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VI Contents
Discussion/Critical Thinking Questions 100

Web Links 100
CHAPTER 4: THE SOCIAL FACE OF YOUTH CRIME 101

Chapter Objectives 101
Key Terms 101
Introduction 102
Race/Ethnicity 103
Racialized Youth Gangs 104
Black Youth 107
Aboriginal Youth 107
Age 110
Youth under 12 110
Youth Crime Trends 111
Gender 112
Official Data 113
Self-Report Studies 116
Victimization Surveys 118
Delinquent Careers 119
Girls and Violence 119
Youth as Victims of Crime 121
Age and Sex 123
Location 126
Victimization and the State 128
Summary 130
Web Links 132
CHAPTER 5: EXPLAINING CRIME AND DELINQUENCY: IN THE

BEGINNING . . . 133
Key Terms 133
Introduction 134
The Scientific Method: Positivism and Criminology 134
Causal Relationships 134
Challenges to Positivism 135
Nineteenth-Century Theorizing about Crime and Delinquency 136
Classical Criminology 136
Biological Positivism 136
The Born Criminal 137
Types of People 137
The "Dangerous Class" 138
Twentieth-Century Theories of Delinquency 139
Biological Positivism 139
Twins and Adopted Children 13 9
Body Type 140
Chromosomes 140
IQ, LD, and ADHD 140
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Contents VI I
Explaining the "Biological" Facts 141

Psychological Positivism 14 2
Psychoanalytic Theories 14 2
Behaviourism 144
Social Learning Theory 144
Moral Development Theory 144
Personality Theory 145
Antisocial Personality Theory 145
Sociological Positivism 146
Social Disorganization and Strain Theory 146
Culture and Learning Theory 150
Control Theory 152
Summary 153
Web Links 155
CHAPTER 6: DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS IN THEORIZING ABOUT

YOUTH CRIME AND DELINQUENCY 156
Key Terms 156
Introduction 15 7
Labelling Theory 15 7
Play and Delinquency 15 7
Secondary Deviance 15 8
Societal Response 15 8
Conflict Theory 159
Liberal Conflict Theory 159
Radical Conflict Theory 160
Opportunity Theory 161
Routine Activity Theory 161
Rational Choice Theory 162
Integrative Theory 162
Social-Learning Theory 162
Differential Association-Reinforcement Theory 162
Social Control and Social Learning 163
Self-Derogation Theory 163
Integrated Theory 163
Interactional Theory 163
Radical Conflict, Social Control, and Social Learning 164
Social Control, Strain, and Liberal Conflict Theories 164
Theory of Differential Oppression 164
Lifecourse-Developmental Theory 166
Developmental Criminology 167
Linking Theory, Research, and Practice 167
The Feminist Perspective and Critique 168
The Invisible Girl 168
The Less-Than-Perfect Girl 169
Biology and Physiology 1 70
Contemporary Theory and the Sexual Girl 1 71
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VI 11 Contents
Girls and Their Hormones 172

The Liberated Girl 172
The Incorrigible/Nasty Girl 173
Sorting Out What Needs to Be Explained 174
Delinquency and Patriarchy 175
Girls and Oppression 176
Feminist Theorizing about Girls 176
Ethic of Care 176
Resistance to Care Lessons 177
Mean Girls 1 78
A Final Note on Feminist Criminology 1 78
"New" Directions in Criminology 179
Peacemaking Criminology 179
Cultural Studies Perspective 179
Postmodernism Perspective 181
Summary 181
Web Links 184
CHAPTER 7: FAMILY, SCHOOL, PEERS, AND THE YOUTH CRIME

PROBLEM 185
Key Terms 185
Introduction 186
Family 186
Family Structure 187
Parenting 188
The Meaning of Family Attachment 192
Consequences of "Bad" Family Relationships 194
The "Bad Seed" and Invisible Victims 196
School 199
Youth Crime as an Educational Issue 199
School Commitment 200
Individual Failures 200
School Failures 202
Structural Failures 204
Youth Failure: Schools in Crisis 205
Responding to School Violence 207
Peers: Friends and Gangs 208
Friends 208
Gangs 211
Definitions and Measurement 211
Explaining Gang Membership 213
Girls and Gangs 214
Linking Research to Policy and Practice 21 7
Crime Prevention 21 7
Risk and Resiliency 218
Risk Factors Prevention Paradigm (RFPP) 218
RFPP as Risky Practice 219
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Contents IX
Summary 219
Web Links 221
CHAPTER 8: FIRST CONTACT: POLICE AND DIVERSIONARY

MEASURES 222
Key Terms 222
Introduction 223
Police Contact and Decision Making 224
Legal Factors Affecting Police Discretion 226
Extralegal Factors Affecting Police Discretion 227
Race 227
Demeanour and Race 227
The Racial Profiling Debate 231
Class and Marginalization 231
Age and Gender 232
Family and Community 233
Police Departments 233
Research Summary on Police Discretion 23 5
Diversionary Measures 236
Diversionary Programs 239
Youth Justice Committees 243
Referral and Success Rates 244
Diversionary Measures Issues 245
Police Accountability 2 4 5
Net Widening 246
Consistency and Accountability 249
Mediation, Reconciliation, and Conferencing 250
Administration, Control, and Inequalities of Access 252
Summary 254
Discussion/ Critical Thinking Questions 255
Web Links 255
CHAPTER 9: GOING TO COURT 256

Key Terms 256
Introduction 25 7
The Court 258
A Profile 258
Pretrial Detention 261
Profile 262
Issues of Widening the Net 263
Transfer to Adult Court 267
Transfer Issues 268
Adult Sentences and the YCJA 269
The Reality of Transfer Decisions 2 74
Court Proceedings 2 7 5
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Editorial reviev, has dee,ned that any suppressed conte nt does not rnaterially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Leaming reserves the right to rernove additional conte nt at any ti,ne if subsequent right~ restrictions require it.
x Contents
Legal Representation 277

The Role of Lawyers 277
Legal Rights 278
Court Sentencing 281
Sentencing Principles 282
YCJA Sentencing Principles 283
Youth Sentences 286
Non-Custodial Sanctions 286
Custodial Sanctions 289
Sentencing Issues 292
Relevance of Adult Sentencing Principles to Youth Court 292
Retribution and Incapacitation 292
Rehabilitation 293
Deterrence 294
Race, Class, and Gender 295
Is Youth Court Sentencing a "Slap on the Wrist"? 298
What Is Being Compared? 298
Summary 300
Web Links 301
CHAPTER 10: YOUTH CORRECTIONS: GOING TO JAIL 302

Key Terms 302
Introduction 303
Historical Foundations 305
From Reformatories to Industrial Schools 305
Training Schools 306
Youth Centres 306
Custody Provisions under the YCJA 308
Youth Custody Issues 310
Changing Use of Custody 3 13
Provincial Variation 314
Explaining Changes and lnterprovincial Variation 316
Youth Facility Location 3 1 7
Youth Serving Adult Sentences 31 7
Correctional Programs 3 18
Types of Programs 3 19
Substance Abuse 3 22
Education 3 23
Cognitive Skills and Life Skills 3 23
Recreation 3 2 4
Work Activities and Incentives 324
Boot Camps 324
Programming Issues 326
Does Treatment/Rehabilitation Work? 327
What Isn't Addressed 330
Bridging the Gap: Aftercare and Community Reintegration 330
Aftercare Programs 33 1
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Contents XI
Summary 334
Web Links 336
CHAPTER 11: PERPETUATING SOCIAL INJUSTICE 337

Chapter Objectives 33 7
Key Terms 337
Introduction 338
Aboriginal Young Offenders 3 3 8
Correctional Issues 338
Overuse of Custody 3 3 9
Lack of Facilities and Programming 341
Rethinking Correctional Responses to Aboriginal Youth 342
Equality and Social Justice 342
Role of Culture 342
Changing Directions in Correctional Responses for Aboriginal Youth 343
Recommendations 343
Actions 346
Aboriginal Justice and Programs 34 7
Aboriginal Justice Systems 34 7
Cultural Rediscovery Programs 348
Girls and Corrections 3 50
Correctional Issues 3 50
O veruse of Custody 350
Inappropriate Programming and Facilities 3 50
Paternalism and the "Feminine" 351
Rethinking Correctional Responses to Girls 353
Constitutional and Legislated Rights 353
Poverty and Marginalization 3 5 5
Abuse and Sexual Exploitation 3 56
Too Few to Count 357
Positive Directions in Programming for Girls 357
"What Works" Doesn't Work? 359
Changing Directions in Correctional Responses for Girls 361
Gender-Specific Prison/Detention Facilities 361
Independent Living 3 62
Earlscourt Girls Connection 362
Mentoring and "Walk and Talk" 362
Participatory Staff Development 363
Summary 363
Web Links 365
CHAPTER 12: A CENTURY AFTER THE FACT: WHAT DO WE

KNOW? WHERE ARE WE GOING? 366
Key Terms 366
Introduction 367
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XI I Contents
Rethinking Juvenile Justice 368

What We Know 368
Answering the Questions 370
Where Are We Going? 375
Philosophy and Assumptions 3 75
Youth Scripts 3 75
Youth Justice 379
System Reform 387
Ongoing Issues 388
New Issues 391
Cycle of Juvenile Justice 394
Summary 396
Web Links 399
Glossary 400
References 410
Cases Cited 461
Index 463
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PREFACE
My concern for young offenders began in 1980. I was employed in a residential facility
for juvenile delinquents, and at the time, the justice system for them was framed by
the Juvenile Delinquents Act. The young people with whom I worked had all been
transferred from training schools, a euphemism for "children's prisons" under that act.
I wanted to work at the facility because I liked young people and believed that I could
effect a positive change in their lives. Unfortunately, for the most part, I was wrong.
I found myself hopelessly enmeshed in a justice system that could not meet even the
basic needs of these young people. Worse, I discovered it was a system that inflicted
even more damage on their already shattered lives.
I was unable to prevent the suicide of a gentle 15-year-old poet who could not
bear the continual rejection of his parents. Nor could I prevent the pregnancies of
15-year-old girls, so desperate for loving families that they believed they could create
them by becoming child mothers. I could not prevent the sexual exploitation of these
imprisoned girls by an unscrupulous male employee. Management refused to act on or
even hear my complaints because, in their words, this individual had a "calming" influ-
ence on the girls. And I was unable to convince a 15-year-old that a police officer, who
arrested her when she was 13 and subsequently had an ongoing sexual relationship
with her, was not likely to leave his wife and children to marry her, as she believed.
In spite of my efforts and good intentions, I could not shield these children from
the devastating social and psychological effects of arbitrary and often cruel administra-
tive policies and staff indifference. Nor could I prevent them from committing more
crimes while on the run from the institution: cold, hungry, frightened, and exhausted.
A few committed particularly violent offences during these escapes, not because they
were somehow inherently violent, as some might suggest, but rather because they
were desperate not to be caught and sent back to prison.
My knowledge of young offenders and juvenile justice continued while I researched
the youth court after the Young Offenders Act was implemented in 1984. Here, I
interviewed parents and came to understand better why their children behaved as
they did. Some parents were caring and doing their best with meagre resources, but
were unable to provide a decent lifestyle for themselves or their children. Others were
struggling to cope with family tragedies a spouse lost through desertion, divorce, or
death; a missing or dead child; a demeaning and debilitating life of poverty, drugs,
alcohol, or abuse. Most of the parents I talked to were tired and worn beyond their
years. Far too many, it seemed, quite simply did not like or want their children.
This book is dedicated to these children to Paul, Michelle, Geoff, Tammy, Fred,
Jane, and Kenny and to all the children in Canadian society whom we have failed
to protect, guide, provide for, and teach; to all the children who have been failed by
our schools, our social services, our justice system; and to all the children who have
been maligned as young criminals in public discourse. It has always been my hope that
this book might in some way contribute to an awareness of what needs to be done to
address the inequities and injustices that bring these children into the justice system.
Royalties from the sales of this book will be shared with these young people through
Covenant House, a safe haven for homeless youth.
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XI 11
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XIV Preface
ABOUT THE TEXT

A century has passed since the Canadian government created a justice system for
youth separate from the adult criminal justice system. When I began writing the
first edition of this book in 1996, youth crime and juvenile justice were major public
issues; many thought that the juvenile justice system was not working to control
youth crime, and the federal government was announcing a Strategy for Reform to
address these issues. The first edition of the book, Young Offenders and Juvenile Justice:
A Century after the Fact, was organized around the concerns expressed about youth
crime and justice in public forums that were part of the Minister of Justice's attempts
to reform the justice system. The concerns at that time were whether youth crime
was on the increase, whether young offenders received merely "a slap on the wrist"
for their offences under the Young Offenders Act, and whether youth were more
violent than in the past. By the time I was writing the second edition in the summer
of 2002, these concerns had not changed and Canadians were also now wondering if
the Youth Criminal Justice Act would change anything. As the book went to press for
the third time, three years after the YCJA went into effect, Canadians were still asking
these questions. Some seemed convinced that the situation was worse under the new
legislation. Now, with this fourth edition, we are able to address how the YCJA is
operating. Those who expected this new legislation to change youth behaviour are
disappointed; those who wanted an improved justice system are pleased. The YCJA
did exactly what it was designed to do fewer youth are going to jail and more are
being diverted through extrajudicial measures. Nonetheless, youth violence is still a
public issue, and proposed revisions Bill C-4 would make the justice system more
punitive for youth involved in violent behaviour and also more punitive for all youth
with deterrence and denunciation proposed as a viable sentencing principle. As the
book goes into its fourth edition, old issues of punishment and deterrence remain, and
new issues, such as release conditions, surface. These old and new issues are addressed
in this edition.
Beyond these public concerns is a more fundamental question, one not addressed
in public forums: How far have we come in 100 years of juvenile justice? What did we
know about youth crime and justice in the past, and how does that compare to what
we know today? More important, have we changed our thinking about youth crime
and our responses to it? To address these broader questions, the book takes a historical
comparative approach and locates contemporary youth justice issues in a historical
context. Where appropriate, chapters begin with a discussion of either contemporary
and/or historical issues and proceed to a discussion of contemporary knowledge, prac-
tice, policy, and issues.
This book is also about law reform, and putting it into a historical context allows an
understanding of how the justice system has changed over the last hundred years and
also how it has not. Many of the issues have changed over the years, while others have
been dragging along for a century, with the same groups taking the same positions in
relation to reform. For this reason, the Young Offenders Act is still discussed in this
book, as is the Juvenile Delinquents Act. Where it is relevant, the chapters offer com-
parisons of the new Youth Criminal Justice Act with the Young Offenders Act, both
in legislation and in practice. The primary focus of this edition is the workings of the
system under the YCJA.
This new edition is still about juvenile justice, but the title has changed to reflect
the new legislation and the new way that juvenile justice is now talked about youth
justice. The terms "juvenile justice" and "youth justice" are used interchangeably
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Preface xv
throughout the book, reflecting the time period of the discussion and the usage
of the works being cited. Generally, when the justice system is being talked about
in theoretical, conceptual, or historical terms, the term "juvenile justice" is used. When
the discussion is about the contemporary system in practice, I refer to the system as
the "youth justice" system.
Young Offenders and Youth Justice differs from other texts in its approach to youth
crime and justice in that it is not just a collection of "facts" and "theories" about crime
and delinquency, nor is it a book about delinquents or young offenders. Rather, it is
about how we think about youth and their behaviour, and about how these views
are reflected in public discourse, scholarly theorizing, public policy, and institutional
responses to "troublesome" youth behaviour. As such, the book is also not one that
decontextualizes, depersonalizes, or objectifies young people or their behaviour. The
voices of youth, past and present, together with the voices of people who work in
the justice system, are brought into the discussion of the issues in the form of boxed
features that appear throughout the text. This material is intended to give students an
opportunity to reflect on the realities of other lives and views.
This book also differs from other texts on the subject in that it moves away from
a presentation of youth as "perpetrators" of crime and emphasizes in various ways that
they are also victims and survivors. As Schissel (1997) succinctly points out, young
offenders are "victims first and offenders second . . . survivors who are punished by
law for offences viewed out of context" (p. 108). I believe that discussions of youth
crime and justice devoid of this context will never result in appropriate or effective
responses. Each chapter is organized into topics and issues relevant to that chapter that
are revisited in various places throughout the book. Issues such as violence, homeless-
ness, victimization, social injustice, and marginalization are multifaceted issues and
need to be addressed from a number of angles.
Of course, as this is a textbook, I have presented an accumulation of facts, theo-
ries, and knowledge about youth crime and justice, but I have not been exhaustive.
With the exception of the chapters on theory, I have focused on Canadian litera-
ture and research, particularly in the chapters on juvenile justice. Other sources have
been used when they are central to an understanding of an issue or when Canadian
literature is lacking. We now have the beginnings of case law, and this is used when
relevant to an issue. Many questions about youth crime are now being addressed with
data on child and youth behaviour from two of Statistics Canada's national surveys:
the General Social Survey (GSS) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and
Youth (NLSCYJ. In 2006, Canada participated for the first time in the International
Youth Survey (IYS). Data from these surveys are presented throughout the book where
relevant.
I do not intend that this book be used as a source of "objective fact" but rather as a
tool for college and undergraduate university students in developing their own under-
standing of public issues about youth crime and justice. This is particularly important
as we continue to observe youth justice under the Youth Criminal Justice Act and
its proposed changes likely to remain one of intensified public debate. In addition,
there is sufficient knowledge and information in the book to provide students with a
solid foundation to pursue professional careers or more advanced academic studies in
the field.
This book divides easily into two parts. The first half focuses on youth crime
and how we explain it, while the second half addresses the justice system. Chapter 1
sets the stage for the remainder of the book by raising contemporary questions about
youth crime and justice by examining those questions in a historical context and by
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XVI Preface
attempting to provide answers. Chapter 2 continues this historical framework with a

discussion of the creation of the juvenile justice system and Canada's ongoing reform
process, from the Juvenile Delinquents Act, to the Young Offenders Act, to the Youth
Criminal Justice Act. Comparative discussions of the content of these acts and the
public issues associated with them are presented. A central theme in this chapter,
linking it to the first chapter, comes from a discussion of public opposition to each act
and the similarities in the debates between each historical era.
Chapter 3 revisits the central questions raised in Chapter 1. Here, we examine
crime statistics and their sources and demonstrate that statistics can be misleading
without a thorough understanding of their origin. This chapter exposes students to a
variety of statistics so that comparisons of varying statistical interpretations are pos-
sible. Chapter 4 discusses youth crime statistics in a social context by focusing on
race, class, gender, and victimization, and the issues associated with these concepts in
making sense of statistics. Chapters 5 and 6 examine attempts at scholarly explanations
of youth crime. Chapter 5 presents "the beginnings" of scholarly attempts to explain
youth crime, while Chapter 6 discusses different directions in thinking those based
on labelling, critical and feminist directions, and recent efforts at integrating classic
versions of control, conflict, and learning theories, their culmination in developmental
criminology, as well as contributions from newer perspectives in criminology peace-
making and the postmodern approach.
A wealth of research and critique is associated with most theories of youth crime
and delinquency, and it is beyond the scope of this book to review it all. Instead,
Chapter 7 focuses on the factors most consistently identified theoretically as the keys
to explaining and understanding youth crime family, school, and peers. This chapter
reviews the most recent empirical evidence pertaining to these factors and summarizes
"what we know" about the relationships between youth crime and family, friends, and
school, as well as current issues such as school violence and zero-tolerance policies.
The contribution of developmental criminology and focus on risk and resiliency as a
means of crime prevention is discussed in detail.
The focus of the book then shifts to the justice system. Because Chapters 8
through 10 present thorough descriptions of the structure of the justice system and
of how youth are processed through the system, students may want to review parts
of Chapter 2 before moving on. The role of the police and extrajudicial measures
programs are discussed in Chapter 8, the courts and sentencing issues in Chapter 9,
and youth correctional programs and institutions in Chapter 10. Attempts are made
throughout to present examples from various parts of Canada and to discuss variations
across the country.
Chapter 11 addresses the issue of minority youth in the justice system. To some
extent in this chapter and in Chapters 3 and 4, race is missing. This is due to a lack
of research and, therefore, data on minority youth in the justice system. Hence,
the focus in this chapter is on girls and Aboriginal youth, but issues are raised in
relation to social injustice in a more general sense. Specific issues relevant to girls
and Aboriginal youth are discussed and examples of alternative programming are
presented.
The final chapter, Chapter 12, returns to the fundamental questions about youth
crime and juvenile justice and answers them through a summary of the main points
of the text. The chapter then moves on to a discussion of new developments in our
thinking about youth crime and justice. Then, law reform is discussed and new and
old reform issues are reviewed to determine whether they offer "more of the same" or
fundamental shifts in how we think about and respond to youth crime.
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Preface XVII
NEW IN TH IS FOURTH EDITION

The major impetus for this edition is to understand how the Youth Criminal Justice
Act is working, and every chapter in this fourth edition of Young Offenders and Youth
Justice: A Century after the Fact has been substantially revised. Chapters 3, 4, 8, 9,
and 10 have been revised to include the latest statistics; the latest Canadian research,
publications, and case law; relevant sections of the Youth Criminal Justice Act; and,
where appropriate to understanding the issues, comparisons to the YOA in legislation
and practice.
Chapters 1 and 2 have been revised to reflect YCJA issues. Chapter 1 compares public
issues for the last 100 years to demonstrate commonalities and differences, and traces
the most current issue from the Nunn Commission to proposed revisions to the YCJA.
This proposal, Bill C-4, is detailed in Chapter 2, including its origins and debates, and
is followed throughout the text where relevant. Chapter 2 now incorporates a full
discussion of the development of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as well
as the relevant text of the Convention to youth justice issues, and discusses the ability
of the justice system under the YCJA to meet international standards.
Chapters 3 and 4 discuss new sources of data, including new classifications for official
statistics, data from the General Social Survey (GSSJ, the National Longitudinal Survey
of Children and Youth (NLSCYJ, and the International Youth Survey (IYSJ. These chap-
ters contain the most recent research, Juristat reports from Statistics Canada, and
youth court, police, and victimization statistics.
Chapters 5 through 7 have been expanded to include a discussion of developmental
criminology and its impact on our understanding of risk and resiliency as well as the
field of crime prevention. Chapter 7 includes recent research and results from the
GSS, IYS, and NLSCY and raises important issues around child and parent blaming,
school violence, and zero-tolerance policies. The issue of girl violence is revisited to
develop an understanding of the racialization of youth crime issues.
Chapter 8 introduces students to the YCJA concepts of extrajudicial measures and
sanctions, and presents a discussion of the variety of ways in which diversion has
been practised in Canada; these range from informal police practices under the JDA
to alternative measures under the YOA to the new structure and practices of the
YCJA. This chapter offers a detailed discussion of YCJA provisions and principles,
examples of diversion programs in different parts of the country, and a discussion of
new and ongoing issues associated with diversion, including the continuing problem of
inequality of access. Police use of extrajudicial measures is discussed along with new
issues arising from an overuse of pretrial detention and release conditions. The issue
and debate on racial profiling is also discussed.
Chapter 9 provides specific details on YCJA sentencing principles; custodial require-
ments and limitations; and the extensive range of sentencing options, including the
entirely new "intensive support and supervision" option, the "intensive rehabilitative
custody and supervision" option, and the "custody and conditional supervision" option.
The new offence categories "presumptive offence" and "serious offence" and their
effect on eliminating the issues associated with transfer hearings are discussed in detail,
along with Supreme Court challenges to these provisions and Bill C-4 proposals to
address these issues. Case law resulting from the YCJA is used to raise new issues with
sentencing and the balancing of YCJA principles. All sentencing statistics are updated
with the most recent YCJA court statistics.
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XVI 11 Preface
Chapter 10 offers updated YCJA custody statistics and a discussion of new program
philosophies, along with examples of new program models.
Chapter 11 includes recent statistics, research, and discussions of recent publications
on girls and Aboriginal youth. A full discussion is offered of the issues associated with
each in the justice system, as well as new directions in programming and a critique of
the "what works" paradigm and "gender responsive" models for programming.
Chapter 12 offers a summary of the most important points in the other chapters and
raises new questions about where we are going in current thinking about youth crime
and justice. This chapter also discusses how current issues compare to the "facts" of
youth crime and justice as discussed throughout the text. In addition, it assesses cur-
rent reform proposals along with alternative models of justice and discusses the issues
still missing from public discourse: youth marginalization, child poverty, victimiza-
tion, and homelessness.
IN-TEXT LEARNING AIDS
Chapter Objectives and Introductions

Chapter objectives and an introduction are presented at the beginning of each chapter
to give students an overview of major topics and to act as an aid for reviewing the
central points of each chapter.
l(ey Terms, Running Glossary, and Glossary

Key terms are presented at the beginning of each chapter to alert students to impor-
tant concepts and also to provide a review. These terms are highlighted in bold print
in the text, with the definitions appearing in the margin beside them. All of these key
terms and their definitions also appear in the glossary section at the back of the book.
Chapter Summary
Each chapter ends with a concise summary of key points, "facts," people, issues, and
theoretical perspectives. The summary is designed as a review for students, not as a
replacement for reading the chapter.
Web Links
Each chapter ends with a Web Links section that provides links to Internet sites for
further research and consideration specific to the topic studied in the chapter.
TEXT SUPPLEMENTS
Instructor's Manual/Test Bani<

The Instructor's Manual provides chapter outlines, chapter summaries, chapter objec-
tives, student learning objectives, key terms and people, issues for discussion, and
additional ideas (suggestions for guest speakers, student projects, etc.). A revised Test
Bank is available, with over 2,000 review, multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay
questions. Questions are designed to test conceptual understanding, concept applica-
tion, or factual knowledge, and a text page reference is provided for each answer.
The Instructor's Manual/Test Bank was written by the author's research assistant,
Nicole Landry.
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Preface XIX
Companion Website: www.bellyoungoffenders4e.nelson.com

The website for this book is designed for both students and instructors, and features
chapter links and quizzes, degree and career information, study resources, and much
more.
lnfoTrac® College Edition

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ACl<NOWLEDGMENTS
A few special people made it possible for me to write this book. Above all, I wish
to thank my parents, Jeanne and John Best, and grandmothers, Florence Roy and
Louise Best, whose love, guidance, support, teaching, and example saved me from the
juvenile justice system. The book is also due, in large part, to ongoing support from
Marianne Parsons and Ann Bell as well as Ollie and Lucy, my constant companions.
Others have supported and assisted me along the way, through various stages. I am
grateful to Janice Fuller, Val Billard, Janis Sampson, and especially Nicole Landry, a
research assistant extraordinaire.
I am also indebted to the reviewers who took the time to offer constructive com-
ments on the text. These include Dr. Kim Varma, Ryerson University; Dr. Scott
Brandon, University of Guelph; Abigail Salole, Sheridan College; Dr. Irwin M.
Cohen, University of the Fraser Valley; and Dr. Jennifer L. Schulenberg, University
of Waterloo. The book is greatly improved because of their efforts and because they
helped push my analysis in important directions.
Finally, I wish to thank vice president and editorial director, Evelyn Veitch, for
supporting this project, and Lenore Taylor-Atkins who, as acquisitions editor at Nelson,
initially convinced me to take on this project. My gratitude also extends to Candace
Morrison, developmental editor, and Susan Calvert, director, content and media pro-
duction, for their patience and assistance in keeping the project moving on schedule.
Sandra J. Bell
Saint Mary's University
Halifax
NEL
CHAPTER ONE
The Rise and Fall of Delinquency
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
1. To situate contemporary public issues about youth crime in a historical
context.
2. To demonstrate that concerns about youth crime are created as much by
particular socio-historical circumstances as by actual levels of youth crime.
3. To examine the nature and level of youth involvement in crime throughout
Canada's history.
4. To provide a historical framework for understanding contemporary questions
and issues about youth crime and justice.
KEY TERMS
Public issues Juvenile delinquent
Discourse Reformatories
Politics of youth crime Official crime
Juvenile justice system Structural
Problematize Demographics
Penitentiary Denied adulthood
Primary data Marginalized
Secondary data Moral panic
Rehabilitative philosophy Decontextualize
NEL 1
2 Chapter One
INTRODUCTION
This chapter examines youth crime issues from a historical perspective. Through an
examination of historical documents and socio-historical analyses, public concerns
about youth crime in the 18th and 19th centuries are compared with contemporary
public issues public issues about youth crime. This approach provides a framework and background
Matters of public concern for a presentation of a sociological perspective on the subject and a broader under-
that are debated in a
standing of public issues regarding youth crime.
variety of forums and
usually involve demands
The chapter begins with a discussion of the issues as we understand them today
for action. and then proceeds to compare these views to perceptions of youth crime, crime sta-
tistics, and public issues from the past. Three distinct periods in Canadian history are
discussed: the pre-Confederation period, in which children and youth were treated
the same as adults; the Victorian period, in which the behaviour and well-being of
children and youth became a subject of concern; and the post-Victorian period, in
which youthful offenders were separated from adults in an attempt to prevent them
from developing a criminal lifestyle that could last a lifetime.
By putting the current issue of youth crime in a historical context, we will see that
youth crime has always been a part of Canadian society, but not always a public issue.
The last 150 years of Canada's history have witnessed the rise and fall of youth crime
as a public issue, as well as the rise and fall of delinquency itself.
THE PUBLIC ISSUE

Over the last two decades, youth crime has been the subject of considerable public
discourse concern and discourse. Across Canada, newspaper headlines continuously warn of a
How things are talked serious crime problem if appropriate steps are not taken to curb youth crime. In the
about and understood, 1990s, headlines in the Calgary Herald warned of imminent danger: "Youth violence
both orally and in written
form, including formal
soaring" (October 15, 1992, p . BIS); "No end seen to spiral in teenage crime" (May
tall<, such as theory; 14, 1992, p . Al); "Toll keeps mounting as violent youth spawn an epidemic of vio-
professional talk, such lence" (June 27, 1992, p . G4). While on the other side of the country, The Chronicle
as reports, books, and Herald in Halifax reported, "Youth crime puts the squeeze on business" (July 1993,
media; and conversations. p . A4) and "The YOA a slap on the wrist for violent offenders" (May 1992). Beyond
these headlines, newspaper articles painted horrific accounts of the criminal deeds of
young Canadians. In one summer month in 1995, we were informed that five teens
in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, were charged with second-degree murder for
the fatal beating of a fisherman (Fisherman murdered, 1995); a 7-year-old boy in La
Ronge, Saskatchewan, was responsible ( along with a 14-year-old) for the murder of
another 7-year-old child (Riley, 1995); a 15-year-old in Winnipeg was charged with
first-degree murder in the fatal drive-by shooting of a 13-year-old Aboriginal youth
(Oosterom, 1995); and four Halifax teenagers were charged with aggravated assault
for trying to kill a man who was a total stranger to them (MacKinlay, 1995).
By the end of the 1990s, newspaper and magazine headlines and stories were
fuelling public concerns about violent events involving girls. Headlines in The Globe
and Mail such as "Teen's torture again reveals girls' brutality" (January 20, 1998,
p. Al) and "Police arrest members of girl gang" (January 22, 1998, p. Al2) reinforced
images of out-of-control teenage girls created by journalists' coverage of the death of
Reena Virk in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1997. A 16-year-old boy and 15-year-old
girl were convicted in adult court of second-degree murder in Reena's death and six
teenage girls, aged 14 to 16, were also convicted of aggravated assault in youth court
for their part in Reena's final ordeal (Chisholm, 1997; Joyce, 2000; Purvis, 1997).
NEL
The Rise and Fall of Delinquency 3
In the same year, two 15-year-old girls were charged with first-degree murder for
stabbing Helen Montgomery to death in her North Battleford, Saskatchewan, home.
The girls had been living in her home under an open-custody arrangement at the time
of her murder (Cross, 1998).
As we moved into the 21st century, school violence was added to the list of horrors
presented about youth behaviour. The National Post informed readers that "Teen felt
good after killing girl ... " (May 30, 2001, p. A8), and The Chronicle Herald reported
that "High schools [are] simmering with angry, verbally abusive teens" (November 18,
2000, p. A6), "Teen charged in Taber school shooting . . . listens calmly ... in court"
(August 29, 2000, p . ClO), and "Teen in beating case not rehabilitated or reformed"
(December 14, 2000, p . AS). All were stories about beatings and killings in Canadian
schools by seemingly unconcerned youth. For the next decade, Canadian news-
papers told horror stories of 15- and 16-year-old sisters who drowned their mother
in a bathtub (Toronto Star, 2010), a 12-year-old's participation with her 26-year-old
boyfriend in the murder of her entire family (Canwest News Service, July 31, 2009),
and a 1 7-year-old who pleaded guilty to murdering his mother with an axe (Canwest
News Service, October 1, 2009) .
Media and the Politics of Youth Crime

It is often said that "crime is news" and so we should not be surprised that the news
media devotes as much time as it does to reporting crime events. What is of sig-
nificance to those who study the politics of youth crime is the amount of coverage politics of youth crime
devoted to youth crime, particularly when, as we will see in later chapters, adult The ways in which youth
crimes far surpass youth crimes, both in quantity and severity. In addition, the amount crime is understood
and talked about, both
of emphasis on youth violence is disproportionate to the amount of youth crime that formally and informally,
actually involves violence of a serious nature. According to the most recent police sta- and the actions, laws, and
tistics, the rate of violent youth crime that had remained relatively stable since 1992 policies that derive from
began decreasing in 2004 (Sauve, 2005, p. 13) and decreased again by 3 percent in this discourse.
2008 (Wallace, 2009, p. 5). Yet, a study of The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and
the Toronto Sun over a two-month period in 1995 showed that 94 percent of the youth
crime articles were about violent crimes (Sprott, 1996, pp. 271, 276). Furthermore,
criminal activity is the primary focus of stories about youth. Reid-MacNevin (1996)
found in her analysis of the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Guelph Mercury, and Kitchener-
Waterloo Record from May to August in 1996 that almost two-thirds (56.7 percent) of
the articles about youth were crime-related and 52 percent were about violent crime.
At the same time, violent crime accounted for only 18 percent of all youth crime and
property crime accounted for about half (Reid-MacNevin, 1996; Reid-MacNevin,
2005, p. 146). Reid-MacNevin also examined news stories about youth that were
available on the Internet for June, July, and August in 2002 and found that while
there were fewer stories about youth crime than found in newspapers (30 percent),
the emphasis on youth violence was staggering 64 percent of the articles were about
violent crime (Reid-MacNevin, 2003; Reid-MacNevin, 2005, p . 147).
Not surprisingly, newspaper headlines and stories, along with personal experi-
ence in some cases, prompted many Canadians to voice their concerns about "today's
youth" and about the effectiveness of our youth justice system in curbing youth crime.
The general consensus seemed to be that youth justice under the Young Offenders Act
(YOA) was a "slap on the wrist." Politicians responded to these concerns by presenting
youth crime and the YOA as a major election issue in the 1993 federal election cam-
paign (see Table 1. 1). Legislators, for their part, revised the YOA three times before
finally proposing legislation to replace it. In 199 5, while deliberating reforms for the
NEL
Another random document with
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"No, she never lets it, though she rarely occupies it herself; she only
lends it to her friends. What do you say to closing the house here at
the beginning of next month? Should you object?"
"Object?" Mrs. Trent echoed. "No, indeed, on the contrary—"
"Then let us all go together for a few weeks' holiday to the Mill House
at Lynn. You will have no rent to pay there, and it will be a most
pleasant change at very little expense. Shall we say it is decided?"
And the old lady looked from one to the other of her cousins with a
smile which hid the anxiety with which she anticipated an answer.
"Oh, how splendid it would be!" cried Polly, who, with her brother,
had been listening to the conversation in silence hitherto. "Oh, dear,
dear Cousin Becky, I do believe that little bird told you the truth, and
that we are really going to have a summer holiday!" And the child
danced wildly round the room in her excitement.
"And it's near the sea?" questioned Roger eagerly. "Oh, that's grand!
We shall be able to bathe, and father will teach me to swim—won't
you, father?"
"Not so fast, my son," admonished Mr. Trent, "you speak as though

everything was settled. Cousin Becky," he proceeded, turning to the
old lady who was regarding him appealingly, "you have planned a
most alluring programme for us, but it seems to me we ought not to
accept so great a favour as the loan of a house would be from a
complete stranger."
"But I know her very well," Cousin Becky broke in eagerly, "and I am
at liberty to entertain who I like at the Mill House during August; you
will be my guests. You do not suggest, I suppose, that I should go to
the Mill House alone? Oh, Martin, I have set my heart on our all
having a nice holiday together; please do not disappoint me! Think
how much good a thorough change of air will do you all. I want to
see some roses in your wife's white cheeks, and Polly is looking a
great deal too pale. Do not go against me in this matter, pray."
Mr. Trent hesitated, whilst he glanced inquiringly at his wife. "What
do you think about it, my dear?" he asked. "Do you wish to accede to
this plan which Cousin Becky has made for our benefit?"
"So much, Martin," she confessed. "It has taken me by surprise, but
it would be so very nice if we could all have a holiday together. We
have not had one for so long."
There was a ring of unconscious pathos in Mrs. Trent's voice, which

settled the question as far as her husband was concerned, for he
turned immediately to Cousin Becky, and said:
"It shall be as you will, but we shall be under a great obligation to

your friend; I hope you will make her understand how grateful we
feel. Is she at Lynn at present?"
"No, she is very rarely there, and if we do not occupy the Mill House
next month, no one else will, so you need not burden yourself with
any sense of obligation. It is a comfortable house, old, and plainly
furnished; but I am sure you will like it. I think, by the way, it would be
a good plan to take Louisa with us instead of getting help from the
village."
Mrs. Trent agreed. She was only a little less excited than the children
at the prospect of a holiday, and Cousin Becky was plainly delighted
at having gained her own way, and confessed that she had been
planning this treat for them in her mind several weeks, and had been
awaiting a favourable opportunity to broach the subject. Mr. Trent,
too, seemed very pleased; but at the same time he was rather
puzzled. He wondered who Cousin Becky's friend could be and why
she had not mentioned her by name; he had remarked that she had
carefully abstained from doing so.
By-and-by Polly rushed off to the kitchen to impart the news of the
impending holiday to Louisa, and was beyond measure gratified by
the sensation she caused.
"Wonders will never cease, Miss Polly!" exclaimed Louisa
impressively, after she had fully grasped the facts that the house in
Princess Street was to be shut up and that she, too, was to go to the
Mill House at Lynn. "Why, I'm so surprised and pleased that I can't
find a word to say." This was a mistake on Louisa's part, however, for
she found a great many words, and asked a great many questions
about the Mill House, which of course the little girl could not answer,
and finally she inquired the name of this friend of Miss Trent's who
was not against lending her house in such a casual way.
"Cousin Becky didn't say, but I'll ask her," Polly replied; and,
forthwith, she returned to the sitting-room to put the inquiry.
But Cousin Becky shook her head when questioned, and replied with
a smile:
"I cannot tell you my friend's name, because—to be plain—she does

not wish it told. It doesn't matter, does it? She is an eccentric person,
who likes to do little kindnesses when it is possible, without being
thanked."
"I see," Polly responded gravely. "Well, I shall call her our good fairy,
for she must be another such person as the one who was so kind to
poor Sarah Glubb. How nice it is to think there are so many good
fairies still left in the world!"
CHAPTER XVIII
THE REAPPEARANCE OF THE CALAIS NOBLE
"I am so glad Martin has decided to take his family away this
summer," remarked Mrs. Marsh, at the breakfast table one morning,
a few days after her brother had agreed to Cousin Becky's plan for a
holiday. "I met Mary and the children in the town yesterday, and they
were quite excited at the prospect of turning their backs on
Beaworthy for a few weeks—poor things! I daresay I should feel the
same if I had not had a change for years. Cousin Becky is to
accompany them to Norfolk, I hear."
"It's through Miss Trent that they're going," Mr. Marsh replied. "A
friend of hers has lent them a furnished house, it appears—the Mill
House, at Lynn. Your brother asked me if I knew the place. I
remember I chanced to visit it once from Cromer."
"Who can Cousin Becky's friend be, I wonder?" said Mrs. Marsh
musingly, her face expressive of surprise and curiosity, for this was
news to her. She had only had a few words with her sister-in-law on
the previous day, and had heard no details in connection with the
projected holiday.
"Ah, that's a secret," Edgar informed her. He was very inquisitive

upon the point himself. "Roger says Cousin Becky hasn't told anyone
—not even Uncle Martin. The lady the house belongs to doesn't wish
her name to be known."
"How extraordinary!" exclaimed Mrs. Marsh, "And how very

mysterious! A lady, you say?" She paused as her son assented, a
pucker of thought between her brows. By-and-by she proceeded,
turning to her husband, "John, have you considered at all where we
shall go this summer? It is quite time we settled upon a place."
"I have not thought about it," Mr. Marsh admitted. "In fact, I do not
want to leave home during August, this year."
"But Edgar must have a change of air in his holidays, he has not
been looking well lately," Mrs. Marsh reminded him, "and the school
re-assembles in the middle of September."
"Well, why not send him with his cousins?" suggested Mr. Marsh. "I
think that would be a good plan. Then you and I could go to Scotland
later in the autumn. How would you like that, eh?"
"Very well," Mrs. Marsh answered, after a minute's reflection. "And I

should be quite contented to trust Edgar with his aunt and uncle, but
perhaps it may not be convenient for them to take him. However, I
can easily ascertain that."
"Oh, they will take him," Mr. Marsh said confidently. "I have no doubt
about that. Make what arrangements you please, my dear. I see by
Edgar's face the plan meets with his approval."
Accordingly, that afternoon Mrs. Marsh repaired to her brother's

house in Princess Street, where she found her sister-in-law and Polly
at home.
"I am come to ask a favour of you, Mary," she said, after greetings
had been exchanged, and Mrs. Trent had told her that Cousin Becky
was out, "and I have every hope that you will grant it."
"You may depend I will if I possibly can," was the earnest reply.
"I am sure of it. Well, John does not want to leave home at present,
and of course we wish Edgar to have a change of air during his
holidays, so we have been wondering if we can prevail upon you to
take him with you to Lynn. I am sure he will be very little trouble."
She paused and looked at Mrs. Trent inquiringly. "Of course we will
pay you for his board and lodgings," she added. "We will agree to
your terms."
"I was not thinking of that," Mrs. Trent answered, a slight flush rising
to her pale cheeks. As a matter-of-fact it had flashed through her
mind that the charge of her nephew would be a great responsibility,
but she refrained from saying so. "You know, we shall be actually
Cousin Becky's guests," she continued, "but for her we should not be
going away at all, so I must consult her before I give you an answer.
I do not know the exact size of the Mill House, whether there will be
a room to spare for Edgar or not; but if there should be, and Cousin
Becky is willing for him to make one of our party—"
"Well, talk the matter over with her and let me know," broke in Mrs.
Marsh. She was a trifle vexed at the hesitancy in her sister-in-law's
manner, for she had thought she would have immediately acceded to
her request, and she had intended to have had the matter settled at
once.
"I hope you will have a pleasant holiday," she proceeded, "for I am
sure you all need it. I was never in Norfolk myself."
"Cousin Becky says the Mill House is only about five minutes' walk
from the sea," explained Polly. "Oh, I am certain we shall have a
lovely time! Isn't it kind of Cousin Becky's friend to lend us the
house!"
"Very," agreed Mrs. Marsh. "And you have not the least idea who she
is, have you?"
"No," Mrs. Trent replied; "we only know she is an eccentric lady, who,
when she does a kindness, dislikes being thanked for it. Cousin
Becky has known her all her life."
"Mother, you have not told Aunt Janie about the coin," said Polly,
abruptly changing the conversation.
"I was going to do so in due course, my dear." Turning to her sister-

in-law, Mrs. Trent asked: "You remember that suit of clothes of
Edgar's which you left here in a parcel with some other things, do
you not?"
"When you gave me my purse, Aunt Janie," supplemented Polly.
"Yes," assented Mrs. Marsh. "The suit was faded but very little worn.
I thought Roger might find it useful in the holidays."
"Indeed, he will find it very useful," Mrs. Trent agreed. "Well, this
morning Cousin Becky was examining it to see if it wanted any
mending, when she discovered something between the material and
the lining near the hem of one of the legs of the trousers she ripped
the hem and found an old coin, which Martin says he believes must
be one from your husband's collection. He calls it a Calais Noble."
"A Calais Noble!" echoed Mrs. Marsh. "Are you sure? Why, that is
the coin John lost, and which he has been so worried about. He
thought that it had been stolen. How could it possibly have got where
Cousin Becky found it?"
"There was a little rip in the pocket near the top," Polly was
beginning to explain when her aunt interrupted her excitedly.
"Oh, dear, how sorry I am! Then he did take it, after all! I could not
believe it possible when John suggested it. Oh, Mary, I am so terribly
grieved that this should have happened."
"I don't understand," said Mrs. Trent, in utter bewilderment. "Who do

you imagine took the coin?"
"Roger, of course!"
"Roger!" shrieked Polly, her eyes flashing anger and reproach at her
aunt. "Do you mean to say you think Roger stole it? Oh, you cruel,
wicked—"
"Hush, Polly," commanded her mother sternly. "Please explain your

meaning," she said quickly to Mrs. Marsh. "I fail to see why, because
this coin has been found in Edgar's suit of clothes, you should think
Roger a thief."
"John feared he had taken it," Mrs. Marsh admitted. "He knew he
had had the opportunity of doing so on an occasion when Edgar
showed him the coins, and I believe Edgar told him that this
particular coin was a valuable one. Give me the Calais Noble, Mary,
and I will hush the matter up. I expect after Roger took it he—"
"Roger did not take it!" Polly broke in passionately, regarding her
aunt with defiance. "I am certain he did not; besides, the Calais
Noble was found in Edgar's clothes, not in Roger's."
"Roger has never worn that suit of clothes," declared Mrs. Trent, her
face, which had been very troubled, suddenly clearing. "The coin
was evidently put in the trousers pocket, and I think it is far more
likely that Edgar can account for the coin having been where Cousin
Becky found it than Roger, who never had the clothes in his
possession."
There was a long silence, during which Mrs. Marsh's fine colour
faded and her expression became anxious, almost frightened. It did
not seem likely that Edgar should have taken the Calais Noble, and
yet she saw the force of her sister-in-law's argument.
"Where is the coin?" she asked at length, in a faltering tone.
"Father has it," Polly answered. "He is going to return it to Uncle

John; he will be sure to see him this afternoon at the office. Oh, Aunt
Janie, say you don't think Roger took it!"
"I don't know what to say or think," sighed poor Mrs. Marsh. "Does
Roger know where the coin was found?"
"Oh yes! He was so amazed when Cousin Becky told him and
showed it to him. He said at once, 'Why that's Uncle John's Calais
Noble!' Didn't he, mother?"
"Yes, he recognised it immediately," said Mrs. Trent.

Then she remembered how silent Roger had afterwards become,
and she grew a little uneasy again. He had suggested taking the coin
to school and giving it to Edgar to deliver to Mr. Marsh; but his father
had negatived the idea, saying he would return it to his brother-in-
law himself. Roger had appeared rather dissatisfied with that
arrangement, she reflected; she wondered why. She longed for him
to return from school so that she might question him upon the point.
Of one thing she was certain, however, that her boy was not a thief.
That there was a mystery in connection with the Calais Noble was
evident, but she never for a moment doubted that Roger would be
able to clear himself from blame.
"My husband will be pleased to get his coin back, for he set great
store by it," Mrs. Marsh observed, as she rose rather hurriedly to
take her departure. "I am extremely sorry I mentioned his suspicion
of Roger. I feel sure you are right and that he did not take the coin,
though I cannot understand its having been found in Edgar's suit. I
think the best way will be to let the matter stand as it is. You don't
agree with me? Well, I will question Edgar and see if he can throw
any light on the subject. Dear me, what constant worries boys are!"
After she had gone, mother and daughter looked at each other
questioningly, and the latter cried:
"Oh, mother, how dreadful to think that Uncle John believes Roger to
be a thief! How dare he?"
"He will learn his mistake, my dear," Mrs. Trent responded

soothingly, with difficulty concealing her own indignation. "He has
misjudged my boy terribly, I am positive of that."
"He thinks Roger took the coin because it is valuable," the little girl
proceeded, her voice quavering with anger. "He wouldn't think it if we
had plenty of money like himself. Oh, mother, how hard it is to be
poor! I believe that somehow this is Edgar's fault. Oh, whatever
happens don't let him go to Norfolk with us! I shall beg Cousin Becky
not to take him."
"Do nothing of the kind, Polly and I must forbid you to interfere in this
affair of the Calais Noble, my dear, it will be sifted out, never fear;
your father will see to that. It will be better, for everyone concerned,
not to make a fuss about it. I have not the slightest fear on Roger's
account, though I think it is not unlikely that he knows something
about the Calais Noble, that I must find out. It has hurt me very
deeply to hear of your uncle's suspicion, but I am confident Roger
will be able to clear himself from it. The truth always prevails, you
know."
Mrs. Trent's lips quivered as she spoke, and her eyes grew misty
with tears. She had experienced a shock that afternoon, which had
shaken her composure; and she was really quite as indignant as her
little daughter that anyone should deem Roger so utterly devoid of
right principle as to be capable of theft. Anxiously she awaited the
boy's arrival; but, contrary to his custom, he was late for tea; and
when five o'clock struck, Cousin Becky having returned, they had the
meal without him. Miss Trent was informed of all that had occurred
during Mrs. Marsh's visit, and her utter incredulity and amazement
when she was told of Mr. Marsh's suspicion of Roger was witnessed
with the keenest relief by the boy's mother and sister.
"I knew you'd believe in Roger," Polly said tearfully. "I would—against
all the world!"
CHAPTER XIX
AN ACCIDENT TO EDGAR
"MOTHER has gone to see Aunt Mary to ask her to take me to Lynn
next month," Edgar Marsh informed his cousin, as they passed out
of the Grammar School building at about the same time that his
mother was leaving Princess Street. "I say, Roger, shall you like me
to go with you?" he asked eagerly.
"I don't know," Roger answered dubiously. "But how is it you aren't
going for a holiday with Aunt Janie and Uncle John?" he inquired.
"Because father doesn't want to leave home till later. I hope you don't
mind—" Edgar broke off in the midst of the sentence, and regarded
his cousin anxiously.
"Oh, I don't mind. But, look here, I want to speak to you about Uncle
John's Calais Noble. Such an odd thing has happened! Why, how
queer you look!"
Well might Roger say so, for his companion had grown very pale,
and was gazing at him with an expression of mingled dismay and
alarm in his blue eyes; seeing which Roger was confirmed in the
suspicion which had entered his mind as soon as he had heard of
Cousin Becky's find. "Didn't you put the coin back that day you
brought it to school?" he asked. "Did you lose it? What happened,
Edgar?"
"I—I don't know what you mean," gasped Edgar.
"Why do you speak of the Calais Noble? What do you know about
it?"
"Not so much as you do," Roger replied significantly, with a ring of

scorn in his honest voice. "Why do you try to deceive me? I know
you couldn't have put the coin back in the cabinet as you said you
would, or it wouldn't have been found in your clothes."
"Found in my clothes!" cried Edgar, feeling more and more surprised

and frightened. "Oh, Roger, don't go home yet! Come for a walk with
me where we shan't be disturbed, and tell me what you have found
out."
"Well, I will, if you'll promise to tell no more stories," Roger said

relentingly, "not otherwise."
Edgar promised earnestly that he would speak no word which was

not absolutely true; and, accordingly, his cousin accompanied him
down a side street which made a short cut into the road leading to
the clay works, and there, perched by the side of Roger on a five-
barred gate, he explained in faltering tones that he had been unable
to put the Calais Noble back in its rightful place for the simple reason
that he had lost it; whereupon Roger informed him how and where
the coin had been found, after which there was silence for some
minutes.
"I'm in a pretty bad fix," Edgar remarked dejectedly, at length,

heaving a deep sigh.
"Why?" asked Roger. "I should think Uncle John will be very glad to
get his Calais Noble back. Aren't you glad it's found?"
"N-o-o, I'd rather not have heard anything more about it. Of course
father missed it, but I—I didn't tell him I'd taken it; he didn't ask me if
I had, so I held my tongue."
Roger stared at his cousin with deepening amazement; then an

expression of contempt crossed his face.
"Father would have been so dreadfully angry if he'd known I'd taken
the Calais Noble to school and lost it," Edgar proceeded excusingly.
"He never guessed I had anything to do with it, he thought it had
been stolen."
"What a coward you are!" Roger exclaimed in a tone which made the
other wince. "Who did Uncle John think had stolen it? One of the
servants, I suppose? What a shame of you to let him think that! I do
feel disgusted with you. But he'll know the truth now."
"Yes," agreed Edgar with a groan of despair. "I wish I'd told him all
about it at the time I lost the coin, but I never thought it would turn up
again. There would have been a row, of course, but it would have all
blown over long before now. You can guess what a state of mind I've
been in lately."
Roger made no response. He could not understand the spirit of

cowardice which had kept his cousin from confessing the truth; but
he realised that the thought of the missing coin must have been a
weight upon his conscience.
"I suppose Uncle Martin has given father the Calais Noble by this
time," Edgar remarked mournfully by-and-by. "He will be sure to tell
him where it was found."
"Sure to," Roger replied; "you'll have to own up, now."
"I see that. I suppose you think pretty badly of me, Roger, don't
you?"
"Yes, I do," was the frank admission.
"You'd rather I didn't go with you to Lynn?"
"Well, you see, Edgar, you're not to be trusted," Roger said gravely,
"and I hate having to do with a fellow I can't trust. I like my friends to
'act on the square,' as father says, but you know you don't do that."
"Then you won't ever be friendly with me again?" Edgar asked in

dismay.
"I don't say that, because you're my cousin; but I think you've been a
big coward to let your father believe the Calais Noble had been
stolen, when you knew all the time you'd lost it. I didn't tell at home
that you'd taken it to school because I'd promised you I wouldn't; but,
of course, everyone will know about it now. I shan't hold my tongue
any longer."
"I don't know what Polly will think of me," said Edgar dolefully; for,
truth to tell, he was afraid of the little girl's sharp tongue. "Mother
meant to call to see Aunt Mary this afternoon," he continued, "so I
expect she knows by now that the Calais Noble is found. Oh, dear,
what a to-do there will be when I get home! I do dread it. I wish I
hadn't been a coward and had told father the truth, but—but he
would have been so angry."
"I expect he'll be angrier now, won't he?" questioned Roger.
Edgar nodded, his eyes full of tears, a choking sensation in his

throat. Much though his companion blamed him, he was sorry for
him too, and when he spoke again his voice took a gentler tone.
"Father says if we do anything wrong it's always right and much

easier to confess it at once," he said. "And Uncle John isn't very
strict with you, he wouldn't be hard on you, I know."
"Of course not; but, you see, I had no right to touch his coins."
"There now, that's what father says," said Roger, "it's doing wrong
that makes us cowards. If you'd taken the Calais Noble with Uncle
John's consent you wouldn't have been so afraid to tell him you'd lost
it. But, I say," he proceeded with an abrupt change of the subject as
several carts passed them laden with black clay, "look at the stuff in
those carts! Did you ever see clay like that before?"
"Yes, I saw the pit it comes from the other day; it's the best clay,
father says, and will burn quite white. He hopes there's a big vein of
it; they are at work on one shaft now."
"Let us go on, Edgar, now we're so near the works, and have a look
round, shall we?" Roger suggested.
Edgar hesitated. He was wishful to assent to the proposition, which

would delay his return home for a short while; but he had been
forbidden to visit the clay works—a fact of which his cousin was
unaware. He glanced at his watch—a present he had received from
his parents on his last birthday—and asked:
"Have we time? It is already half-past four."
"I don't want to be home before five," Roger answered, "and I can
run home in quarter of an hour; and as for you—well, I suppose it
doesn't matter to five minutes or so what time you get back, does it?"
Edgar admitted that it did not; and, accordingly, the two boys went
on, passed the cottages, and entered the clay works. Roger was
particularly anxious to see the pit from whence the black clay was
procured, and Edgar felt a sense of importance at being able to tell
him all about it. Several men were at work in the shaft, but they were
so busily employed that for some time they did not notice the two
boys standing on the edge of the pit watching them; at last, however,
one chanced to glance up, and immediately shouted a warning to be
careful.
"All right," Roger replied, moving back at once. "We'd better not go
too close, Edgar. Come away."
There had been heavy rain during the night, consequently the
ground was very cloggy, and as Roger looked back to ascertain if his
cousin was coming, he was horrified to see Edgar, who had turned
around to follow him, slip, and with a piercing yell of terror fall
backwards into the mouth of the pit.
In a moment the scene was one of the greatest confusion, for the
accident had been witnessed by several men engaged in loading
carts with clay, and they one and all rushed to the spot where the
unfortunate boy had fallen, shouting questions to those below. For a
minute Roger was too shocked to move, and when he would have
joined the group at the edge of the shaft, someone caught him by the
arm and stopped him.
"Let me go to him!" Roger implored. "Oh, poor, poor Edgar! He must

have been killed. Oh, please, let me go to him!"
"No, sir," replied a familiar voice, and, looking quickly at his captor,
the little boy recognised Caleb Glubb. "You wait here with me till we
hear more about what's happened. My mate's gone to find out if your
cousin's much injured, or—" The man paused with a shudder. "You
can't do any good if I let you go," he added, "you'd better wait, it
won't be for long."
Roger's teeth chattered with fright, and his legs trembled so much
that he could scarcely stand, but he tried to restrain his emotion,
whilst a wild prayer of agony to God rose from his heart. Oh, how
awful if Edgar should have been killed! Who would tell the harrowing
news to Aunt Janie and Uncle John? So engrossed was he in
contemplating the horrors of what might be that he never noticed the
arrival of his uncle's dog-cart, nor did he see his uncle hurry past him
to the mouth of the pit; but, presently, he became aware that Caleb
Glubb was speaking again.
"They've brought him up, Master Roger," Caleb said. "He's

unconscious, but they say he isn't dead; maybe, after all, he's not
very badly hurt."
"Let me go and find out," Roger said huskily, moving forward. There
was a mist in front of his eyes, but he saw several figures bending
over the inanimate form of his cousin at a little distance. "Is he
dead?" he asked with a sob. "Oh!" he cried as he caught sight of
Edgar's pallid face and closed eyes. "Tell me he is not dead!"
"No, no," someone answered, "and no bones are broken; the injury
seems to be to his head. He fell on a piece of timber and stunned
himself."
Roger did not hear the completion of the sentence, for suddenly he
found himself confronted by his uncle's familiar figure.
"Uncle John!" he gasped, terror-stricken by the sight of Mr. Marsh's

countenance, which was ghastly in its pallor. "Oh, Uncle John!"
His uncle took him by the arm and drew him aside so that they could
not be overheard.
"How is it you are here?" he demanded sternly. "Did you persuade

Edgar to come?" Then, as Roger assented, never dreaming of
explaining how little persuasion had been required, he continued, "I
thought as much. Go home and keep out of my sight. I never wish to
see you again. You are a worse boy than I thought. Go."
"But is Edgar much hurt?" asked Roger, too full of anxiety on his
cousin's account to resent his uncle's words. "Oh, Uncle John, tell
me, do!"
"I don't know myself," Mr. Marsh replied. "I have sent for a doctor
and a carriage to convey my poor boy home. The best thing you can
do is to go home yourself."
Roger obeyed without further demur; and half an hour later he turned
the corner of Princess Street, and caught sight of Polly's face at the
sitting-room window. She saw at once that something had happened,
and met him at the front door; but he brushed past her into his
mother's presence, and flung himself, weeping bitterly, into his
mother's arms. It was such an unusual sight to see her brother in
tears that the little girl was struck with mingled awe and dismay; but
when, between his sobs, he explained what had happened, she no
longer wondered at his emotion, but cried bitterly too.
CHAPTER XX
COUSIN BECKY TAKEN INTO CONFIDENCE
ALL was bustle and confusion at the Rookery when Edgar was
brought home, for the news of the accident had so frightened Mrs.
Marsh that she had been utterly incapable of giving any instructions
to the servants, and, at the sight of her son's unconscious form, she
had become so completely unnerved that the doctor, seeing that he
could not rely upon her for assistance, had requested her to remain
downstairs until he had satisfied himself as to the extent of Edgar's
injuries. At the present moment the unhappy mother, overcome with
grief and suspense, was pacing up and down the hall, waiting for
news of her boy—Edgar had been conveyed to his own bedroom—
and bemoaning her inexperience of sickness and her lack of self-
control.
"It terrified me to see his dear face looking so deathly," she wailed,
when one of the servants ventured a word of consolation. "I could
not help crying out. Who's that? There's someone at the front door."
As she spoke the front door opened, and Cousin Becky and Mr.
Trent entered, their faces expressive of the greatest concern and
sympathy. Cousin Becky had come to know if she could be of any
assistance, "for I have seen much sickness and I am really a capital
nurse," she explained as Mrs. Marsh regarded her more than a little
doubtfully.
"How good of you to come!" Mrs. Marsh replied, much touched.

"They have taken my poor boy upstairs, but the doctor will not allow
me in his room because I cannot help crying—I fear I am very
foolish. Oh, Cousin Becky, I am so thankful you are here."
Cousin Becky divested herself of her bonnet and cloak, and handed
them to a servant; then she turned again to Mrs. Marsh, and said: "I
am going upstairs at once to offer my services as a nurse. Your
brother will remain with you, for I know he will not return to Princess
Street until he has heard the doctor's report."
"I will show you Edgar's room," Mrs. Marsh said, and she preceded
the old lady upstairs. On the first landing she pointed to a closed
door, and whispered: "In there."
Cousin Becky nodded; and Mrs. Marsh watched her as she quietly
opened the door and entered the sick room. The next moment the
door was closed again; and, though the anxious mother listened
attentively, no sound reached her ears; so, very sick at heart, she
went downstairs and joined her brother. She was much calmer now,
and able to discuss what had happened; she admitted that Edgar
had been forbidden to visit the clay works.
"Roger was with him and witnessed the accident," Mr. Trent informed
her. "It has been a great shock to him, as you may imagine. It
appears he asked Edgar to accompany him to see a new shaft which
had lately been opened; he did not know Edgar had been told not to
go there. Oh, Janie, thank God your boy was not killed! He might
have been, indeed it was marvellous he was not. Fortunately his fall
was broken by a wide piece of timber which spanned the shaft, and
a man who was standing on the timber at work caught him, or he
would have rebounded and fallen to the bottom of the pit. I heard all
about it from another man who was at work in the same shaft. Come,
try not to cry any more, but pluck up your heart, for there is every
reason to hope that Edgar is not very seriously hurt. He will have the
best that human skill can do for him; and he is in God's care, dear
Janie, don't forget that."
Mrs. Marsh's tears continued to flow, but her brother's words

comforted her, and her face brightened as she remarked: "It was
very good of Cousin Becky to come to us in our trouble."
"Cousin Becky is very good and kind," Mr. Trent answered. "Directly
she heard of poor Edgar's accident she thought you would want help
and suggested offering her services to you. You were wise to accept
them, and I am sure she will be a great comfort to you."
Mrs. Marsh did indeed find Cousin Becky a great comfort to her in
the anxious days which followed, for, though it proved that Edgar had
not been dangerously injured, he had slight concussion of the brain
and required careful nursing. And, with the best intentions in the
world, his mother was very incapable in sickness, so that it was upon
Cousin Becky that most of the nursing fell. Cousin Becky was so
quiet and gentle in her ways, her voice was so soft and soothing that
it did not worry an aching head, and she was so unfailingly cheerful,
whilst her skirts never rustled, and her footsteps could scarcely be
heard. In short, she was a perfect nurse.
It was several days after his accident before Edgar was in a fit
condition to think of anything; but, with returning strength, he
remembered many matters to worry about, and he became very
troubled and unhappy. His father visited him every morning before
he went to business; but he never mentioned anything he thought
would distress his little son, so that no word had been said
concerning Edgar's disobedience in going to the clay works, and
there was still the mysterious disappearance of the Calais Noble to
be explained. His mother, too, though she spent hours by his
bedside daily now, would not permit him to talk on any unpleasant
subject, and stopped him with a kiss when he began to say that he
was sorry he had been disobedient and caused everyone so much
anxiety and trouble.
"Don't talk about it, darling," she said tenderly. "You were no more to
blame than Roger."
"It was not Roger's fault; mother," he told her earnestly, "I did not tell
him I had been forbidden to go to the clay pits. Roger must not be
blamed."
"Very well, dearie," Mrs. Marsh replied soothingly, "but don't think
about what is past. We want you to make haste and get well."
During the first few days of his illness Edgar had progressed very
favourably; but now the doctor was not so satisfied with him, and
was puzzled to account for his restless, feverish condition. Cousin
Becky, who was a very shrewd observer, thought the patient had
something on his mind, and one afternoon, when she was left alone

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(eBook PDF) Young Offenders and

Youth Justice: A Century After the Fact

Discussion/Critical Thinking Questions 100

CHAPTER 4: THE SOCIAL FACE OF YOUTH CRIME 101

CHAPTER 5: EXPLAINING CRIME AND DELINQUENCY: IN THE

Explaining the "Biological" Facts 141

CHAPTER 6: DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS IN THEORIZING ABOUT

Girls and Their Hormones 172

CHAPTER 7: FAMILY, SCHOOL, PEERS, AND THE YOUTH CRIME

CHAPTER 8: FIRST CONTACT: POLICE AND DIVERSIONARY

CHAPTER 9: GOING TO COURT 256

Legal Representation 277

CHAPTER 10: YOUTH CORRECTIONS: GOING TO JAIL 302

CHAPTER 11: PERPETUATING SOCIAL INJUSTICE 337

CHAPTER 12: A CENTURY AFTER THE FACT: WHAT DO WE

Rethinking Juvenile Justice 368

ABOUT THE TEXT

attempting to provide answers. Chapter 2 continues this historical framework with a

NEW IN TH IS FOURTH EDITION

IN-TEXT LEARNING AIDS

Chapter Objectives and Introductions

l(ey Terms, Running Glossary, and Glossary

Instructor's Manual/Test Bani<

Companion Website: www.bellyoungoffenders4e.nelson.com

lnfoTrac® College Edition

The Rise and Fall of Delinquency

THE PUBLIC ISSUE

Media and the Politics of Youth Crime

"Object?" Mrs. Trent echoed. "No, indeed, on the contrary—"

"Not so fast, my son," admonished Mr. Trent, "you speak as though

There was a ring of unconscious pathos in Mrs. Trent's voice, which

"It shall be as you will, but we shall be under a great obligation to

"I cannot tell you my friend's name, because—to be plain—she does

"Ah, that's a secret," Edgar informed her. He was very inquisitive

"How extraordinary!" exclaimed Mrs. Marsh, "And how very

"Very well," Mrs. Marsh answered, after a minute's reflection. "And I

Accordingly, that afternoon Mrs. Marsh repaired to her brother's

"I was going to do so in due course, my dear." Turning to her sister-

"I don't understand," said Mrs. Trent, in utter bewilderment. "Who do

"Hush, Polly," commanded her mother sternly. "Please explain your

"Where is the coin?" she asked at length, in a faltering tone.

"Father has it," Polly answered. "He is going to return it to Uncle

"Yes, he recognised it immediately," said Mrs. Trent.

"He will learn his mistake, my dear," Mrs. Trent responded

"I—I don't know what you mean," gasped Edgar.

"Not so much as you do," Roger replied significantly, with a ring of

"Found in my clothes!" cried Edgar, feeling more and more surprised

"Well, I will, if you'll promise to tell no more stories," Roger said

Edgar promised earnestly that he would speak no word which was

"I'm in a pretty bad fix," Edgar remarked dejectedly, at length,

Roger stared at his cousin with deepening amazement; then an

Roger made no response. He could not understand the spirit of

"Sure to," Roger replied; "you'll have to own up, now."

"Yes, I do," was the frank admission.

"You'd rather I didn't go with you to Lynn?"

"Then you won't ever be friendly with me again?" Edgar asked in

"I expect he'll be angrier now, won't he?" questioned Roger.

Edgar nodded, his eyes full of tears, a choking sensation in his

"Father says if we do anything wrong it's always right and much

Edgar hesitated. He was wishful to assent to the proposition, which

"Have we time? It is already half-past four."

"Let me go to him!" Roger implored. "Oh, poor, poor Edgar! He must