YOUNG CRIMINALS

IN a letter to the editor that appears on this page today, federal
Justice Minister Vic Toews claims that comments that he made in a
recent speech about the problem of dealing with juvenile criminals
have been widely "misrepresented" in news media across the country.
This will come as a disappointment to Canadians who believe that kids
under the age of 12 who commit crimes should be sent to jail, and as
a relief to those think they should not.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act of 2003 was promoted as a means of
getting tough on younger offenders, but in its reality it excluded
children under the age of 12 from any possibility of incarceration
because the Liberal government of the day believed anyone that young
was unlikely to comprehend their actions or the consequences of them.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act is as unpopular now as the Young
Offenders Act that it replaced. The Conservatives have been
particularly critical of it. Mr. Toews could change it for the better
without sending the youngest kids to jail if he has a mind to. He
could first amend the act to overturn a Supreme Court ruling that
specifically forbids judges from taking into consideration the
concept of deterrence in sentencing juvenile offenders. He could
amend the requirement that courts take into account the needs of the
offenders, rather the safety of society, when imposing punishment.

Those changes would receive widespread public support and send a
strong message to young offenders that the easy days of a life of
crime without consequence are over. If they do the crime, they will
do the time.

Amending the act to allow the imprisonment of 10-year-olds, however,
would open the law to abuse. Mr. Toews says that is not his
intention. His intention, he says, is to give the courts some
authority to intervene and order treatment for youths with habitual
criminal behaviour. A 10-year-old who steals candy is not in the same
category as a 10-year-old who is a serial arsonist. The law needs to
recognize that and deal with it and that is the course the government
should pursue.