Browsing by Author "DeGusti, B."

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    Best Practices for Chronic/Persistent Youth Offenders
    (Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family., 2009-05-01) DeGusti, B.; MacRae, L.; Vallée, M.; Caputo, T.; Hornick, J.P.
    In 2006, the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family (CRILF) began work on the three-year project, A Study of Youth Offending, Serious Habitual Offenders, and System Response in Calgary. One objective of this study was to develop an understanding of the predictors of chronic and persistent youth offending, as well as a knowledge base of best practices in Canada and internationally for this population of youth offenders. With funding from the Alberta Law Foundation and the National Crime Prevention Centre, and in partnership with the Centre for Initiatives on Children, Youth and the Community, City of Calgary Community and Neighbourhood Services, and Calgary Police Service, CRILF researchers examined the literature on chronic and persistent youth offenders, and performed an environmental scan to assess what programs and strategies police agencies across Canada have in place to address this youth offending population. The objectives of this report are to: 1) understand the predictors of chronic and persistent youth offending; and 2) examine best practices used by police agencies across Canada for chronic and persistent youth offenders.
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    The Impact of the Youth Criminal Justice Act on Case Flow in Alberta and System Response in Calgary
    (Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family., 2008-09-02) DeGusti, B.
    Objectives of the Report Examine the flow of cases through the youth criminal justice system to understand the impact of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) in Alberta. Understand changes in the occupational practices and workload of police officers and probation officers working with offending youth in Calgary as a result of the new legislation.
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    The Impact of the Youth Criminal Justice Act on Case Flow in Alberta and System Response in Calgary
    (Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family., 2008-09-01) DeGusti, B.
    The purpose of this study is to examine how the implementation of the YCJA has affected the flow of cases through the youth justice system, and the impact of the new legislation on workload for frontline staff in the youth justice system (i.e., police officers, probation officers). To achieve this goal, two main research activities were undertaken. First, CRILF examined the flow of cases processed through the youth justice system in Alberta from 2001 through 2006. This examination provides information on whether the youth system is adhering to the principles of diversion, fair sentencing and the reduction of incarceration mandated in the YCJA. Second, focus groups with police officers were conducted to identify the use of extrajudicial measures that would not be captured in the youth crime and correctional statistics and the effect of the new legislation on their work and workload. Focus groups were also conducted with probation officers to obtain information on changes in their workload patterns and their opinions on the success of rehabilitation and reintegration since the implementation of the YCJA. Participants of the focus groups were further asked to assess the current legislation's effectiveness in achieving its objectives and to provide suggestions for improvement to the current youth criminal justice system.
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    The Impact of the Youth Criminal Justice Act on Case Flow in Alberta and System Response in Calgary Executive Summary
    (Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family., 2008-09-01) DeGusti, B.
    The purpose of this study is to examine how the implementation of the YCJA has affected the flow of cases through the youth justice system, and the impact of the new legislation on workload for frontline staff in the youth justice system (i.e., police officers, probation officers). To achieve this goal, two main research activities were undertaken. First, CRILF examined the flow of cases processed through the youth justice system in Alberta from 2001 through 2006. This examination provides information on whether the youth system is adhering to the principles of diversion, fair sentencing and the reduction of incarceration mandated in the YCJA. Second, focus groups with police officers were conducted to identify the use of extrajudicial measures that would not be captured in the youth crime and correctional statistics and the effect of the new legislation on their work and workload. Focus groups were also conducted with probation officers to obtain information on changes in their workload patterns and their opinions on the success of rehabilitation and reintegration since the implementation of the YCJA. Participants of the focus groups were further asked to assess the current legislation's effectiveness in achieving its objectives and to provide suggestions for improvement to the current youth criminal justice system.
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    An In-Depth Examination of School Investment and Extracurriular Activities by a Youth Offender Cohort
    (Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family., 2008-05-01) DeGusti, B.; MacRae, L.; Hornick, J.P.
    The findings from the first year of a study called “A Profile of Youth Offenders in Calgary: An Interim Report” conducted by CRILF in 2007 and released in 2008, examined youth offending trends in Calgary for 2006, compared the criminal histories of 42 Serious Habitual Offenders (SHOs) to a matched sample of 42 non-SHOs, and closely examined the profiles of 123 youth who had various levels of contact with the youth justice system. The results generated a number of further questions regarding school investment and leisure activities. Specifically, the objectives of this study are to: (1) Elaborate on why youth who are more seriously involved with the youth justice system demonstrate less investment in school than others. (2) Elaborate on why youth who are more seriously involved in the youth justice system are less likely to participate in family and extracurricular leisure activities than youth less involved with the justice system.
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    A Study of Youth Reoffending in Calgary
    (Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family, 2009-01) MacRae, L.D.; Bertrand, L.D.; Paetsch, J.J.; Hornick, J.P.; DeGusti, B.
    In 2006, the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family began work on a three-year study of youth offending in Calgary. One objective of the study was to develop a model for better understanding why some youth become more seriously involved in crime, while others do not. The first year of the study established a baseline for this model by developing profiles of youth offending in Calgary.1 With funding from the Alberta Law Foundation, and in partnership with City of Calgary Community and Neighbourhood Services and the Calgary Police Service, the purpose of current report is to use Calgary Police Service data to determine which of the 123 youth profiled in the original study sample went on to reoffend, and further, which factors differentiate repeat from non-repeat offenders. This report will contribute to the body of research on risk and protective factors for youth offending, and further assist the Calgary Police Service, City of Calgary Community and Neighbourhood Services, and other youth-serving agencies, as well as those who work in the youth justice field in general (i.e., judges, lawyers) in developing evidence-based prevention and intervention programs for youth offenders. The objectives of this report are to: Re-examine the files of the 123 youth in the study sample and determine how the study groups differed on individual, family, peer, school, and community factors; Identify factors that are related to youth reoffending; and Determine the factors that are most important in predicting which youth continued to reoffend from those who did not.