Criminal law

The sentence

What happens in youth centers?

When it comes to adolescents, criminal behaviour is often a symptom of larger problems in the youth’s life. These might include drug abuse, violent tendencies, or problems with authority.

To address these problems, the youth center staff works with the adolescent and his family to develop a treatment plan. This plan aims to rehabilitate the youth during his time in custody (i.e. help him improve his behaviour). The goal is to encourage the youth to try to become a responsible and law-abiding citizen after he leaves the center.

In general, every adolescent is paired with an educator and a psychosocial counselor who oversee the progress of the youth and his family under the treatment plan. Youth centers can also provide the necessary resources to allow the adolescent to continue his studies at his own pace and take part in sports and other extra-curricular activities. The goal is to encourage the youth to get on the right track while allowing him to stay in touch with the outside world. After all, he will have to reintegrate into society after he leaves custody.

How long might an adolescent stay in a youth custody center?

A sentence that deprives a young person of his liberty has two parts: a period spent in custody and a period of community supervision. The judge decides the total length of the sentence, as well as how long each part will last. Such a sentence is called a “custody and supervision” order.

The law does not set out any minimum period of time for custodial sentences. This means that, in theory, a judge could sentence a young person to custody for a single day if she thought it was appropriate.

The length of the custody and surveillance order cannot ordinarily last for more than two years. The first part of the sentence is spent in custody. The second part, which is equivalent to half of the first part of the sentence, is spent under community supervision. This means the youth serves his sentence in the community, while respecting certain conditions. Let’s go back to the example of Alex. Since the judge imposed a nine-month sentence, he’ll spend six months in a youth center and three months under community supervision.

For some offences, like attempted murder, culpable involuntary homicide, serious sexual assault, and crimes that carry a life sentence for adults, the maximum custodial sentence is three years, which must be served both in custody and under community supervision. The sentence for first or second degree murder also involve the same two parts.

In the case of second degree murder, the maximum sentence is seven years, up to four of which can be served in custody. In the case of first degree murder (i.e. premeditated murder), the sentence can go up to ten years, up to six of which can be served in custody. These rules don’t apply if a judge decides that the youth should be tried as an adult.

During the custodial part of the sentence, can a young person be granted periods of liberty?

Yes. The law provides that an adolescent sentenced to custody can enjoy periods of temporary release or day releases.

Temporary releases are granted by the provincial director, called the Director of Youth Protection (DYP) in Quebec. They may be granted when the director believes it is best to let the adolescent leave for medical or humanitarian reasons (for example, if there has been a death in the family), or in order to ease the young person’s reintegration into society. The release cannot exceed 30 days. A youth may be released on his own or with an escort.

Day releases are also granted by the provincial director, who determines the days and hours during which the youth can be released. This type of release can be granted to allow the adolescent to do the following:

• attend school;
  
  
• get or keep a job, or do work for the benefit of his family;
  
  
• participate in a program to improve his knowledge and skills in relation to his job;
  
  
• follow an external treatment or program that is adapted to his needs.

These measures are meant to encourage the adolescent to gradually reintegrate into society.

Can an adolescent ask for a review of a custody and supervision order?

An adolescent’s situation can change very rapidly as he matures. This is why the law allows the youth, his family, the provincial director or the Crown attorney to request that a judge re-examine a custody and supervision order. The court is in fact required to conduct such a review if certain conditions are met. A request can be made at any time with the permission of a judge. Otherwise, the review is done automatically after a certain portion of the sentence has been served. For sentences involving custody of more than one year, the sentence is reviewed each year.

In order to find out more about how the young person is doing, the judge can ask the provincial director to prepare a progress report. If it turns out that the youth no longer needs to remain in custody, his period of detention could be shortened in favour of community supervision. Under no circumstances can a sentence be lengthened or made more severe after review. To find out more, read the Infosheet entitled A sentence that stands up to review!.

Can the period of custody be extended during the course of a youth’s sentence?

Yes, but only in exceptional circumstances. Before the period of community supervision begins, the Crown attorney or provincial director can ask the court to extend the custodial period so that it continues until the very end of the sentence. The judge must then hold a hearing and allow the adolescent to express his point of view on the matter. Following the hearing, the judge can extend the custodial portion of the sentence if she has reasonable grounds to believe that the youth is at risk of committing a violent crime and that community supervision would not keep him from re-offending.

Before making her decision, a judge must take into account the following factors:

• Recurring violent behaviour on the part of the adolescent;
  
  
• Psychological and psychiatric evaluations concerning the youth;
  
  
• The existence of reliable evidence that shows the youth is likely to commit a crime causing death or serious injury to someone before the end of his sentence.

The court can ask that the provincial director prepare a report outlining any input and information he has on this subject. The adolescent can appeal the judge’s decision before the Court of Appeal if he is ordered to remain in custody.

What exactly does “community supervision” involve?

As explained above, a young person serves the last part of his sentence in the community once he is released from custody. He can then live at home, but he has to respect certain conditions set by the court. At least one month before the custodial phase ends, the youth is brought before a judge, who determines which conditions will apply during the community supervision period. Among the different conditions the judge might impose are the following mandatory ones:

• not to disturb the peace and to maintain good behaviour;
  
  
• to appear in court whenever he is summoned;
  
  
• to report to the provincial director or remain under the supervision of the provincial director;
  
  
• to inform the provincial director of any change in the youth’s name, address, occupation, or job;
  
  
• not to carry a weapon;
  
  
• to respect the provincial director’s instructions.

The youth court judge might also impose certain optional conditions on the youth, including the following:

• to live in or stay at a specific place;
  
  
• to make reasonable efforts to find or maintain a job;
  
  
• to go to school or some other training facility;
  
  
• any other condition that the judge deems appropriate to ensure the youth’s proper conduct or to discourage him from re-offending: for example, prohibiting him from consuming alcohol or from frequenting certain places or people.

What happens if an adolescent fails to respect the conditions of community supervision?

If the provincial director has reason to believe that the adolescent is breaking – or is about to break – the conditions of supervision, he can send him back to custody or order his arrest. The adolescent might then find himself being arrested by a police officer and brought before the provincial director. After examining the situation and speaking with the youth, the provincial director can cancel the suspension of supervision or bring the adolescent before a youth court judge for a decision. The judge will then hold a hearing, during which she may:

• cancel the suspension of the conditional release;
  
  
• modify the conditions or add new ones and allow the adolescent to continue his period of supervised release;
  
  
• make an order to continue the custody for a certain period of time, as long as this does not exceed the period remaining in the sentence.

Once again, the judge can request that the provincial director submit a report on the adolescent to help her make a decision. The adolescent can request that the decision be reviewed by the Court of Appeal.