Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that if re-elected he will pursue tougher penalties for violent young offenders and release their names to the public, the Globe and Mail reported Sept. 22.
The Conservatives would scrap Canada’s existing young offenders legislation and dole out longer sentences—up to life imprisonment—for youth over 14 years of age convicted of such crimes as murder, aggravated sexual assault and manslaughter.
Provinces would decide for themselves at what age youth could be sentenced under the new legislation.
Although it’s good the Conservatives put the issue on the election radar, their proposed legislation is misinformed and superfluous, as youth can already be tried as adults if their crime warrants it. It eerily resembles failed attempts to curb youth violence in the United States, which emphasizes long jail terms.
At 14, a person hasn’t developed full comprehension of the significance of his or her actions. This doesn’t absolve the offender’s guilt, but suggests the person shouldn’t be held at maximum penalty for minimum understanding of what he or she did.
Although the Conservative plan looks good on paper, it fails to address the root causes of violent youth crime and the possibility of eventual reintegration into society.
Université de Montréal professor Richard Tremblay recently published a study showing longer prison terms don’t deter offenders and can actually increase delinquency, the Gazette reported Sept. 22.
The Tory legislation would see youth finish their social development in a prison system where they would be influenced by negative role models.
A better approach would be to consider improving rehabilitation and counselling programs that treat youth offenders differently from their adult counterparts. The life sentence is usually handed down with parole eligibility after 25 years. It’s unlikely someone incarcerated at 14 would spend the rest of his or her days behind bars; society has to deal with the reality that the offender will be released by middle age and it’s imperative that he or she learn within the prison system how to live outside of it.
Young offenders also need their identities protected from the public so that, when released, they can live without stigmatization.
Right now, the Tories’ unwillingness to give young offenders a second chance is almost a crime in itself.
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