Joseph Lonsdale was waiting for the bus in Langley when he was set upon by a group of youths.
One of them, a 15-year-old boy, took a skateboard to Lonsdale’s head, crushing his nasal cavity and fracturing his skull.
Lonsdale, who eventually came out of a coma after the attack, carries with him 32 metal staples in his head.
A week earlier, also in Langley, a car fatally struck a 53-year-old man, allegedly after a street fight with an 18-year-old. The teen has been charged with one count of manslaughter.
In Richmond, five teens from various high schools are facing charges of extortion and assault after a student alleged he was beaten and threatened for money by his peers.
At Surrey’s Bear Creek Park last October, two elderly Indo-Canadians were assaulted by about six youths in an attack reminiscent of a pair of beating deaths in the same park in 2005.
Hardly a day goes by now without violent youth crime dominating the headlines.
The latest case involves the murder of the 14-year-old daughter of two police officers in Toronto. The suspects are both teens.
Contrary to what some number crunchers will have you believe, violence perpetrated by and among youth in Canada is on the rise.
It is not only the numbers, but also the degree of violence that has increased over the past decades.
While we can look at a myriad of causes behind the rise of youth crime, there are two that are primarily responsible for the teen violence.
One is bad parenting. And there is little we can do about this — unless we begin to penalize mom and dad for Jimmy’s wayward ways.
The second, which we can do something about, is our inept Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA).
The YCJA tends to treat teens that steal cars, rob stores, attack others, deal drugs or kill with a soft touch not available for those over 18.
Many of the young offenders charged under the YCJA are given laughable penalties, despite their repeat status.
Judges and defence lawyers argue about rehabilitation for the young criminals while these teens laugh at the joke called the YCJA.
You can watch this cinema of the absurd at any youth court in Canada.
Canada’s youth crime law today is actually a cushion against consequences for deviant behavior by our young.
This year the public outcry against youth crime will push politicians to reform the YCJA.
Parliament is expected to vote in 2008 on legislation to radically toughen the Youth Criminal Justice Act by increasing sentences for serious youth crimes and making it easier for judges to keep young people locked up before their trials if they are considered a risk to public safety.
This vote needs to pass to show our criminally young that they will pay and pay dearly for their delinquency.
It will also provide our young with a better chance at rehabilitation.
The Asian Pacific Post
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