KEEP CHILDREN OUT OF COURTS

The idea of hauling law-breaking 10 and 11-year-old children before
the courts might play well to the "tough love" crowd, but federal
Justice Minister Vic Toews has produced absolutely no evidence to support it.

Toews claims that he's "sometimes provided with anecdotes" about
12-year-olds coming to youth court after numerous run-ins with police
and other agencies who would have benefited from court intervention
at a younger age.

However, facts, not anecdotes should determine if it's necessary to
lower the age of criminal responsibility to 10 years of age.

Toews says his aim isn't to have 10- and 11-year-olds sent to jail,
but to allow judges to "assist" children in trouble by ordering
appropriate treatment or other measures.

Currently, the Youth Criminal Justice Act applies to 12- to
17-year-olds. Children under 12 who get into trouble with the law are
generally considered by psychologists to be unable to fully
understand the consequences of their actions. They are handled by
social welfare agencies -- albeit not always effectively -- which
provide treatment, education programs or sometimes placement in group
homes if poor home conditions are a factor in the misbehaviour.

Toews is concerned that some 12 year olds end up as criminals because
they were outside court jurisdiction when they were younger. But,
prominent Ottawa lawyer Heather Perkins-McVey says Toews seems to be
"going back to the Dark Ages. Maybe we should have workhouses, too."

Perkins-McVey says if the government is concerned about children
under 12 falling through the cracks, it should increase funding for
improved child welfare services. It's a thought shared by Louise
Botham, president of the Ontario Criminal Lawyers Association, who
says if good treatment programs are operating, "what kind of magic is
a judge going to have?"

While most people could produce "anecdotal" evidence of a disturbed
youngster in the neighbourhood who could use some rough justice,
Statistics Canada says crime committed by youth aged 12 to 17 fell by
six per cent in 2005, the second consecutive annual decline.

The system appears to be working. Tweaking it is preferable to
hauling 10- and 11-year-olds into court.