDonnell, a clinical supervisor for Peel area said, â€Å"You are in there. You are getting to the bottom of the problem†(Tyler, 1998: Internet). CONCLUSION: The Youth Offenders Act is a hot issue. On any given day you can not open up a newspaper or turn on a T.V and not find an article or a broadcast about the Young Offenders Act. The government has started to make changes, but could more changes be done or even faster? . The question will these changes make it better or turn it into a worst system then it is at the present, only the future will tell. Who is to blame for the youth offenders of this country could it be the parents who sometime do not have too much control of them or who do not care or known what their kids are doing are could we blame the media for influencing their minds. Let put a stop to youth crime and help these children before they get into trouble with the law.

Before 1905 the opposition to the government of Tsar Nicholas II was of no consequence Essay

The Tsar was not in serious Jeopardy in 1905 Throughout his time as Tsar, Nicholas II was faced with constant threats due to terrorist groups such as the peoples will. Many of these groups were oppressed by ‘The reaction’ that began under the reign of Alexander III, however not all opposition was destroyed. This meant that Nicholas was in constant Jeopardy. This essay will discuss whether or not Tsar Nicholas II was truly in serious Jeopardy during the events of 1905. The Russian revolution which began in 1905 was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian empire. Factors such as industrialisation, urbanisation, bouts of economic depression and a rapidly increasing population all contributed to undermine the order and stability of the regime. In light of the opposition he received, Nicholas created a Duma as a result of the October Manifesto in order to appease the masses. Before the creation of the Duma in 1905 however, political parties were illegal in Russia because Nicholas was a strict autocrat. There were three main groups which opposed tsardom during the period 1881-1905: the Populists, the Social revolutionaries and the Social Democrats. This essay will discuss whether these three groups were of any consequence to the government of Nicholas II before 1905. Populism began in the 1870’s. It was a revolutionary movement that thought the future of Russia was in the hands of the peasantry. The Populist’s were not peasants themselves, but members of the middle and upper classes. The Populist’s began to try and teach the peasantry about how they were going to lead the revolution by beginning a scheme called â€Å"going to the people†, however this did not work as well as they thought as many of the peasants did not understand or accept the revolutionary message being preached to them. This caused, in desperation, some members of the populist’s to turn to terrorism. In 1879 members of the Populist’s broke off and formed a separate group â€Å"the peoples will† with intention of killing members of the ruling class. This group, with little over 400 members, was responsible for t he assassination of Alexander III in 1881; however this act of violence weakened, rather than strengthened the movement. The Populist’s were of little consequence for the government of Nicholas II during his reign, however by the late 19th century most other revolutionary groups were inspired by Populist theories and methods as well as their challenge to tsardom, which would have posed a problem for  Nicholas. The second group that opposed tsardom were the social revolutionaries (SR’s). The SR’s grew directly out of the Populist movement. It extended the idea of the ‘people’ beyond the peasantry, to incorporate a growing urban workforce. However, as with most revolutionary groups in Russia, The SR’s were torn apart by disagreements with themselves, and soon emerged a right and left wing element to the party. One side wanted to follow on with the violent methods of the people’s will, and the other saw revolution as their primary goal and used peaceful methods such as working with other parties in order to achieve their goals. Between the years 1901-1905 the SR’s were responsible for over 2000 assassinations, including the Tsar’s uncle, Grand Duke Sergei. This suggests that the SR’s were of some consequence for the government of Nicholas II as the assassination of Grand Duke Sergei as well as many other important people, without a ny retribution from the Tsar, would have portrayed him as weak and therefore the citizens of Russia may have lost respect for him. The final group to oppose Nicholas II’s government were the Social Democrats. The All-Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was formed in 1898. It was a Marxist party, which meant that it accepted the theories of German revolutionary Karl Marx. Marx believed history was an on-going class struggle and that two classes existed, the working class and the proletariat. Marx said that the workers were exploited by the proletariat in order to make them wealthy. They worked long hours for poor pay and would never be in a position to own anything. A deep divide soon occurred within the party however, this became known as the Bolshevik/Menshevik split. The Bolshevik’s and the Menshevik’s soon became two opposing Marxist parties. The Social Democrats, or the Bolshevik’s and Menshevik’s had little consequence for the Government of Nicholas II prior to the 1917 revolution and played a very little party in anything before 1905. In Conclusion the opposition to Nicholas II’s government prior to 1905 was of some consequence however it was not enough to instigate any major change. This lasted until 1917 when the Bolshevik’s eventually took power and turned autocratic rule into communist rule.

The Myth Of Police Reform - 1518 Words

When it comes to the topic of police reform, many agree that our country is long overdue for it, however, the questions are how exactly do we, as a nation, go about changing one of the most powerful structures to exist in the country. While some believe that reform must come from within the individually flawed police departments, others argue that the entire criminal justice system needs an overhaul. In this Response essay about Ta-Nehisti Coastes’ essay â€Å"The Myth of Police Reform,† Coates is saying, that the criminal-justice system is not working as well as it should. They are putting people, especially African Americans in jail or killing them. Some people have a mental or physical disability or a have a drug or alcohol problem that†¦show more content†¦This exemplifies, Coastes primary argument, that the problem in our criminal justice system is that we often send police who resort to deadly violence instead of sending someone who is more equipped to ha ndle these situations. Coates begins his argument by telling his story â€Å"fear and compliance have their place, but it can’t ever place† (par. 1), which is a strong example of logos. He assures his readers that it is not good to have a police officer respond to a situation with deadly force when someone like a social worker may be better at dealing with it. The huge flaw with our justice system is that, as Coates states, police officers are not social workers, and often social workers, mental health professionals that would seem more equipped to handle these situations like Tony Robinson, Anthony Hill, and Tamir Rice. In his article, Coastes states that many flaws in the way police handle situations, especially when it comes to situations involving minors, those with physical/mental disabilities as well as those that are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Using pathos to appeal it to the reader’s emotions, Coastes states several instances of deadly forces being used by police when not necessary, such as in the cases of Anthony Hill, Tony Roberson, and Tamir Rice. In Hill’s case, he was a mentally ill person that stripped his clothing off and then jumped off his balcony and the police killed him. Roberson was highShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Discretion of the Police831 Words   |  4 Pages In this paper, I will be writing about Police Discretion. I will start by defining Police Discretion then briefly discuss the use of discretion in domestic disturbances, minor misdemeanors, and traffic enforcement. I will also discuss the application of police discretion, the provisions it uses and how it is currently practiced. At the end of these brief descriptions, I will then present the myth that exists in regards to police discretion. 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