This decline was accompanied by a corresponding rise in the rate of accused youth dealt with through other means. In 2006, the rate of accused youth not charged (or recommended for charging) was up 6% over the previous year and up 32% from 2002.
One of the primary objectives of the YCJA is to divert more youth involved in minor, non-violent crimes from the formal justice system.
Over the previous decade, the proportion of youth apprehended by police but not charged has generally been on the rise. Until 2002, this upward trend was gradual. However, in the period immediately following the introduction of the YCJA, the relative number of cases in which youth were handled through means other than charges climbed sharply.
Over the six-year period from 1997 to 2002, the proportion of young people accused of a Criminal Code offence, but not charged, ranged from 37% to 44%.
However, between 2002 and 2003, this proportion climbed to 55%. Since the YCJA came into force in 2003, the proportion of accused youth cleared otherwise has remained relatively stable, with measures other than formal charges used in almost 60% of youth crimes in 2006.
Since the introduction of the YCJA, the proportion of accused youth cleared by means other than a charge increased for virtually all offences. Nevertheless, police charges continued to be the norm for offences associated with the most severe penalties, while offences carrying less serious penalties remained among those least likely to result in charges.
