-What is the YCJA

- Explain the new "balance" in the act

The YCJA is the Youth Criminal Justice Act. It is a justice system designed for people from age 12 to 17. This Act started in 2003. A child under the age of 12 CANNOT be charged for their crimes. The focus of the YCJA is rehabilitation. Not to necessarily to punish but to help change.

The new "balance" is about gangs vs. first offenders. Gangs would have a much greater sentence than a first offender. You wouldnt send someone who made a mistake because they werent in their right of mind to jail for vandalism. They would maybe get a comunity service sentence and have to apologize to the person who's property got defaced. But if a gang vandilized for not the first time the sentence would get greater and greater for each time they commited the crime.