Youth In Trouble With The Law

Programs and Services for Young People in Trouble with the Law

The New Brunswick Department of Public Safety currently oversees a number of community based and institutional programs and services to help youth within the province who have come into conflict with the law.

Extra Judicial Sanctions Program
Fine Option Program
Probation
Community Service Orders
Intensive Support Program
Young Offenders in Open Custody
Secure Custody: New Brunswick Youth Centre
Cassidy Lake (Portage)

Extra Judicial Sanctions Program

The Extra Judicial Sanctions Program diverts youth from the formal criminal justice system and allows them to take responsibility for their actions in the community. Only non-violent, low-risk young persons who accept responsibility for their crimes are eligible for the program. Police and/or the courts will also consider the type and seriousness of the offence, the views of the victim(s), the attitude of the young person toward the offence and the victim, and the young person’s previous involvement, if any, in the criminal justice system. The program offers youth constructive ways of building positive connections with their communities. Youth are given the chance to acknowledge and repair the damage they have caused, thereby avoiding a criminal record.

Fine Option Program

When a youth offender has been sentenced to pay a fine, but they do not have the money or resources to do so, they can sometimes participate in the Fine Option Program. This program allows the offender to provide services to non-profit organizations in lieu of the fine that they were unable to pay.

Probation

Probation is an order made by the court that allows a young person to serve their sentence while they remain in the community. Usually special conditions are imposed on the young person, such as a curfew or a prohibition on activities like driving or drinking alcohol. Sometimes these conditions require that the young person attends school or completes a program meant to help them deal with issues such as anger management. In order to make a probation order, a court may need to review a pre-sentencing report on the youth’s character, family involvement, peer group, employment, education and any other information that helps the court arrive at a decision on sentencing. Probation can last for up to three years.

In 2010, there were 408 youths admitted to the probation program in New Brunswick. The number of youth in probation remained relatively stable during the previous five years.

Community Service Orders

Community Service Orders direct youth offenders to work with volunteer groups on community projects, to work with seniors’ groups or the disabled, or to provide services to victims of crime, such as repairing vandalized property. The aim of a Community Service Order is to encourage responsibility and accountability in the youth offender and as such, the youth must be willing to participate in the program. The work that is done by the offender helps to repay their debt to their community and also gives offenders the opportunity to develop new skills, interests and activities.

Intensive Support Program

Participation in an Intensive Support Program is an alternative to custody. The focus of the Program is on youth who are likely to be sentenced to prison time, have a high risk of re-offending, and are motivated to participate in the program with the support of their family. A team of facilitators assesses the factors in the young person’s life that have contributed to his or her offending behaviour, and use innovative intervention techniques to deliver high quality intensive services focusing on the young person and his or her family.

Young Offenders in Open Custody

This program is offered jointly by the Departments of Public Safety and Social Development. It provides residential case management services for youth in open custody. Specially designated foster homes and group homes are used as open custody facilities.

Secure Custody: New Brunswick Youth Centre

The New Brunswick Youth Centre is a secure custody facility whose philosophy is to provide a safe and secure environment that fosters both personal growth and development. The Therapeutic Community (TC) offers a safe environment where youth have the opportunity to come to terms with their past in a positive peer setting involving other youth and staff. Through the therapeutic community approach the aim is to encourage youth toward a better understanding of their previous behaviour and to enable them to improve their interpersonal functioning, first within the therapeutic setting and, ultimately, in the wider community.

Cassidy Lake (Portage)

Portage, which is located at Cassidy Lake, Norton, New Brunswick, is a therapeutic community offering substance abuse treatment for youth.  It provides 35 treatment beds, 15 of which are contracted by the Department of Public Safety for young offenders in need of addiction treatment.  The remaining 20 beds are available to the Department of Health. The Portage program encourages discipline and development of self-esteem based on accepting accountability for one’s behaviour.