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Difference between revisions of "Criminal Offences under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (2:III)"
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Criminal Offences under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (2:III) (view source)
Revision as of 17:28, 18 August 2021
, 17:28, 18 August 2021→5. Mental Health Provisions
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Young persons who come into contact with the criminal justice system may suffer from mental health issues. The ''CC'' provisions regarding mental disorders apply to the ''YCJA'' except to the extent they are inconsistent with the ''YJCA'' (s 141). Section 34 of the ''YCJA'' allows the Court to take into account the mental health of a young person and order a report in certain circumstances. | Young persons who come into contact with the criminal justice system may suffer from mental health issues. The ''CC'' provisions regarding mental disorders apply to the ''YCJA'' except to the extent they are inconsistent with the ''YJCA'' (s 141). Section 34 of the ''YCJA'' allows the Court to take into account the mental health of a young person and order a report in certain circumstances. | ||
Pursuant to section 34, at any stage of the proceedings the Court may order an assessment of a young person by a qualified person who is required to report the results of the assessment in writing: | Pursuant to section 34, at any stage of the proceedings the Court may order an assessment of a young person by a qualified person who is required to report the results of the assessment in writing: | ||
<ol type="i"> | |||
<li>with the consent of the young person and the Crown, or</li> | |||
* | <li>on its own motion or on application of the young person or the Crown if the court believes a report is necessary and: | ||
* | *the Court has reasonable grounds to believe that the young person is suffering from a physical or mental illness or disorder, a psychological disorder, an emotional disturbance, a learning disability, or a mental disability, | ||
* | *the young person has a history indicating a pattern of offences, or | ||
*the young person is alleged to have committed a serious violent offence.</li> | |||
</ol> | |||
In practice, the threshold for meeting 34 (a) is broader than it appears. In R v. D.P. (6 July 2017), Vancouver 23695-2-C, 23664-1 (BC Youth Div) the Youth Division of the BC Provincial Court clarified that to order a report under s 34 (1) the court does not need to conclude or even suspect that the evaluation would indicate that a person has a “diagnosed condition”. Instead, 34(1) is satisfied if there is some indication that there is information relating to the young person’s medical condition that would assist the court in carrying out it’s purpose. | In practice, the threshold for meeting 34 (a) is broader than it appears. In R v. D.P. (6 July 2017), Vancouver 23695-2-C, 23664-1 (BC Youth Div) the Youth Division of the BC Provincial Court clarified that to order a report under s 34 (1) the court does not need to conclude or even suspect that the evaluation would indicate that a person has a “diagnosed condition”. Instead, 34(1) is satisfied if there is some indication that there is information relating to the young person’s medical condition that would assist the court in carrying out it’s purpose. | ||