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Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the following questions were provided by Youth Justice Committee Coordinators to be shared with other coordinators across the province.
Referrals
- What type of charges are eligible for referral to a YJC program?
All Class I offences are presumptively eligible for YJC referral, depending on the circumstances of the offence and the offender.
Class I offences that are presumptively eligible include: theft and possession under $5000; joyriding; mischief under $5000; fraud and false pretensions under $5000; food, travel and accommodation frauds; causing a disturbance.
Class III offences are not eligible for referral to a Youth Justice Committee.
These offences include: murder, manslaughter, infanticide, criminal negligence causing death; causing death or bodily harm by dangerous or impaired driving; any offence causing serious bodily harm; simple impaired driving or driving with a prohibited blood alcohol concentration; offences involving firearms; kidnapping; spouse/partner offences; child abuse; sexual offences, including sexual assault, interference and exploitation, invitation to sexual touching and incest; offences involving child pornography.
All other Criminal Code offences not considered in either Class I or Class III are Class II offences and are eligible for consideration for extrajudicial sanctions at the discretion of Crown counsel. These offences include property offences over $5000; giving a false name when arrested; credit card offences; and minor assaults.
Volunteers
- After the mandatory MAG YJC volunteer training has been completed, what additional YJC volunteer training is offered by YJC programs?
YJC programs offer a range of additional training to assist volunteers in performing their duties. Examples include training in Communication Skills, First Nations Cultural Awareness, and Restorative Justice.
Some YJC programs also hold practice meetings/conferences so that volunteers have additional opportunities to role play. Volunteers may also observe meetings prior to participating in, and/or chairing a YJC meeting, and YJC programs provide further training on related justice issues such as how Youth Court operates and the role of the Crown. A number of YJC programs provide ongoing professional development workshops to volunteers or hold annual training workshops.
- How do YJC programs show appreciation for their volunteers?
YJC programs show appreciation for the hard work of their volunteers through events, awards, and other tokens of appreciation. Volunteers are recognized through nominations for volunteer awards, receiving mention during the annual general meeting or through certificates of recognition. One program provides a wall plaque for volunteers who have provided five years of service.
- How do YJC programs contact victims and discuss their participation in YJC meetings?
Examples provided by YJC coordinators are as follows:
a) “Upon receipt of the file, an information package is sent to all persons harmed. Shortly thereafer, a phone call is made to follow-up and answer any questions regarding the process. At this point, it is determined if an initial meeting needs to take place with the person harmed, confirm their attendance, gather a victim impact statement or accept that they do not wish to participate in the process.”
b) “There is an initial letter sent to the victim (and/or parent/guardian when the victim is under age) with a pamphlet describing the Youth Justice Program and a pamphlet on the services that [our program] provides. The letter provides the victim approximately two weeks to respond. We also indicate that should we not hear from them within the time specified a follow-up phone call will occur. Should a phone call be required we would make contact to describe the services that we could facilitate to support the victim and their family. Should they wish to continue, a meeting with the victim would be scheduled. At that meeting all information is provided and the victim is offered support and assistance regardless of whether they choose to participate. Support is then provided, with the type of support dependent on the degree of participation. For example, if the victim wishes to participate in the entire process, a worker is dedicated to that person as a victim support.”
c) “The program always gets the [victim’s] contact information on the original referral. The coordinator places a call to the victim and gives a brief description of the process and then asks for a face to face meeting to take place as soon as possible. At this meeting a very detailed description of the process is given, questions are answered, benefits to the victim are discussed and then the victim is asked to make a decision on their involvement. If they are hesitant, then other options are discussed such as [a volunteer reading a victim impact statement during the conference].”
Youth Justice Committee Meetings
- What types of measures are agreed upon at a YJC meeting?
Measures agreed upon at YJC meetings include but are not limited to the following: apologies (verbal, written); charitable donation; community service; community program referral; counselling; personal service and restitution.
Other measures involve writing and reflection in the form of creative writing, essays, individual reflection assignments, journaling, or research assignments. For example, one YJC program has youth undertake a research assignment on the following topic: “How does a criminal record impact on your life?”
- What are some examples of community programs made available to youth through the YJC process?
Some examples of community programs made available to youth through the YJC process are as follows: Anger Awareness; Choices Program; First Nations Youth at Risk; Marijuana Awareness Program; Shoplifting Prevention; Youth Arts Against Violence and the Youth Options Program.
Referrals are also made through the YJC process to addiction services (substance abuse), counselling, gender specific programming, housing, mental health services, parenting or pre-natal programs, and welfare.
Statistics
- How do YJC programs record referral statistics? What program is used?
YJC programs use Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Word and/or FileMaker Pro software to record referral statistics. Some YJC programs use their own internal database for this purpose.
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