The Young Offenders Act was a 1984 act of the Parliament of Canada, now obsolete, that regulated the criminal prosecution of Canadian youths. The act was repealed in 2002 with the passing of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Parliament of Canada (French: Parlement du Canada) is Canadas legislative branch, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. ... The study of criminal justice traditionally revolves around three main components of the criminal justice system: police courts corrections Nowadays, it is sometimes argued that psychiatry is also a central part of the criminal justice system. ... For Youth, the record producer and musician in the band Killing Joke, see Martin Glover. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Youth Criminal Justice Act is a piece of Canadian legislation passed in 2002 that determines the way in which youths are prosecuted under Canadas criminal justice system. ...

The act established the national age of criminal responsibility at 12 years old, and said that youths can only be prosecuted if they break a law of the Criminal Code (previously, youths could be prosecuted or punished solely on the grounds that it was in the youth's "best interests"). A Criminal Code is a compilation of government laws that outline a nations criminal offenses, and the maximum and minimum punishments that courts can impose upon offenders when such crimes are committed. ...

The act also indicated that the rights established in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms apply to youths as well. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a constitutionally entrenched bill of rights which forms part of the Constitution of Canada adopted in 1982. ...

Controversy dogged the act for many years. Many felt that the act's limit on a three-year detention sentence for youths was overly lax, and allowed youths to get unreasonably light sentences for murder or sexual assault. This maximum was repeatedly increased, until 1996 it was extended to a maximum of 10 years. That same year a provision was also made to allow 16-year-olds to be tried as adults in certain cases. Critics ruled this was "too harsh," as it made youths possible victims of life sentences. This page deals with sexual assault as a medical emergency and gives information on how victims, first-aiders and medical personnel can respond. ... Life imprisonment is a term used for a particular kind of sentence of imprisonment. ...

Because of the vagueness of many parts of the legislation, under the Young Offenders Act, Canada's rate of youth incarceration became one of the highest in the Western world, surpassing the United States, Australia, and most of Europe. The term Western world can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ...

A section about the Juvenile Delinquents Act should be here. The Juvenile Delinquents Act of the Government of Canada was an Act passed in 1908 to deal with criminal acts of youths aged 7 to 16 (or 18, depending on jurisdiction). ...

Laws linked to YOA include:

• Canadian Criminal Code