Juvenile Delinquent's Act (JDA)

• How many interrations of the Juvenile Delinquents Act have there been?

  There have been three interrations of the Juvenile Delinquents Act.
• What were the first Juvenile Delinquents Act (JDA) (1908 - 1984)

  • "Every juvenile delinquent shall be treated, not as a criminal, but as a misdirected and misguided child."
  • Established a separate justice system for youth, including youth courts, and youth probation – encouraged parental involvement.
  • Children in trouble with the law were charged with "delinquency" rather than specific statutes.
• What was the definition of delinquency under the Juvenile Delinquents Act (JDA) (1908 - 1984)?

  The definition of delinquency included:

  • "Sexual immorality or any similar form of vice."
  • Truancy
  • Could also be applied to children who were neglected, abused, or uncontrollable.
  • Minimum age to be charged: seven years old.
• What were the statutes the follow the JDA and during what years were they?

  Statutes that followed the JDA are:

  • The Young Offenders Act (YOA) (1984 - 2003)
  • The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) (2003 - present)
• What are some other things the Juvenile Delinquent's Act (JDA) was able to do?

  The Juvenile Delinquent's act:

  • Granted youth court judges a "parens patriae" (a pseudo-parental role)
  • Judges directed to focus on rehabilitation, not on dispensing punishment. They had discretion when deciding outcomes.
  • Possible outcomes for delinquents: foster care, fines, institutionalisation.
  • Juvenile Courts Committees made up of probation officers and volunteers established to assist judges with sentencing.
  • Children under 12 were only supposed to be institutionalised when no other options were available.