Juvenile in Canada

Types of Prisons Juvenile Correctional Institutions

Introduction to Juvenile

In the United States and Canada, minors (individuals who have not reached the legal age of adulthood) are not sent to prisons with adults. Instead, they are housed in facilities known as juvenile correctional institutions. Most individuals incarcerated in such facilities are minors who have committed acts that would also be crimes if adults committed them-for example, theft, robbery, rape, and murder. These individuals are known as juvenile delinquents. Some institutions also house status offenders-that is, minors who have committed acts that would not be crimes if adults committed them, but which are prohibited to minors. Examples of such acts include running away from home, violating a curfew, and truancy (missing school).

In the United States, the federal government has no correctional institutions or judicial means for prosecuting and confining juveniles. However, juvenile correctional institutions exist in every U.S. state, and various local family and juvenile courts adjudicate juvenile offenses. Some states operate industrial schools or reform-oriented institutions that are designed to accommodate minors.

Similarly, Canada has no federal facilities for juveniles. Canadian juvenile offenders are maintained in territorial and provincial community facilities. Canadian provinces have Young Offender Centres, where staff members supervise youths between the ages of 12 and 17 in a variety of community-based programs.

Typically, judges avoid the option of incarceration as much as possible in cases involving juveniles, using it only after repeated offenses or in the case of serious and violent delinquents. Decisions by judges are highly individualized and depend upon each set of circumstances. Judges determine length of incarceration based on various factors, including the nature of the offense and the offender’s prior record. However, compared with adult offenders, juveniles spend shorter periods of time incarcerated. In most jurisdictions, juveniles must be released from confinement after they reach adulthood unless their delinquent offenses are accompanied by special circumstances, such as death or serious injury to victims.

Correctional institutions for juveniles may be secure or nonsecure. Secure institutions for juveniles are similar to prisons for adults. However, most juvenile institutions have dormitory-like atmospheres and individual rooms similar to those on college campuses. Officials lock juveniles up at night and require them to participate in various programs during daytime hours. These programs may include basic education, vocational and technical training, and counseling on an individual or group basis. Nonsecure settings may be camps or ranches where youths participate in supervised outdoor activities and learn various skills. See also Juvenile Crime.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

Information about Juvenile in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Juvenile

Law is our Passion

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This entry was last updated: August 24, 2014