Youth Court Action Planning Plan (YCAPP)

Introduction

The purpose of this report is to provide the courts and judges in the matter of Martin A. case an overview and critical analysis of his case through the evaluation process of Youth Court Action Planning Plan (YCAPP). Before discussing Martin A., it is a good idea to understand the roles and functions of the YCAPP. Over the course of history, the Canadian legal system has always struggled with successfully dealing with youth offenders until the introduction of youth criminal justice act in 2003. Youth criminal justice act has reduced the number of cases, charges, and convictions against the youth hence resulting in a much more efficient way to deal with youth crime across the country (Department of justice, 2017). A vital component

was a simple argument between his father and their neighbour which resulted in Martin A getting charged for Mischief under $5000.00 by Toronto police. Mischief often refers any person interfering with property, or just plain causing a disturbance by displaying reckless behaviour. While the police were investigating the argument, Martin assumed they were siding with their neighbour and neglecting his father's part of the story. Hence making Martin angry and he began to harass the police officer to show his frustration. Shortly after Martin started his deviant behaviour, he was warned by the police officer to stop his disrespectful antics. However, he still continued, and the officer was forced to arrest him and charge him for mischief under $5000.00. If convicted Martin A. could be sentenced to either an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a summary conviction. (Mischief, n.d.). Following the incident, Martin A. was referred to YCAPP by the duty counsel for a pre-release/ bail plan on conditions that he would develop a plan to be released into the community on bail. The YCAPP representative Irene Marynowicz met up with Martin to discuss how YCAPP can assist him in dealing with the justice system. She explained to Martin that the YCAPP is a completely voluntary program and after Martins consent, she proceeded to develop a plan for Martin to achieve his goals and conditions set by the

He stems from a relatively stable family but unfortunately struggles with many external factors that could explain his deviant behaviour. He is a reasonably good child with no past criminal history or contact with the police before this incident. However, He does have his moments of rebellious behaviour towards his father and his family. His father described him as being a rebellious youth at home when compared to his brother and sister, he often failed to obeyed house rules and acted in a manner which was both unacceptable and disrespectful. To further add to his bad behaviour he was heavily influenced by his peers. His father also stated that he was far more focused on his friends around his neighbourhood as opposed to his studies. In summary, Martin was severely affected by his external factors such as his family disagreement, peers, and community influence had a considerable impact in shaping his current attitude towards law an