University Research Proposal: Youth Crime in Canadian Legal System

This research proposal delves into the multifaceted issue of youth crime in Canada, exploring its definition, historical context, and evolving nature within the Canadian legal system. The proposal outlines key research questions focusing on the characteristics of youth crime, its changing trends, and effective prevention strategies. It highlights the significance of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) and the role of the justice system in addressing juvenile delinquency. The research methodology includes the analysis of statistical data from sources like the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey and self-report surveys. It will also consider the differing offending rates between genders. Furthermore, the proposal aims to examine the impact of diversion programs and the evolution of the justice system's approach to youth crime over time, providing a comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Research Question...........................................................................................................................2
Proposal for the Thesis....................................................................................................................2
Summary Proposal...........................................................................................................................3
Reference.........................................................................................................................................4

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Introduction
Youth crime, often known as juvenile delinquency, can be described as the participation
of the young people in the illegal behavior. In Canada the juveniles committing crime were seen
as being treated similar to the adults until the enactment of the Juvenile Delinquents Act 1908
(Bell, 62-63). For this research, the researcher will be conducting a brief analysis on the youth
crimes in Canada and the measures for its prevention.
Research Question
This research would be focusing on the following questions:
 What is Youth crime?
 How the nature of youth crime has changed over time in Canada?
 What are the measures that can be taken for reducing the rate of youth crime in Canada?
Proposal for the Thesis
In the research paper, the researcher would be analyzing in detail the youth crime and its
prevention with the context to Canadian Legal System. Youth crime, often known as juvenile
delinquency, can be described as the participation of young people in illegal behavior (Allen &
Superle, 4). The rights of the juvenile delinquents can be seen as being present in the Criminal
Code of Canada and Youth Criminal Justice Act. In Canada one of the most popular beliefs for
the juvenile justice system is that it should be used for the reduction of the juvenile offences in

3RESEARCH PROPOSAL
the society (Goldson & Muncie, 13-14). There have been debates by people about how much the
trend of the youth crime or juvenile crime has changed over time. As per various studies it had
been found that the there is an unlikely chance for the nature of the juvenile delinquency to be
changing, however as per the statistics it can be seen that the approach of the justice system
towards the juveniles have changed significantly over time. Since the enactment of the YJCA
various diversion programs have been started by the police for the strategies of crime prevention.
Summary Proposal
For supporting my research, the researcher would be discussing in detail about the
following points:
 Statistical data for the measurement of the juvenile delinquency like the Uniform Crime
Reporting Survey, Statistics Canada
 Survey data about the experience of the Canadians being victimized over the course of
their lives
 Self-report surveys asking the youth about their behaviors and engagement in activities of
crime
 Difference in the offending rates between young girls and boys and the probable causes
 The trends of the nature of youth crime in Canada over time
 The role of the justice system in preventing juvenile delinquency.

4RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Reference
Allen, M. K., & Superle, T. (2016). Youth crime in Canada, 2014, 4.
Bell, S. J. (2015). Young Offenders and Youth Justice: A Century After the Fact (5th ed.).
Toronto: Nelson, 62-63.
Criminal Code of Canada, Retrieved from: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/
Goldson, B., & Muncie, J. (Eds.). (2015). Youth crime and justice. Sage, 13-14.
Juvenile Delinquents Act 1908, Retrieved from:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/corrections/about-us/
history/youth/1908
Youth Criminal Justice Act, Retrieved from:
https://www.laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/y-1.5/index.html