Understanding the Importance of the Age of an Accused Person in Offences Involving Youth

• In Event: Examining the Link between the Age of Officially-Processed Individuals and Criminal Justice Practices

Abstract

I will be presenting preliminary findings on a study of youth offending and the relationship between the age of the accused, the victim, and a variety of measures. Using UCR Incident-Based data across jurisdictions in Canada, this study will examine if there are relationships between apparent age and the nature of the offence, outcome of the case, and whether there are differences in outcomes based upon factors such as the offender or victim’s gender, or relationship between offender and victim.

It is important to understand whether there are differences among youthful offenders in terms of age and criminal activity. Given the importance attributed to age-based gradations of criminal responsibility found within youth justice legislation (for example recent changes in legislation which requires Crown Prosecutors to consider the possibility of seeking an adult sentence for young offenders 14 to 17 years of age for a range of serious offences), an understanding of age and its relationship to the above-mentioned outcome measures will enable us to better understand how to respond, at the front-end of decision-making, to the differences in police-recorded offending of young people in this 6-year developmental stage.

Author

• Kim Varma, Ryerson University