Youth Justice Research Guide

Description and Intended Audience

This research guide covers primarily material relating to youth justice in British
Columbia. It is meant to be used by youth who are interested in this topic for a school
project

Legislation

Youth Justice Act, S.B.C. 2003, c. 85.

http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/list_statreg_y.htm

The Youth Justice Act repealed the Young Offenders (British Columbia) Act, R.S.B.C.
1996, c. 494. This was effective on April 1, 2004 (B.C. Reg. 139/2004). The above is
a link to the new Youth Justice Act, the repealed Young Offenders (British Columbia) Act,
and regulations that apply to the Youth Justice Act.

NOTE: Regulations that have come into force since the Youth Justice Act, S.B.C. 2003,
c. 85 are BC Reg 137/05: Youth Custody Regulation.

Youth Criminal Justice Act, S.C. 2002, c. 1.
http://www.canlii.ca/ca/sta/y-1.5 or http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/Y-1.5/index.html

This act is the federal equivalent to the Youth Justice Act in British Columbia. It repealed
the Young Offenders Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. Y-1. The Youth Criminal Justice Act is
accessible through either the Canadian Legal Information Institute website (Canlii) or the
Department of Justice Canada website.

Related Federal Legislation

Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46.
http://www.canlii.ca/ca/sta/c-46 or http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/C-46

Books and Journals

1. Peter J. Harris, Youth Criminal Justice Act Manual (Aurora, Ont: Canada Law
Book, 2004).

This is a looseleaf manual that provides an overview about the federal Youth Criminal
Justice Act. Commentary on the act, a Table of Cases and references to related case law
is also provided.

2. Nicholas Bala, Youth Criminal Justice Law, Essentials of Canadian Law Series
(Toronto: Irwin Law, 2003).

This book examines and comments on the new Youth Criminal Justice Act legislation. It
also provides discussion about the various political, ethical and social issues affecting
youth and their families, with respect to criminal law. This book is written by Nicholas
Bala, an expert in the field of family law and youth justice.

3. Lee Tustin and Robert E. Lutes, A Guide to the Youth Criminal Justice Act
(Toronto: LexisNexis Butterworths, 2005).

This guide provides full-text of the new federal legislation, references and commentary
on relevant case law, and a Youth Criminal Justice Act procedural chart. This is a good
resource to consult for those needing to understand how the act is implemented.

4. Susan Doyle, Tara Farrell, and Amy Sheppard, For the Record: The Youth Criminal
Justice Act: A New Law for Canadian Youth: A New Collaborative Approach
(St. John's, Nfld: Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland, 2003).

This publication is an excellent, general guide to the new federal Youth Criminal Justice
Act. It provides explanation and commentary about the legislation with easy to
understand vocabulary. This publication is also available online:

http://www.publiclegalinfo.com/publications/PLIAN_Book.pdf

5. Kent W. Roach, Criminal Law Quarterly, (Toronto: Canada Law Book Co., 1958 - ).

This is a journal published 4 times a year. Each issue has articles written about criminal
law in Canada and a section on Criminal Appeals in the Supreme Court of Canada.

Articles and Conference Proceedings

1. Richard Barnhorst, “The Youth Criminal Justice Act: New Directions and
Implementation Issues” (Apr 2004) 46 Can. J. Crimin. & Crim. Jus. 231.

2. Nicholas Bala, “The Youth Criminal Justice Act: Reducing the Use of Courts &
Custody?”(Feb. 2005) 24 Lawyers Wkly. No. 39, 15.

3. J. P. Hornick, “How Children Get Into Offending Behaviour and What Can be Done
About It.” Presented at the International Youth Crime Seminar, London,
England, 2002.

Law Reports/Digests

1. British Columbia Decisions Criminal Cases (Vancouver: Western Legal Publications,
1997 -).

2. Canadian Criminal Cases, Third Series (Aurora, Ont: Canada Law Book, 1983 - ).

3. Criminal Reports, Sixth Series (Toronto: Carswell, 2002 - ).

Subject Headings

The Canadian Abridgement, 2 ed.

Criminal Law: XIV Young Offenders

Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (Western)

Major Subject Heading

Young Offenders

Related Subject Headings

• Criminal Law – Defenses
• Criminal Law – Offenses
• Criminal Procedure
• Infants and Children
• Prerogative Remedies
• Prisons
• Sentencing

Databases

LexisNexis Quicklaw

Topical Database: Criminal Law

• Criminal Law Cases Group Source (CRMQ)
i. searches Canadian Judgements (CJ), Canadian Case Summaries
(CCS) and other select sources.
• British Columbia Review Board Decisions (BCRB)
• Butterworths Youth Criminal Justice NetLetter (BYOU)
• Youth Criminal Justice Law (BAYC)

WestlaweCARSWELL

Criminal Source

• From the main search template, you can search under Special Topics: Young
Offenders/Dangerous Offenders/Extradition.

• From the sidebar you can search various databases such as:

Crankshaw’s Case Digest/History
Nadin-Davis Sentancing Digest
Criminal Reports Articles

Tribunals

British Columbia Review Board

http://www.bcrb.bc.ca/index.html

The British Columbia Review Board was established by the Criminal Code of Canada.
The purpose of the review board is to make decisions about the freedom of individuals
who the courts have found not to be criminally responsible for acts they committed while
suffering from a mental disorder, or if their mental disorder makes them unfit to stand
trial.

There are 3 decisions made by the British Columbia Review Board concerning youth

• G.M.P. (A Youth) - May 7, 1999
http://www.bcrb.bc.ca/dec001.html

• R.L.O. (A Youth) - November 27, 1998
http://www.bcrb.bc.ca/dec026.html

• C.T.O. (A Youth) - October 24, 2000
http://www.bcrb.bc.ca/dec040.html

Websites

1. Law Courts Education Society of BC:
http://www.lawcourtsed.ca/index.cfm

This website is an excellent resource for youth justice in British Columbia.

• It provides online training about the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act and the
BC Youth Justice Act http://www.lawcourtsed.ca/ycja/

• It provides links to programs for youth at risk such as, Choices and
Consequences, Courtlink Youth Program, and Courtlink Auto Crime Prevention
Program
http://www.lawcourtsed.ca/index.cfm?call=7193ba31&mnid=86&hl=2&act=main

• It provides a publication called “Youth Justice News.” A resource to help adults
and youth understand the Youth Criminal Justice Act
http://www.lawcourtsed.ca/index.cfm?call=86a2d952&mnid=95&hl=2&act=main

• It provides a link to information about how to represent yourself in the B.C.
Provincial Court
http://www.lawcourtsed.ca/index.cfm?act=main&call=577065af&hl=3&mnid=343

2. Youth Justice in BC
http://www.youthjusticebc.ca/

This website is another excellent resource for the general public, including youth, who
want up-to-date information about youth justice in British Columbia and Canada. It
provides links to recent news about youth justice, youth justice legislation, programs and
services offered to youth and online training pertaining to the Youth Justice Criminal Act.

3. B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development – Youth Justice
http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/youth_justice/index.htm

Contains a detailed description about community based youth justice services and youth
custody services in British Columbia. It also provides links to current policies,
legislation and the Youth Criminal Justice Act Pocket Guide:

http://www.ag.gov.bc.ca/public/ycja/pocket-guide.pdf

4. Canada Department of Justice – Youth Justice
http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/yj/index.html

This Government of Canada website provides a wealth of information for parents and
youth about youth justice in Canada. It contains a link to the Youth Justice Criminal Act
with explanatory notes and summaries. It also has links to publications such as, “Is Your
Child in Trouble with the Law?”

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