Upon request, victims are allowed to see the court record of the young person who committed the offence against them (section 119). The victim has to ask for this record. In addition, the victim may ask to be allowed to access police and government records of the youth involved in the crime, but it is not guaranteed that these records will be released. Victims can only access these records during the access period. The record will not be shared after the record access period has passed. See the Youth records section starting on page 46 for more information.

SENTENCES

The Youth Criminal Justice Act (section 38(1)) says that the purpose of sentencing is:

“to hold a young person accountable for an offence through the imposition of just sanctions that have meaningful consequences for the young person and that promote his or her rehabilitation and reintegration into society, thereby contributing to the long-term protection of the public.”

A sentence in the YCJA is the consequence given to a young person who is found guilty in youth justice court of committing a crime. The Act states (section 38(2)) the principles that must be observed when sentencing a youth. The sentence given must:

• not be more severe than the sentence an adult would receive for the same offence committed under similar circumstances;
• be similar to youth sentences ordered for similar offences in similar circumstances in that area;
• be fairly balanced with how serious the offence was, and the young person’s degree of responsibility for that offence;
• be chosen after consideration of all other possible sentences (other than custody) that are reasonable under the circumstances of the case;
• pay particular attention to the circumstances of aboriginal young people;
• be the least restrictive sentence that will achieve the purpose of sentencing;
• be the sentence that is the most likely to rehabilitate and reintegrate the young person, and;
• promote responsibility and recognition by the young person of the harm done to victims and the community.

Pre-Sentence Reports

The judge may want a pre-sentence report to be completed before giving a youth his or her sentence (section 40). A pre-sentence report is prepared by a probation officer and includes information about the young person’s background that will help the judge decide on the sentence. In some cases, a pre-sentence report must be completed, unless there is an agreement among the judge, the youth and crown prosecutor not to have one done.