The first document regulating the youth criminal justice predecessor to the Young Offenders Act (adapted in 1982) and the modern day Youth Criminal Justice Act (accepted in 2003) was the 1908 Juvenile Delinquents Act.
The Youth Criminal Justice Act covers the prosecution of youth’s for criminal offenses. The Criminal Code of Canada defines that no person shall be convicted of an offence in respect of an act or omission on his or her part while that person was under the age of twelve years, so the YCJA works only for people older than 12 and younger that 18. As for trial procedures like arrest, detention, bail, trial and sentencing, they are not very different from the adult procedures. Parents of the arrested minor must be notified immediately or as soon as possible. They are also encouraged to participate in all steps of the legal process. In some cases the judge may even order the parents to attend the court hearings. Also a youth has the right to have his or her parent(s) or guardian(s) present during questioning. Fingerprinting and photographing can occur only when the youth is charged with an indictable offense. As for bail the youths are usually released under the same rules but into the custody of parents or other responsible adults. The YCJA protects the identity of the youth and it can only be disclosed under special circumstances. Still the public and media are allowed to attend the trials of the youths and proceedings may be reported. For the benefit of the publics safety the names and even photos of serious offenders can be reported in the media. As for sentencing the adult sentences can be applied to offenders over the age of 14 or to offenders over the age of 12 if the offences are repeated.
