Longer sentences for youths will do more harm: expert

CHRIS COBB
Postmedia News

Increasing jail terms for young offenders will have no impact on their behaviour and will likely make it more difficult to re-integrate them into society, a specialist in youth crime told the allparty House of Commons justice and human rights committee Tuesday.

“Young people committing offences are not considering the longterm consequences,” said Queen’s University professor Nicholas Bala, who is critical of proposals in the Conservative government’s proposed omnibus crime legislation that would provide for longer sentences and more pretrial custody for certain crimes.

Experience in many countries, especially the United States, shows more punitive laws, including sentencing young people as adults, is both expensive and ineffective, said Bala, one of Canada’s foremost experts in youth crime.

“This is a step on the wrong direction,” he told MPs. “It will mean an increase in costs and delays without any increase in public safety.”

In response to questions from committee members about new provisions in the safe streets and communities bill that would allow courts increased leeway in making the names of young offenders public, Bala said there is research from several countries, including the United States, showing publicizing names often hurts offender’s families more than the offender.

“A young person will pick up a newspaper and say ‘See I’m a tough guy.’ A politician might be embarrassed being identified with a crime, but young people are not. It sounds like a good idea to publish names, but it doesn’t make society safer.”

After the hearing, Bala said in an interview that adult sentences are already available under existing law.

“There are young people who commit horrendous crimes and merit life sentences,” he said, “but it isn’t though they don’t happen now. There are some changes that are needed but the question is how far do you go? I worry that some of the provisions will be both counter-productive and expensive.”