Youth Court Committee

Program Description

(An extrajudicial measures program under Part 1 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act)

Coordinator Jessica Christie
jchristie@youthdiversion.org

Youth Court Committee members perform a key role under the Extrajudicial Measures section of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). Members meet with young people alleged to have committed offences (who have admitted at least partial responsibility for the offence), family members, and the victim to help the youth resolve the offence with which he/she is charged. The goal of the Committee is to deal with the offence, and intervene as little as possible in the young person's life.

Training and Orientation

Youth Court Committee (Y.C.C.) training generally occurs on an annual basis. Two or more training sessions are held to ensure full knowledge and understanding of the guidelines. Once the training sessions are complete, new members sit through one or two actual meetings as observers in order to get a feel for the flow of the meetings. Once this is complete, the new members are scheduled in as full members. Compulsory refresher training is held annually.

Objectives of the Committee

The Committee endeavours to:

1. encourage young people to accept responsibility for their actions by helping them to examine what they have done about their offence and what it is now fair for them to do;
2. provide an informal, non-threatening and non-stigmatizing forum which brings together the offender(s), parents, the victim, community volunteers, and the police, in order to negotiate an appropriate response to the offence;
3. reduce the number of young people having a youth court record by providing a community-based alternative to a youth court proceeding;
4. generate in young people a sense of having been dealt with fairly (i.e. a sense of justice) by communicating a true respect for them and a belief that they can participate in the resolution of their problems; and
5. effectively discourage repeated offences.

Composition of the Committee

1. The Committee is selected from a panel of volunteers from the community who are interested in working with young people and who support the Program philosophy outlined above. The aim is to include a spectrum of persons on the Committee so as to reflect the diverse composition of the community, as well as to better serve the interests of the young person.
2. At least two Committee members must be present before a meeting commences. If circumstances require it, the Program Director may act as a Committee member.
3. When a review is set, the original Committee members should be present for the review, if possible.
4. New members may be added to the Committee, subject to the approval of the Program Director of the Youth Diversion Program.
5. A chairperson will be selected at each Committee meeting by the members present.

Jurisdiction of the Committee

1. The Committee has jurisdiction only if all of the following criteria are met:
   1. The offence cannot generally be those included as a class III offense.
   2. The young person is prepared to accept responsibility for his/her involvement in the offence or admit to his/her participation or involvement in the offence.
   3. The young person consents to meet with the committee. In keeping with the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the young person's decision to participate must be voluntary and not the result of coercion by any person.

2. A young person is referred to the Committee by the Crown Attorney or the Police. The Crown or Police applies the first two criteria. The third and fourth criteria can only be met after the young person has obtained legal advice.
3. If any one of the criteria is not met, then the young person will proceed through the normal court process.

The Committee Hearing

1. The Committee hearing involves a consideration of the offence, certain factors directly related to the offence, and possible responses by the Committee.
2. The Committee is not concerned with determining guilt or innocence. However, it is necessary for the Committee to ensure that the young person is actually accepting at least partial responsibility for, or involvement in the offence. The young person will normally be expected to describe the circumstances of the offence.
3. Persons Heard: The Committee will encourage the following persons to express their views:
   1. Young person, parents/guardian/friend, young person's lawyer, victim, police, and other interested persons who have appeared before the Committee. The emphasis is normally on hearing from the young person.
   2. Parents are not allowed to speak to the Committee alone because of the rule that the young person must be present during the reception of any information. After the plan has been developed, the parents may be encouraged to contact the Program Administrator outside of the hearing setting regarding other problems which they might want to discuss in the absence of the young person; e.g. a parent's drug, alcohol, or marital problems.
4. Observers:
   Observers may be present at any Committee meeting if there is no objection from the young person, his/her family or the victim. No more than 2 observers may be present at any one meeting. The observer(s) are not permitted to participate in the meeting.