The Young Offenders Act: A Revolution in Canadian Juvenile Justice

Tony Barclay is a retired juvenile corrections probation officer and a
former public-health research associate at the University of Toronto.

This excellent book is a timely, thoughtful, and erudite collection of
the most advanced thinking on this subject yet to be produced in Canada.
It contains essays by virtually all the leading researchers and thinkers
in the field and covers a very wide spectrum of subjects related to the
Act. The editors include contributions from academics, members of the
judiciary, lawyers, and clinical workers.

I found Marge Reitsma-Street’s review of thinking in regard to female
delinquency of particular interest. (Her list of references is truly
staggering; unfortunately too few of the items are Canadian in origin,
reflecting the paucity of work on this subject by Canadians.) But many
other contributions invite careful study as well. The change in social
thinking reflected by the introduction of this Act is underlined in many
different ways. Alan Leschied and Peter Jaffe illustrate the point well
in their discussion of dispositions, while the authors of two
theoretical essays outline its historical roots.

The real sting in the book comes at the end. The short article that
sums up the book’s lessons should be reprinted as a separate document
and be required reading for everyone concerned with the field of social
justice for young offenders. As they point out, “the acid test for the
Canadian juvenile-justice system will be the kind of services that are
available to prevent or reduce antisocial behaviour in children and
adolescents.” Amen, say I.

Perhaps the only thing I found lacking in this admirable book is a true
reflection of the anger and frustration many good people feel with the
present state of the juvenile courts of Canada. Only in Jim Hackler’s
contribution, “Good People, Dirty System,” did I find some echo of
this state of discontent.

We have here a thoughtful, documented, and clear-headed approach to
this subject. This is a book that should be widely read and deeply
studied.