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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-09-02, Page 23• Entertainment • Feature *Religion • Family .More SECTION GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 413111.311.10. WILLIAM THOMAS Local professionals discuss the meritsand difficulties of the Act BY YVETTE ZANDBERGEN "I should take the gun, shoot my parents and sister, take some money, and get the car and just go out and live a free life." This is what a 15 -and -a -half year old boy from Bramp- ton said one month and a halfo prior to committing two counts of first degree murder. His mother returned from work one day, began yelling about him skipping school and grounded him for a month. The youth retaliated by going upstairs, getting a gun from his bedroom and shooting his mother twice in the head, killing her. He then went to his sister's bedroom and shot her 11 times, killing her. The youth then took his mother's purse and car and drove to a friend's at a -trailer camp near Collingwood. He stayed there the balance of the day and part of the next until ap- prehended by police. While there, he was with a friend and his parents. He had two guns in his mother's car, both of which he had taken from his father's collection. One gun was used to kill his sister and mother. This evidence was heard in a Brampton court on April 22, 1986. Crown Attorney Bob Morris explained what happened when they attempted to get the young offender into adult's court. The Crown Attorney asked the Provincial Court Judge to put the young offender in an adult court because of the severity of the crimes he committed. Following this, the accused -asked the Ontario Supreme Court Judge to put him back in the Young Offenders Court. The Provincial Court Judge agreed with the Ontario Court of Appeal that he should not be tried- in adult court. The Crown At- , torney argued this point and on June 23, three judges of the Supreme Court of Canada would not grant leave to appeal to the crown. For two counts of first degree murder, the young offender will probably spend three years in jail. According to Crown Attorney Bob Morris, if the young offender was an adult, he could be facing a life sentence with review of parole after 15 years in jail. CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE Goderich Police Chief Pat King said there has been changes in the Young Offenders Act in' recent years. The changes include banning the use -of the young offender's name in the press, an increase in the age of criminal responsibility from seven to 12 and the young offender's , police records, if they are to be sent to the Crown for use in court, must be destroyed two to five years afterwards, depending on the severity of the crime. If a young offender escapes from an. institution, no description or name can be released. "If one of the inmates from Bluewater Centre escapes custody and unless he is a threat to the community, we can't let the public know," he said, adding a description can be released if the young offender was charged with an act of violence, but permission from a judge is needed beforehand. Carl DeGrandis, superintendent of Bluewater Centre which deals with 16-18 years olds and is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Correctional Services, said the act has been altered and changes are ongoing on ' the provincial and federal levels adding the intent of the act is "sound" but improvements are needed. The act has accomplished many feats, said DeGrandis, and one of these include the separation of young offenders from adults. He said it is counter-productive toincarcerate children with adults and the Young Offenders Act has separated the two groups. The second feat was treat- ment and professional programs that help the young of- fender in his time of .need and this is not available in adult\ institutions. NUMBERS HAVE INCREASED According to Morris, there are more young offenders because of the age changes that took place with the Young Offenders Act. There are two groups of young of- fenders: the "juniors" who are under 16 years old and are sent to a Provincial Court (Family Division) and the senior offenders, 16 and 17 year olds who are sent to a Provincial Court (Criminal Division). Because it was decided to split the young offenders into two courts rather than creating a new court for them, there has been some argument. This was once challenged in Toronto with the basis of the argument being the juniors would receive more lenient treatment through a Family Court Judge than the seniors who are tried by a criminal court judge. "The decision said it was okay to have two courts," he said. Probation Officer Tom Ewer from the Ministry of Community and Social Services said in the Young Of- fenders Act, probation officers are referred to as "youth workers" and his job begins when a judge makes an order in court after the finding of guilt. Ewer deals with the junior young offenders. He said the flavour of the act has ,to be inconsistent since 12 to 15 year old offenders are sent to a Family Court Judge while the 16. and 17 year olds are dealt with in a criminal. court. "There seems to be a continuity loss," he said. He said there are too many delays in the judicial pro- cess. Some young offenders wait six months to a year after being charged before the case is disposed of. Keeping abreast of all the busines. Goderich Crown Attorney Bob Morris, left, feels the Young Offenders Act is well administered but said because many young offenders are not allowed in adult court, this presents a, problem. Gour,rich Police Chief Pat King, right, war and 17 year olds shot of the law and he also effective. ( photos by is changes made. He believes 16 o Id be treated as adults in the eyes. said probation is many times, not Yvette Zandbergen) "The impact is lost," he said. "In some cases, the delay could be harmful to the young offender." CHIEF KING WANTS CHANGES Chief King said 16 and 17-year-olds used to be treated as adults in the eyes of the law before the current act came into effect and they are now treated as young offenders. "That was -a wrong move," he said. "Fifteen year olds are far more street wise than they were years ago." He said he would like to see the age lowered back to 16 and criminal responsibility would include those under 12, while those over the age of 15 would be tried as • adults. Often, a young offender continues to commit crimes and is a nuisance to the community, but police are unable to reveal the name to the public, said King. A •repeat young offender is usually well known to other children in town and it appears nothing is happening to him, said King. He also said he believes a young of- fender's records should be treated the same as an adult's and sentencing should be revised. He said many times a young offens Jer gets too lenient a sentence. In many cases, pry )bation is not effective for the young offender. "If probation has 1't worked then this is the time the young offender shou Id be sent away." • ACT IS V VELL ADMINISTERED Morris said befor e September 1, 1986, the maximum sentence for an offer ice under the YOA was three years. Now, he could serve two consecutive three-year terms. He said the court ge nerally does not allow the young of- fender to be transfe rred to adult court and called this a "difficulty" in the act, adding they should change legislation to make -i this easier to accomplish. Morris said he bi:'lieves the Young Offenders Act is. "well administered '' and is designed for rehabilitating young offenders. T he young offenders are treated as people who need hi )lp and judges are sensitive to the needs of the young offender. According to Morris, the law has changed co ncerning young offenders on proba- tion who break cui -few. Previously, if a youth broke curfew, the police h ad no power to arrest him. Now the police ht ive the power to arrest and charge the young offender ' with a breach of his court order and he can be charge d immediately. He called this a "significant change because the police have more power. • • ACT IS COS') "Courts need to b, So many of them ar' He said the act is police officers car, transportation costs the detention home "The provincial change the policies spending that money currently they are n been found guilty ar Because they are money spent taking said this causes ove drawn away from tt DeGrandis said th prisoners at the cer facility." "We do not have t going to trial," he sz According to 1986 laid in Goderich and mitted by young offe of criminal charges LING TAXPAYERS MONEY e tougher on repeat young offenders. e making a mockery of the system." costing taxpayers money. Goderich mot claim for reimbursement of when they bring a young offender to in London. government has to take steps to at Bluewater Centre rather than for escorting," he said, adding that of allowed to house those who have id were remanded. not reimbursed for the time and a prisoner to London, Chief King rtime for the officers and they are ieir area of duty. ey do not allow the police to house etre because it is not a "detention he facility to house people who are tid. tatistics, 188 criminal charges were out of these, 33.4 per cent were com- nders. So far this year, 59.8 per cent laid were against young offenders. I am not a very good listener. I'm a adept at listening as John Turner is a telling jokes. I am particularly not good at listenin to my sister Gail who can turn a chanc meeting in the supermarket int something akin to the Winds of Wa without the benefit of commercia interruptions. At family headquarters in Fonthill, th "E.F. Hutton Reverse Rule" is always i play: "When Gail talks everybod walks." So it was last week when Gail called t update me on family business. M nephew°David's playing in the Minto Cu got us into the lunch hour and my niec Whiney's upcoming marriage took us in to early afternoon. A phone call from Gail is actually blessing because in person she bring photographs to support the narrative You know how the typical suburban hus band is. constantly dashing off to .Y meeting and backing over a bicycle or .; wagon - my brother-in-law has the sam rotten luck with slide projectors., So when Gails talks I tend to tune out. bailed out during a vivid description o the Red Dog Saloon in Juno, visited o their latest cruise to Alaska. I cut th lawn, cleaned the gutters and gave th tool shed one coat of primer and got bac just as Gail ended the conversation b telling me my mother was going into th hospital to have breast implants. I was shocked and momentaril disoriented. I mouthed the silent word "breast implants" as I hung up th.` receiver. I'm not sure Gail noticed m rudeness, a dial tone only causes her tr talk louder. My gawd; I thought to myself, bounc`., ing.off the walls and fighting back tears the 1980s - the decadent decade of me more, and mammary glands has caugh v. up to and consumed my own mother. Th carnival called cosmetic enhancemen has sold a ticket to the lovely and Iris Margaret McLean, the cuddly, mick fro County Cork. Where would she' get such an aerate'' idea? She hasn't even been getting ou that much these days. I wondered i ". cosmetic surgeons were now going door to -door in fiscal little Fonthill, the place where Yuppies go .to get their Volvo, christened. She had to be stopped. I phoned famil headquarters, truthfully told th operator it was an emergency and sh cut into a conversation of my sister tell' ing my other sister Joan in. Toronto abou The Red Dog Saloon and how you thro the peanut shells on the floor where the blend with the sawdust ... "1 gotta talk to Mom" I said curtly, "It's a matter of life and breadth." • When my mother came on the line was irrational. My brain buzzed with th image at the other end of the line of th smiling sweet face of my mothe Margaret above the ghost-like, gian chest of Jayne Mansfield. "Marg, listen to. me" I begged. "Do no have that surgery! It's all wrong! It's no you! You'll be 83 years old next month. For gawd sakes you don't need a pair o artificial fun bags to be happy in you golden years!" There was silence on that phone mayb for the first time since its installation. wasn't sure if I was winning or losing thi one. I closed my eyes to compose mysel and I saw my other sitting at the recep tion desk at radio station WKRP in Loni Anderson's body. My mother's words came down like final judgement, as if inspired by Judg Wapner himself: . "I am having the surgery. I am only' having one done. I am not 83 years old." She hung up. "ONE!" "Only one?" Oh no! My mother, a spritely 83 and o sound mind and strong heart was Iiavin a.single breast implant. As well as bein swept away by the "never let them se you sweat" generation, she had actuall developed a serious kink. I called right back. I got a differen operator to break in on Gail's conversa tion in which whe was telling the firs operator about the piano player and th large steins of Yukon beer they serve a The Red Dog Saloon. "It's an emergency. I've got to talk t my mother," I said. The first operator recognized m voice. "You must be very proud of you nephew getting a lacrosse scholarship t Ithaca" she said. "Please, this is urgent!" I said abrupt ly. Gail went and got my mother, I could see her walking toward th phone, half mother, half Dolly Parton. "Marg, listen to me. Please. You're no even seeing anybody right now. Wha good would they be? And what about bra ... do you have any idea what a 42-D cu costs these days?" "I'm going to have the surgery" sh said as resolutely as before, "and if yo tell anybody I'm 83 I'll tell everybody yo used to wet the bed." No idle threat when you consider.. didn't kick the habit until my second yea of college. Turn to page 2 Changes emphasize needs of of f sander The recent changes in the Young Of- fenders Act were made after careful plan- ning with consideration given to how the young offender is to be treated with em- phasis on their special needs and state of dependency. According to the Young Offenders Act, which is contained in Martin's Criminal Code, 1986-87, the Young Offenders policy goes as follows: While young persons should not in all in- stances be held accountable in the same manner or suffer the same consequences for their behaviour as adults, young per- sons who commit offences should nonetheless bear responsibility for their contraventions. Society must, although it has the respon- sibility to take reasonable measures to prevent criminal conduct by young per - sons, be afforded the necessary protection from illegal behaviour. Young persons who commit offences re- quire supervision, discipline and control, but, because of their state of dependency and level of development and maturity, they also have special needs and require guidance and assistance. Where it is not inconsistent with the pro- tection of society, taking no measures or taking measures other than judicial pro- ceedings under this Act sho . le con- sidered for dealing with young persons who have committed offences. Young persons have rights and freedoms in their own right, including those stated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or in the- Canadian Bill of Rights, and in particular a right to be heard in the course off, and to participate in, the processes that lead to decisions that affect them, and young persons should hay a special guarantees of their rights and free doms. Ir the application of this Act, the rights and freedoms of young persons include a righ t to the least possible interference with free dom that is consistent with the protec- tion of society, having regards to the needs of y oung persons and the interests of their fam ilies. Y, )ung persons have the right, in every inst .ance where they have rights or free . doms that may be affected by this Act, to be informed as to what those rights and free doms are. P arents have the responsibility for the can) and supervision of their children, and , for that reason, young persons should be removed from parental supervision eitl�, er partly or entirely only when metnsures that provide for continuing par ental supervision are inappropriate. t• 0 1