University of SaskatchewanHARVEST
  • Login
  • Submit Your Work
  • About
    • About HARVEST
    • Guidelines
    • Browse
      • All of HARVEST
      • Communities & Collections
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
      • This Collection
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
    • My Account
      • Login
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
      View Item 
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item

      STREET CHECKS AND CANADIAN YOUTH: A CRITICAL LEGAL ANALYSIS

      Thumbnail
      View/Open
      ABBOTT-THESIS-2017.pdf (631.2Kb)
      Date
      2017-09-18
      Author
      Abbott, Christina M 1986-
      ORCID
      0000-0001-6438-0127
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
      Show full item record
      Abstract
      Street checks occur when (a) a police officer engages with an individual, (b) in circumstances where the police officer does not have sufficient grounds to detain the individual, (c) the police officer elicits information from that individual, and (d) the individual’s information is stored in a police database. Street checks recently became a topic of discussion in many legal debates and in newspaper articles across Canada. Some individuals argue that street checks are conducted in a discriminatory manner and raise concerns about the constitutionality of the practice. Others argue that street checks are an important investigative tool that contributes to public safety. Unfortunately, absent from most of these debates is a discussion about the impact of street checks on youth, who are heavily targeted by the practice. Stastistics reveal that young males from racial minority groups are disproportionately targeted for police stops, and the pattern is mirrored in street check data. Some of the harmful effects of disproportionately conducting street checks on young racialized males will be considered in my thesis. In my thesis, I analyze the constitutionality of street checks using the framework of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that are engaged by street checks include, but are not limited to, the right to not be arbitrarily detained, the right to silence, the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, and the right to counsel. The Youth Criminal Justice Act occasionally offers rights and protections that overlap with those offered by the Charter, for example, the right to silence and the right to counsel; however, the Youth Criminal Justice Act also extends beyond Charter protections, by restricting the use and retention of youth records and guaranteeing the right to enhanced procedural protections. Next, I discuss the Regulations that were passed in Ontario to govern street check practices, and I analyze whether the Regulations sufficiently address the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Youth Criminal Justice Act infringements. Ultimately, I conclude that concerns continue to exist regarding the constitutionality of street checks and that street checks involving young people should be banned. It does not appear that any Regulations or policies could be passed that would allow street checks to be conducted in a manner that complies with the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
      Degree
      Master of Laws (LL.M.)
      Department
      Law
      Program
      Law
      Supervisor
      Buhler, Sarah
      Committee
      Carter, Mark; Luther, Glen; Green, Ross
      Copyright Date
      October 2017
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/8098
      Subject
      street checks
      carding
      youth
      criminal
      law
      policing
      Collections
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      University of Saskatchewan

      University Library

      The University of Saskatchewan's main campus is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis.

      © University of Saskatchewan
      Contact Us | Disclaimer | Privacy