Punishing youth crime in Canada

The Government of Canada, in its 2003 changes in the law governing young offenders, managed to appear to be ‘tough on crime’ while, at the same time, attempting to reduce the use of the formal youth justice system. This was accomplished by focusing public statements on tough, symbolic measures that had little impact on the manner in which young offenders were punished while at the same time promoting, in its legislation, attempts to reduce the rates of formal processing and of incarceration of young people. It is understandable, then, that some critics, including academics, who focused on public statements described Canada's new youth law as being unnecessarily harsh. We suggest, on the basis of an analysis of the law and of its administration – including comprehensive sentencing data showing no real increase in punitiveness over the past decade or so – that the law as written and administered is quite different from the way in which it has been described in this journal and in the Canadian mass media. In this way, the Government of Canada was able to have its cake and eat it, too.