CHANGES IN POLICE CHARGING OF YOUNG OFFENDERS IN ONTARIO AND SASKATCHEWAN AFTER 1984

This paper uses data for Ontario and Saskatchewan to test the hypothes is proposed by Carrington and Moyer (1994) that the reduction in polic e diversion of young offenders in Canada during the first 5 years of t he Young Offenders Act - that is, the increase in the proportion of ap prehended young offenders who were charged - was due to higher proport ions charged among the 16- and 17-year-olds added to the jurisdiction of the youth justice system in the majority of provinces and territori es. Analysis of age-specific data on charging of young offenders in th ese two provinces in 1995 suggests that the addition of 16- and 17-yea r-olds accounts for about half of the observed increase in police char ging of young offenders after 1984, and that the other half is due to increased charging of 12- to 15-year-olds.