What is the Youth Criminal Justice Act?


Young people have rights and responsibilities when it comes to dealing with the police and breaking the law.

A crime is an act that breaks one of Canada’s criminal laws. A crime is sometimes called “an offence”. For example, if someone robs a bank, they have committed the crime of robbery, which is an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada.

If a person is 12 to 17 years old and is charged with a crime, the Youth Criminal Justice Act applies. The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) is a Canadian law that guarantees the rights of young people in the criminal justice system.

The law applies to youth between the ages of 12 and 17.  A child under the age of 12 cannot be charged with a crime. At age 18, a person is considered to be an adult in the eyes of the court and will go to trial in adult court.

What is the purpose of the Act?

The law in Canada says that it is important to think about keeping youth out of jail, especially if the offence is not serious. The law recognizes that youth are not as mature as adults. In some cases the police may give the youth a warning instead of arresting him or her. If the youth is arrested and found guilty of a criminal offence, the sentence must be fair for the crime committed.

The goal of the law is to prevent crime and help young people become responsible members of their communities. The law also wants youth involved in crime to understand the effect of their criminal acts. Protection of the public is important. Learn more about the YCJA.

We have attorneys with wealth of experience in the field of youth criminal justice. It is a very specific and highly sensitive area of law since young persons with criminal offence allegations are treated very differently from adults in their situation and require special attention. By combining experience and expertise, we are able to establish a lawyer-client relationship based on trust and to litigate the case in the best possible way for achieving the set goal. Our legal professionals work with skill and great motivation. All of these factors contribute to our high rate of success. We are confident that by keeping up with the latest novelties in the field and by providing full individual attention to every client, our achievements can be even better in the future.

Criminal offence charges are naturally extremely stressful not only for the accused young person, but for their parents, guardians and all loved ones. That is why we provide full support to the people that we represent starting with explaining the situation and providing a clear overview of the defence options and the possible outcomes. In general, the Youth Criminal Justice Act is intended to support the rehabilitation of young people and their reintegration into society in addition to holding them accountable for their actions. There is the possibility for the case to be subject to extrajudicial measures depending on the nature of the offence charge. There are also various programs intended to help the adolescents in this kind of situation. With Young Offender Lawyer in Hamilton, you will have the highest chances of achieving the desired end result.

Our work begins with consultation designed to help the accused person and their parents or guardians make the right decision regarding their future legal representation. When you entrust us with the job, the work will begin immediately. We provide bail hearing representation in addition to trial and extrajudicial representation. Your lawyer will investigate the case and develop a strategy based on thorough analysis. The accused young person will be perfectly prepared for all hearings just like all witnesses of the defence. You will be able to get answers to your questions, advice and support at any time when the need arises.

With Young Offender Lawyer in Hamilton, your case will be in the hands of an experienced and skilled counselor who works with a team of reliable support specialists. The professional will fight with commitment to achieving the set goal and do everything necessary to help the young person get out of the difficult situation and take full control of their life and future once again.

If you are a parent, guardian or another relation of a young person charged with a criminal offence, contact us today.