Youth Charges in Alberta

In Alberta, a young person is defined as anyone who is at least 12 years old but under 18 at the time the offence was allegedly committed. Children under 12 cannot be charged with a criminal offence under Canadian law.

Youth can be charged with the same criminal offences as adults. For example, these offences can include assault, theft, drug possession, robbery, sexual offences, and more. The difference is not in what they are charged with, but in how the system processes and responds to those charges.

Youth criminal cases in Alberta are governed by the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), a federal statute that applies across Canada. The YCJA replaced the former Young Offenders Act in 2003 and establishes a separate legal framework designed specifically for young people.

The YCJA is built on several core principles. Youth sentences must be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence and the young person’s degree of responsibility. Rehabilitation and reintegration into society take priority over punishment. Meaningful consequences must hold young people accountable while respecting their reduced maturity. And the youth justice system must operate separately from the adult system, with its own procedures, sentencing options, and privacy protections.

One of the most important features of the YCJA is its emphasis on keeping young people out of the formal court system wherever appropriate. The Act provides alternatives to formal charges that allow police and prosecutors to address youth offending without going to court. These include police warnings, cautions, referrals to community programs, and formal extrajudicial sanctions where the young person completes conditions such as community service, counselling, or an apology letter in exchange for having the matter resolved without charges or a conviction.

Extrajudicial measures are not available for every case, and the seriousness of the offence plays a significant role. However, for minor and first-time offences, they offer a meaningful path that avoids the lasting impact of a criminal record.

If your child’s case does proceed through the court system, the process differs from the adult system in several important ways.

• Youth cases are heard in youth justice court, a division of the provincial Court of Alberta, The Alberta Court of Justice. The YCJA imposes a publication ban that prohibits the media and anyone else from publishing the name or identifying information of the young person, whether they are found guilty or not.
• Youth are entitled to have a parent or guardian notified of their arrest. The YCJA allows a parent/guardian and or lawyer to be present during police questioning. Statements taken from a young person without proper notification to a parent or without the young person understanding their rights may be ruled inadmissible.
• Bail considerations also differ. The YCJA emphasizes that detention before trial should be a last resort for young people. Alternatives such as release to a parent or responsible adult, supervision orders, or bail conditions are preferred.

For the most serious offences such as murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, or aggravated sexual assault, a young person aged 14 or older may receive an adult sentence under the YCJA if the Crown applies for one and the court determines it is appropriate. This is reserved for exceptional cases and involves a rigorous legal process. Even when an adult sentence is imposed on a youth, the publication ban on their identity typically remains in place unless the court orders otherwise.

Young people have the same Charter rights as adults when they are arrested, plus additional protections under the YCJA.

• Right to counsel. Your child has the right to speak with a lawyer before answering any police questions. Police must inform them of this right in language they can understand. They also have the right to have a parent, guardian, or other appropriate adult and a lawyer present during questioning.
• Right to remain silent. Your child is not required to answer police questions beyond providing basic identifying information. This right is critical and it is important that the young person exercise this right. Statements made to police without legal advice can be used as evidence.
• Right to parental notification. Police must make reasonable efforts to notify a parent or guardian as soon as possible after arrest. If your child is detained, they have the right to be held separately from adult detainees.
• Voluntariness of statements. For a young person’s statement to be admissible in court, police must demonstrate that the statement was made voluntarily, that the young person understood their rights, and that they were given a reasonable opportunity to consult with a lawyer and a parent or adult relative. Statements obtained in violation of these requirements can be challenged and excluded.
• If you learn that your child has been arrested, contact a youth criminal defence lawyer immediately. The decisions made in the hours following an arrest can significantly affect the outcome of the case.

If a young person is found guilty, the YCJA provides a range of sentencing options that are distinct from adult sentencing. The court must impose the least restrictive sentence that is appropriate in the circumstances and that holds the young person accountable.

• Reprimand. A formal warning from the judge with no further conditions or penalties. This is the least severe sentence available.
• Absolute or conditional discharge. The young person is found guilty but is not convicted. An absolute discharge carries no conditions, while a conditional discharge requires compliance with specific terms.
• Fine. A maximum fine of $1,000 may be imposed. Courts consider the young person’s ability to pay.
• Community service order. The young person must complete a specified number of hours of unpaid community work within a set timeframe.
• Probation. A probation order can last up to two years and may include conditions such as reporting to a probation officer, attending school, complying with a curfew, or participating in counselling or treatment programs.
• Intensive support and supervision order. A more structured form of community supervision with additional programming and monitoring requirements.
• Deferred custody and supervision order. Similar to a conditional sentence in the adult system, this allows a young person to serve what would otherwise be a custodial sentence in the community under strict conditions. A breach of conditions can result in the young person being placed in custody.
• Custody and supervision order. For serious offences, the court may sentence a young person to a period of custody followed by a period of community supervision. The custody portion is served in a youth facility, not an adult prison. The maximum youth sentence is generally three years, except for offences that would carry life imprisonment for an adult, where the maximum youth sentence is ten years (six years in custody plus four years of community supervision for first-degree murder).

One of the most significant differences between the youth and adult systems is how records are handled.

Under the YCJA, youth records are not permanent in the way adult criminal records are. A youth record becomes inaccessible after a set period following the completion of the sentence. The access period depends on the type of offence and disposition: for extrajudicial sanctions, the record becomes inaccessible two years after the young person completes the sanction. For summary convictions, the period is three years. For indictable offences, it is five years.

During the access period, the record is available to the courts, police, and certain authorized individuals, but it is not disclosed on standard criminal background checks used by employers. Once the access period expires and no further offences have been committed, the record is effectively sealed.

However, if a young person reoffends during the access period, the original youth record may remain accessible for longer. And if a young person receives an adult sentence, the record is treated as an adult record, with all the permanence that entails.

These protections exist because the YCJA recognizes that young people deserve the opportunity to leave their mistakes behind. Protecting your child’s record starts with mounting an effective defence from the very beginning.

The types of offences young people are most frequently charged with in Alberta include:

• theft and shoplifting,
• assault (including schoolyard fights and domestic situations),
• drug possession,
• mischief and property damage,
• uttering threats,
• break and enter,
• robbery,
• weapons-related offences.

Regardless of the specific charge, the legal process and the potential consequences are serious. Even offences that may seem minor can result in conditions that affect your child’s daily life, including curfews, no-contact orders, and restrictions on where they can go. More serious offences carry the possibility of custody (jail).