1. What is the YCJA?
The YCJA (Youth Criminal Justice Act) was made to attempt to create a more effective balance between the rights of youth offenders and the safety of society. Similar to that of the YOA, the new YCJA legislation focuses on rehabilitation of young criminals, however, the YCJA is much tougher on young offenders, where as the YOA was not.
2. Explain the new balance in the act.
The YCJA focuses more on the rehabilitation of young offenders instead of harsh punishments such as jail. The YCJA wants to ensure that children/teens learn from their mistakes, as opposed to having them escalate in to more serious problems (which may happen if one were to be sentenced to imprisionment). The YCJA allows anyone who is fourteen or older and has commited a serious crime to be tried in an adult court. It also attempts to assist young criminals with re-intergration into society.
3. Photo of a 'gang'.
