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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-08-26, Page 24GODER1CH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, Entertainment *Feature ® Religion *Family *More moommor SECTION Putting their lives back together Offenders try to get back into a society they feel failed them BY YVETTE ZANDBERGEN The Young Offenders Act has become a controversial subject • in today's society and is spark- ing opinions from those in the court system, law enforcement and the - young offenders themselves. The Young Offenders Act has drastical- ly changed the dispensation of justice and the rehabilitation of the young criminal. Some believe the act is a fair piece of legislation while others disagree and want changes made. Bill, a 17 -year old young offender, said society dealt him a 'raw deal. He commit- ted several crimes, the first at age 11, in- cluding criminal negligence five times, failure to remain at the scene and failure to report an accident, possession of over $1,000 worth of stolen goods, driving without a licence, and robbery, to get at- tention from his mother who was an alcoholic. MANY PROBLEMS BEGIN AT HOME Many young offenders problems begin with a family breakdown, said Probation Officer Tom Ewer from the Ministry of Community and Social Services,. Teenagers vent their emotions in the community or school and are unable to bring them under control. Bill ( not his real name) has served one year in Bluewater Centre, a maximum security facility for young offenders, and must serve another 20 months. His parents were divorced when he was young and he lived with his father until he was 11 and was well provided for. Then, he moved in with his mother. "This is when the trouble started," he said. "She didn't care what I did. She wash an alcoholic and that made it harder. I couldn't talk to her." There were also many -arguments that took place. Ewer said he sees a lot of non -caring attitudes from the young offenders he comes in contact with. ' ''In some cases they feel responsible for their parents separation and they are emotionally confused," he said. Bill started to hang around with his older brother who was into crime. He committed his crimes for attention and his mother was little support. "I never did it for money, I never need- ed' money," he said. Bill regrets most of his crimes and said he would never do them again. When he first came to Bluewater Cen- tre, he became depressed and tried to commit suicide. Now he is just waiting for the day he gets out. He said Bluewater Centre also helped him to con- trol his temper and he has the chance to attend school. "If I was on the street, I would not be going to school," he said. "It helps you deal with life in general." .Carl DeGrandis, superintendent of Bluewater Centre, said programs at the centre lead to some kind of introspection among the residents. . Along with social and educational train- ing, medical situations are also dealt with from a psychological or psychiatric angle, with help groups such as anger control or drug and alcohol abuse offered to residents. Although it is too early to'have an ac- curate estimation on the cost of housing one young offender, he estimated the cost at $55,000 to $60,000 a year. According to DeGrandis, the young offender is dealt with on an individual basis and counsell- ing is done to explore why he became in- volved in crime. Bill said Bluewater is strict enough but has one complaint. "There are certain people in for dif- ferent crimes and there is not enough staff to help out with problems." They need more time to deal on a one to one basis with a person." Chris, another young offender at Bluewater Centre who is in for a number of break and enters and thefts of car stereos, said the centre helps you get ready to get back on the street by giving encouragement and by helping unders- tand problems more clearly. PEER GROUPS REINFORCE Probation Officer Tom Ewer (top left) comes in contact with many young of- fenders and Carl DeGrandis, right, superintendent for Bluewater Centre, a maximum security facility for young of- fenders, also deals with them on a daily basis.( photos by Yvette Zandbergen) he was 11 years old and has been in Bluewater Centre for eight months. He started his crimes with an autobody shop break-in and from there it went downhill. Chris began getting into drugs at 12, mostly marijuana, hashish and in later years, LSD. When Chris was 15, he got picked up by police and spent six months in juvenile secure custody for breaking into a Canadian Tire warehouse store. He broke into the store because he thought it would be' "fun." Chris attributed his 'involvement in crime to boredom and sometimes lack of money. "I didn't like hanging around people my own age so I always hung around with people older, thinking they are older so they know more, and look how I ended u According to Ewer, in many cases, a youth will find a peer group attractive because they want to be accepted. "The peer group may reinforce the ir- responsible beh'aviour already developed," he said. According to Ewer loyalty is strong in a peer group and there is "bravery in numbers." The school environment is sometimes the first place young offenders act out• their emotions because in many cases, they can get away. with it. According to Ewer, because the youth may have the non -caring attitude, this may lead him to experiment with drugs and alcohol„ as in Chris' case. Chris said his family plays no part in the crimes he committed and described his childhood as being "funny." His mother was a minister of a Pentecostal church and Chris "couldn't get into that." His friends didn't encourage or pressure him but they when they were going out to commit a crime, he would ask to go with them. Before he did a break and enter, there was one thought in his mind. "You keep on walking until everything' looks clear and it takes 10 to 15 minutes to go in and out. You never think of police, you just concentrate on what you want to do." Chris used to pick houses randomly by knocking on the door to see if someone was home and sometimes looked in the window to check out the merchandise to see if the house was worthwhile. He said one week after the crime, you might feel regret. "Every once in a while you think it's not worth it but you've done it now and you can't give the stuff back. You think of it because you are paranoid." When asked about authority, Chris said he always listened to his mother. There were a -few times when he would be away from home for three months at a time. He said his view of the police has changed. "I used to say 'Screw them!', and that no one can tell me what to do except my mother," he said. "Now I still say `Screw them,' but I realize they have to do their jobs and it's my fault that I got caught, not theirs." FUTURE PLANS . Both Bill and Chris said if they had the chance to do things over again, they would. Chris said instead of break and enters, he would be doing a lot better in school and be working, while Bill would have stayed in school and would have lik- ed to live with his current foster parents earlier. Chris still has doubts about the future and the plaguing fear that the law is playing with him "like a doll on a string." When they leave Bluewater Centre, Bill plans on becoming a welder in his father's company and Chris plans on get- ting his Grade 12 or 13 and working part time. As,.a long-term goal, he has given thought to becoming a psychologist to people his age. The Young Offenders Act helps youths like Bill and Chris get on with their lives' and according to DeGrandis, the young offender does not have to carry the burden.of his criminal past for the rest of his life. "They are able to become useful citizens," he said'. "They shouldn't have to carry the stigma of their youth ac- tivities throughout their entire lives." Goderich Police Chief Pat King disagrees with him on this point. He call- ed this part of the act "discriminatory," explaining if a young offender and an adult commit the same crime, they do not get the same treatment. The adult gets a criminal record and his name can be published while the young offender gets neither. "They should not have the anonymity they get." Bluewater Centre has been opened since August, 1985. Currently, there are 100 residents with the capacity for 108. After renovations are completed, which DeGrandis predicted will be in 15 mon- ths, the maximum capacity will be 130 people. He predicts when renovations are completed, Bluewater Centre can become a leader in programs for young offenders. This has been the first part in a two- part feature on the Young Offenders Act on a local angle. Next week, interviews with Crown Attorney Bob Morris and Goderich Police Chief Pat King will be featured with their conflicting opinions on the act. WILLIAM THOMAS Offenders Act brought overdue reform The Young Offenders Act carne into force on April 2, 1984 and replaced the Juvenile Delinquents Act which was an act which began in 1929. Many needed changes were made. According to resources from the Goderich Public Library, the Juvenile Delinquents Act stated that "every juvenile deliquent shall be treated, not his a criminal, but as a misdirected and misguided child, and one needing aid, encouragement, help and assistance." To accomplish this, the child was shielded from publicity, has a special kind of hearing in a particular kind of court and is dealt with as someone needing treatment rather than punish- ment. In 1972, the Canadian Criminology and Correction Association presented a brief with a number of'recom- mendations pertaining to the Juvenile Delinquents Act. Included was a recommendation that only children and youths charged with more serious offences be dealt through juvenile court. On July 7, 1982, Parliament enacted the Young Of- fenders Act, which came into effect two years later. This brought about a long overdue reform of Canada's juvenile justice system. Under the Juvenile Delinquents Act, a juvenile who contravened any federal, provincial dor municipal laws was tried, convicted and sentenced. The system that evolved under the Juvenile Delinquents Act permitted many injustices including different age limits for juveniles from province to province, informal eourt proceedings, the criminalizing of young persons for acts and behaviour that were not illegal for adults, the subjecting of the young offender to indeterminate sentences that were not always related to seriousness of , offence and an arbitrary review process whereby the young offender could be brought back to court at any time until he reached 21 to have new sentences imposed. The Young Offenders Act changed all this. The main theme of the act is although young persons should be held responsible for their behaviour, they nevertheless have special needs which demand a lesser standard of accoun- tability than that imposed on adults. But at the same time, they should have the same right to fair and equal treat- ment before the law as adults. Dispositions or sentences too are related to the needs and circumstances of the young offender. If a young per- son is found guilty of an offence, the court may impose a variety of sentences including an absolute discharge, a fine (not exceeding $1,000), an order to pay compensation to the victim such as a personal service or an order to per- form community service. Other sentences could include placement of the young offender on probation for up to two years and for certain cases, three years or placement of a young offender in custody for a period of up to two years or for certain serious offences, three years. J+, 4 Arm wrestling. Are you pulling my leg? All you ever hear about Sherkston Beaches is a drowning in the quarry or that a rock musician slipped his leash and bit a fan but as I walked the grounds on a Saturday past, I was most impress- ed by this lakeside camp town. It's huge and cavernous, combining deep-set quar- ries suitable for sailing with wooded hollows and hilly sand dunes. Management has wisely segregated the campers — new wave people on the roadside where ghetto blasters and emp- ty beer bottles adorn the picnic tables and the old guard on the lakeside where only the mildest of oaths is uttered after an ace gets trumped. The campsites along the lakeside are more attractive and neater than most summer cottages. Some have flower gardens, bricked driveways and patios; all have screened dining nooks and a pen- chant for cleanliness. Along the sandy shoreline a dozen brightly -coloured Hobie" Cats await ,a wind, overhead a parasailer creates his own behind a purr- ing outboard motor boat. It's quite the casual summer hamlet, Sherkston is, and there are even a few Canadian campers too. But I was not there to sop up the scenery or even have fun, I was there to spectate at the International Armwrestl- ing Championships and root for the home town favorite, the queen of quick falls, the lady with the long arm and the short fuse — Anne "Two Tall" Topa! Wild cheering and shrill whistles followed Anne all day as 14 hangers-on, all dress- ed in blue. and red T- shirts emblazoned "Anne's Fans" — and all candidates for psychological overhauls - stalked their heroine relentlessly. Anne is one lean, competitively mean lady. She's also my banker. Really. Years of rifling through dollar bills at the teller's window have given her an arm of steel and a deadly rotating wrist. It's also given her lower back problems but hey, she's not a back wrestler is she? I asked Anne how she got started in arm wrestling. "It was eight years ago in the Reeb House in Gasline" she answered like a true pro reflecting on humble beginnings. "You've—been wrestling for eight years?" I repeated rather incredulously. "No, just once... eight years ago... at the' Reeb House." When you're good, I guess you know how to pick your spots. "What made you enter that match at the Reeb House?" "My husband." "Your husband?" - "Yeah, there was a men's event and a women's event. He wanted a trophy. He knew he couldn't win with the men but he figured I could beat the women that were there... so he entered my name in• the draw." Behind every successful woman is a conniving husband with a hole in his trophy case. So here she was eight years later, the idol of a group of fanatical supporters who looked like they cried real tears the day Laverne and Shirley got cancelled. Anne stood out from the other com- petitors in that for the most part, she looks normal. Arm wrestlers range from the very weird to the chronically odd. First of all, they are lopsided, their right arms being twice as large as their left arms. Secondly, they all walk around wearing the right sleeve of a wool sweater. To the uninitiated, your first glimpse at an arm wrestling match is like sitting in the front row at a broken arm convention, Everybody's wearing one wool sleeve. It looks like the end result of a sheep shortage in the Outer Hebrides. When you see a person walking down the street wearing a sweater with the right sleeve missing, you can bet it's the spouse of an arm wrestler. Arm wrestlers have tatoos but no necks, they wear cut-off sweat shirts and earrings. The short ones stand on elevated shoes. Arm wrestling is a great spectator sport for four people — the two opponents and the two referees in striped jerseys who huddle so close nobody can possibly see an arm being wrestled. A match lasts about 3 seconds — somebody says "GO!" you hear a grunt, the announcer says "WOW " and two guys walk off the stage to a smattering applause from a crowd who doesn't know who won and frankly couldn't give a fig. It's a lot like standing in a bathroom in Hamilton for three days looking at a hole in the floor except in arm wrestling when it's all over, you don't end up with a dead snake. This. particular event, the Interna- tional Open Arm Wrestling Champidn- ship was so poorly organized and so bad- ly run once it did get going that I couldn't help but feel the cool capricious hand of the federal government ip there somewhere. But no, Molson's was the sponsor. The competitors came from as far away as Fairfax, Virginia, and Win- nipeg, Manitoba to register at 9 a.m. and sit around doing nothing all day. One couple drove half the night from Pennsylvania to be there for 9 a.m. and he didn't take the stage until 2:15 in the Turn to page 2