Criminal Justice System

AN INTRODUCTION
Objectives
o To understand how citizens and organizations
participate in Canada's justice system (ie. Jury duty,
knowing the law, advocacy...)
o To understand the legal roles and responsibilities of
citizens
o To inquire about the intention of the Youth Criminal
Justice System
In groups of 3, answer these questions:

What is justice?

What are the elements of justice?

Why do we punish offenders?

What do we hope to accomplish by punishing them?

What factors affect the way we punish offenders?

 You Be The Judge

As a group, decide what

should happen in this case.
At 2:00 AM, a person breaks into a house by breaking
the glass window in the basement and climbing inside.
The burglar goes up to the second floor and takes
about $300.00 of cash from one bedroom and a
Nintendo 3DS from another bedroom. The burglar
also takes cans of pop, chips and cookies from the
kitchen. Unknown to the burglar, a silent alarm has
been tripped. The police arrive and arrest the burglar
exiting the front door of the house.
What should happen to the burglar and why?
New fact:
The burglar knew where the money and goods were
in the house because the people who live in the
house are friends of the burglar, who also knew that
they would be away that night.

Is there any change in what should happen? Why?

New fact:
The burglar is a 16-year-old girl.

Is there any change in what should happen? Why?

New fact:
The burglar is pregnant.

Is there any change in what should happen? Why?

New fact:
The burglar was kicked out of her home because of
her pregnancy, was going to run away, but had no
money and was hungry. The 3DS games she took
were ones that both she and her friend loved.
Is there any change in what should happen? Why?
 In your opinion…
 Should youth be judged differently than adults?
Why or why not?
 What do we hope to accomplish by punishing
offenders?
 What factors affect the way people are
punished?
 Chapter 2: Question of Inquiry
To what extent is the justice system fair
and equitable for youth?

What does fair and equitable mean?

The Youth Criminal Justice System