What Happens if My Friend Shoplifts?

Camilla’s high school is a ten-minute walk away from a mall so her and her friends usually go there during their lunch period.  In their most recent visit to the mall, Camilla and her friends go into a make up store because they want to buy the newest shade of nail polish.  While most of them grab a bottle and head to the checkout to pay, one of her friends, Natalie, says, “I’m just going to keep looking around.  I forgot my debit card so I’ll probably come back this weekend.”

Camilla is first in line at the checkout so when she is done paying for her nail polish, she goes to look for Natalie.  From a distance Camilla notices that Natalie is still in the aisle with the nail polish.  She continues to walk toward her and notices Natalie grab a bottle of the  nail polish off the shelf, throw it in her purse and then head in the opposite direction.

Camilla is shocked and doesn’t know what to do; she asks Natalie what she is doing. Natalie replies with a smile and tells Camilla “I’ll grab one for you too, act natural“. Camilla doesn’t want her to friend to be mad at her so she does as told.  One by one her friends finish cashing out and join her, then they all leave the store and head back to school since their lunch period is almost over.

http://postmediaottawacitizen.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/shoplift.jpg

 WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF NATALIE IS CAUGHT?

If Natalie is caught shoplifting the nail polish, the store security may try to have her sign a document regarding the situation that asks her to take full responsibility for the incident and pay all of the related security costs. She does not have to sign this document but even if she does, she is not required to make the payment claimed.  The security may also keep her at the store until the police arrive but they must call the police within a reasonable time.

In Ontario law, you are responsible to compensate someone if you caused them harm by stealing things that belong to them or by trespassing on their property. However, if Natalie returns the nail polish that she stole, the stole will have lost no money as the shoplifted items have been recovered.

The store may also send a Civil Recovery Demand Letter. Stores often send these demand letters to people who have been caught shoplifting in their stores,or to parents of young people who have also been caught. These letters are often signed by a lawyer and demand payment of amounts in the range of $300.00 to $475.00 to a collection agency, called "Civil Recovery" claiming the security costs of detecting shoplifters in their stores. The letters sometimes suggest that if you don't pay by a certain date the amounts will increase.  If you do not pay, the store might also start a lawsuit.

It is important to know that Natalie and Natalie's parents do not have to pay the amount in the letter. It is simply a threat that cannot be enforced unless it is found to be a valid debt in Small Claims Court. Her family does not need to worry unless they receive a Statement of Claim in the mail. In Justice For Children and Youth's experience - this does not happen.

Natalie's parents can rest assured as well that no harm will come to their credit rating as a result of these letters. 

If the store chooses to call the police, she may be charged under s. 322 of the Criminal Code. This offence is for committing theft:  ...fraudulently and without colour of right takes, or fraudulently and without colour of right converts to his use or to the use of another person, anything, whether animate or inanimate, with intent to deprive, temporarily or absolutely, the owner of it, or a person who has a special property or interest in it, of the thing or of his property or interest in it.

WHAT ABOUT CAMILLA?

Camilla does not have a legal obligation to report Natalie’s theft to employees of the store, to the police or even to her parents. However, If Camilla does not try to stop Natalie or leave the situation, she may be charged as a party to the offence. This is a criminal offence in the Criminal Code of Canada. Under s.21 (1) of the Criminal Code, everyone is a party to an offence who: (a) actually commits it; (b) does or omits to do anything for the purpose of aiding any person to commit it; or (c) abets any person in committing it. Section 21(1) describes three situations where a person is a “party,” i.e., criminally responsible for the conduct of another. In order to be found guilty of the offence or for the charge to be reasonable, there must be some evidence that Camilla intended to assist Natalie  or that she stood somewhere so that the store wouldn't notice Natalie put the item in the bag. 

For more information on what shoplifting and Civil Recovery letters check out some of our past blogs and videos:

Past Blogs on Shoplifting

Part 1 - http://jfcy1.blogspot.ca/2010/10/guest-blogger-tracy-on-shoplifting.html

Part 2 - http://jfcy1.blogspot.ca/2010/10/guest-blogger-tracy-shoplifting-part-ii.html

Video – Civil Recovery Letters

http://jfcy1.blogspot.ca/2011/09/video-civil-recovery-demand-letters.html

Informational Pamphlet: Shop Lifting Demand Letters

http://www.jfcy.org/PDFs/ShopliftingDemandLettersApril%202012.pdf

Informational Pamphlet: Youth Criminal Court Guide

http://www.jfcy.org/PDFs/Charged_March2012.pdf

For further advice or information:

Justice for Children and Youth (if the letter involves a person under 18) GTA: 416-920-1633

Elsewhere in Ontario: 1-866-999-5329

Your local community legal aid clinic: www.legalaid.ca

Lawyer Referral Service 1-900-565-4577 or if under 18 call 1-800-268-8326 (no charge)

This blog scenario was written by Marsha Rampersaud, a volunteer on the JFCY's PLE Team. The legal content was written by Lauren Grossman, a first year law student at the University of Toronto who is volunteering at JFCY as the PLE team leader through her law school's Pro Bono Students Canada program. All legal content was reviewed by a JFCY lawyer.

House Party Gone Wrong...

Bianca’s parents are going out of town this weekend and with a bit of convincing from her friend Hailey she decides that she should throw a party Saturday night. Hailey even promises that she can get the alcohol for the party; she assures Bianca that her older sister will make an LCBO trip for them since they are underage.  When Saturday rolls around its finally 9pm and people are starting to show up, Bianca is really excited but a little nervous wondering if people are going to come or not. The doorbell rings, she grabs a beer and runs to the door to let her friends in and start the night off.  Although the party had good intentions, it didn’t turn out so well. Hailey had brought alcohol, keeping to her promise that her older sister would buy it, so there was a lot of underage drinking. One girl at the party had too much to drink and fell down the stairs, hurting herself. The party started to get out of control when some boys moved the party outside the house and damaged the neighbour’s fence playing a game of who could punch through the fence. Due to the noise and people coming in and out of the house, Bianca’s neighbours got very angry and went to check out what was going on. They saw their damaged property and the underage drinking and threatened to phone the police…

 

What could happen to Bianca, Hailey and the rest of their friends at the party if the police show up?

Underage Drinking:

Section 30(8) of the Liquor License Act says that no person under nineteen years of age shall have, consume, attempt to purchase, purchase or otherwise obtain liquor.  Anyone at the party that has consumed alcohol and is under-age can be charged under the Liquor Licence Act and be made to appear in Provincial Offences Court.

If the police find out who supplied the alcohol, Hailey’s sister could be charged under s.30(1) of  the Liquor License Act with knowingly supplying alcohol to minors.

Injury and Property Damage:

Regardless that they were out of town and unaware of the party, Bianca’s parents could face a lawsuit in civil court brought by the girl who was injured on their property as a result of the alcohol available in their home.

Additionally, if the neighbours decide to sue in civil court for the damage done to their property, Bianca’s parents might be held responsible and forced to pay if a court thinks they should have provided more supervision.

Lastly, the youths who were involved in creating the damage could be charged with mischief under the Youth Criminal Justice Act for their actions.

Noise Complaint:

Most municipalities have noise bylaws that give law enforcement the authority to address noise complaints. These bylaws cover activities such as loud parties, yelling, shouting, and playing loud music. According to the Municipal Bylaw of Toronto, s.591-2 says, no person shall make, cause or permit noise or vibration, at any time, which is likely to disturb the quiet, peace, rest, enjoyment, comfort or convenience of the inhabitants of the City. Bianca may face a fine for violating this municipal bylaw. 

If you are have specific legal questions about these topics, please contact Justice for Children and Youth if you are under age 18 and live in Ontario, Canada.  416-90-1633.

This scenario was written by Genevieve Pelow  a JFCY volunteer on the PLE team. The legal info was written by Lauren Grossman, a first-year law student at U of T who is volunteering at JFCY through her law school’s Pro Bono Students Canada program. All info was reviewed by a JFCY staff lawyer.

As a Victim of Sexual Assault, What Can You Do?

Scenario:

Melissa is a 15-year-old girl struggling with math at school. Fortunately, her new math teacher is extremely nice, offering her extra help with her homework after class. One day, when she goes to his office to ask him a question regarding the new assignment, he accidentally brushes her chest. Confused, she does nothing until he puts his arm around her waist and tries to kiss her. Leaving in a hurry, she doesn’t say anything to anyone. The next day at school, the teacher tells her to see him after class. This time, he tries to force her to take off her shirt. When she refuses, he tells her that no one will believe her anyways and that he will give her an A+ on the next assignment if she complies. Scared, she rushes home, unsure of what to do.

What can Melissa do? What are her legal rights?

What can Melissa do?

If Melissa wants to, she can immediately report the crime to her parents, another teacher, her principle or directly to the police. Her first step to the justice system will be reporting to the police whose role will be to investigate the facts of the case to see if Melissa’s teacher can be charged. The earlier she reports the crime, the higher the chance the police will be able to find relevant evidence (witnesses for example). If there is enough evidence, the police will produce a report recommending charges. After going to the police, Melissa can ask for special measures so that she does not have to see her teacher while pursuing these charges.

Melissa’s Legal Rights:

The The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is in force around the world, including in Canada. It lists the fundamental human rights of all children, defined as everyone below the age of 18. The Government of Canada protects these legal rights. Melissa’s teacher has infringed her right to be protected from physical, mental or sexual abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Criminal Code Offences Involved:

According to the Criminal Code of Canada Melissa’s teacher could be charged with sexual interference and sexual exploitation.

Section 151(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada describes sexual interference as: every person who, for a sexual purpose, touches, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of a person under the age of 16 years.

Section 153 of the Criminal Code of Canada describes sexual exploitation as: every person commits an offence who is in a position of trust or authority towards a young person, who is a person with whom the young person is in a relationship of dependency or who is in a relationship with a young person that is exploitative of the young person, and who a) for a sexual purpose, touches, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of the young person; or b) for a sexual purpose, invites, counsels or incites a young person to touch, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, the body of any person, including the body of the person who so invites, counsels or incites and the body of the young person.

Additionally, Melissa’s teacher could be charged with sexual assault. Sexual assault is any form of sexual contact without both parties’ voluntary consent. A sexual assault can also occur when someone threatens to sexually assault another and is able to immediately follow through with that threat. Importantly, sexual assault need not be limited to intercourse. It includes kissing and touching. 

In order for Melissa’s teacher to be found guilty, it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he engaged or intended to engage in a sexual act without Melissa’s consent.

Consent

Consent means that a person agreed voluntarily to take part in the act. If one does not voluntarily agree, then there is no consent. In Melissa’s case, the first time she brushed him off and ran out, and the second time directly refused, making it clear that she did not consent to any sexual activity.

In order to determine if consent was given, a court will look at Melissa’s words, conduct, and reasonable steps that she took. In this case, Melissa said NO and immediately left. If Melissa is interested in reporting these crimes, then it is recommended that she immediately tell her parents/guardian who can then assist her with going further to telling the principal of her school and the police.

It is very common for a person in Melissa’s situation to feel a variety of different emotions, such as embarrassment, guilt, anger or shame.

There are a variety of resources available in order to offer advice or support:


Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868

Assaulted Women’s Helpline: (416)863-0511, outside GTA: 1-866-863-0511)

Justice for Children and Youth: (416) 920-1633, 1-866-999-5329 (outside GTA)

Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres: http://www.sexualassaultsupport.ca/Default.aspx?pageId=535883

Boost Child Abuse Prevention and Intervention: http://www.boostforkids.org/Home.aspx


The scenario for this post was written by Cydney Kim a JFCY volunteer on the PLE Team.  Cydney is in grade 12 at University of Toronto Schoolds. The legal info was written by Lauren Grossman, a first-year law student at U of T who is volunteering at JFCY through her law school’s Pro Bono Students Canada program. All info was reviewed by a JFCY staff lawyer.

Video: Leaving Home

Check out this new video that deals with legal issues that can arise when youth leave home.  

Click on the link below to learn about the legal and practical issues that Terence must consider as he decides whether to leave home and live on his own at the age of 16. 

To read more about leaving home legal issues in Ontario, check out this JFCY pamphlet, as well as our past blog posts here and here.

A special thanks to the volunteers from the YouTube Subcommitte of the PLE Team for their efforts in making this video: Arif, Terence, Lucas, Tracy, Cydney, and Chrsitine, as well as JFCY staff lawyer Andrea.

To view the JFCY YouTube channel click here.

Staff profile: Andrea Luey

By Diana Rozo, JFCY PLE Team Member


Andrea Luey has worked as a lawyer at JFCY since 2009. She works with clients and also runs the Public Legal Education Team.

Andrea during the JFCY PLE Team filming of a legal rights video

Before she worked at JFCY, she worked for Kensington-Bellwoods Community Legal Services in Toronto and Kinna-aweya Legal Clinic in Thunder Bay. Andrea volunteers regularly at The 519 Church Street Community Centre, where she coordinates the free Legal Advice and Referral Clinic, geared towards assisting low-income queer and trans people with legal issues. What captivated her about being a lawyer was the ability to help people, while having an intellectually stimulating career. Nevertheless, before making her decision she had thought about different careers such as counselling and construction work. However, if she were to have a second career she would run a bed and breakfast which offers a fitness facility. 
 

Andrea at the 2011 JFCY AGM

Why does Andrea love her job at JFCY? She loves her job at JFCY because all of her clients are youth.  Even though fighting for youth rights may be challenging at times-it is also extremely rewarding. When Andrea is not in the court room or at her desk, she loves to spend time with her partner, go to the gym and hang out with friends after a hectic day at work. Her favourite TV shows at the moment are Parks and Recreation, The Good Wife, Parenthood, and of course... Seinfeld.  When asked what advice she would give to people considering a career in law, Andrea's advice is to be prepared to work hard, but remember not to doubt your own abilities!


This Profile was written by Diana Rozo, a volunteer member of JFCY's PLE Team.  Diana is a student at York University. 

Behind the Scenes with the PLE Team

On December 20 some members of the YouTube Subcommittee of the PLE Team shot a public legal education video. The topic: Age of Consent for Sexual Activity, an area of law that is commonly misunderstood. The volunteers worked with Andrea to come up with a script and plan. Stay tuned for the release of this short video in January 2012. Thanks to everyone who helped: Tracy, Terence, Lucas, Christine, Arif and Andrea

To see more photos, check out our Facebook album FACEBOOK ALBUM

The Other Kids of 311 Jarvis

-by Niamh Harraher, Staff Lawyer and Jeffrey Rosekat, Chair of JFCY Board of Directors

The prevailing wind of federal government policy and much media discourse seems focused on presenting youth as dangerous, out of control and in need of a highly punitive justice system. David Bruser’s series on the kids of 311 Jarvis Street which ran over four days in the Toronto Star (Oct. 28-31) seems to have been blown by this wind. The articles painted a grim picture of a decaying courthouse and a system that is failing the public woefully. The portrayal was one-sided, but the sentiments expressed will undoubtedly resonate with many whose only experience with the youth criminal justice system is what they read in the newspapers. Those of us who work in the youth criminal justice system know there is a different story that needs to be told.

Mr. Bruser sat in 311 Jarvis Court for four months and during his time there saw some terrible cases of serious criminal misconduct by young people. He saw cases involving appalling violence; youth who have shown utter contempt for their fellow human beings through their actions. We learned some of the facts of those terrible cases through his articles and he reminded us that young people need to be held accountable in a meaningful way for what they have done. Serious crimes should invite serious consequences. The public needs to be kept safe.

But are those cases really representative of the vast goings on at that Court? The simple answer is that they are not. Mr. Bruser gave us his opinion on some of the things he saw during the four months he observed some of the workings of 311 Jarvis. The articles did not tell us about the far less serious crimes which represent the majority of crimes prosecuted at 311 Jarvis and the consequences to those young people involved. He did not talk about the programs that are offered often with great success to rehabilitate young offenders. He does not talk about the judges’ expertise in dealing with young people.

As any parent of a teenager can tell you, young people can be sullen and disrespectful. They do things they are supposed to and they sometimes lie. In this respect they are not unlike many adults. They are different, however, in the way they make decisions, assess risk and weigh consequences. Teenagers--almost all teenagers--make some unwise choices. Choices that if exposed to the full glare of the law could have easily resulted in criminal sanctions. Whether those choices involve, underage consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs, taking a car without permission, or getting into a fight most teenagers engage in unlawful behaviour. Few adults can truthfully say they escaped their teenage years without breaking the law in some way.

The youthful marijuana smokers or shoplifters barely get a mention in Mr. Bruser’s series. Mr. Bruser did not mention the shoplifter who writes a letter of apology to the store, completes an anti-theft program and has his charges withdrawn or the school yard brawler who sits across from the person she punched in the face in a restorative justice circle. These stories do not make for sensational headlines or melodramatic stories in the same way as committing a rape, dealing crack cocaine, or being involved in a gang might. But they are great stories all the same, and are stories that need to be told.

These are the stories of 311 Jarvis which should be told, because they are by far the majority of the youth who walk through the door. According to the federal government’s own statistics, over 71% of young people charged with criminal offences in 2009 were charged with property-related or other non-violent offences. These youth of 311 Jarvis frequently stand in front of Justices of the Peace on their first appearance with their heads bowed. They are ashamed and scared. If they giggle it is not out of defiance but from nervousness. Their families are upset, their lives are disrupted by court appearances and bail conditions. A young person who gets into a fist fight at school and is charged with assault is not allowed to return to that same school until the case is over because of the standard bail conditions. Before the Court even gets to them they have had their day-to-day lives completely changed. Many of the youth of 311 Jarvis want nothing more than to put their youthful transgressions behind them and move on. And large numbers of them do.

The majority of young people who have contact with Canada's youth courts are one-time offenders, according to a study jointly conducted by the University of Waterloo and the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics at Statistics Canada. The study traced the criminal "careers" of 59,000 young people released in 2005. The study found that the majority of these young people were referred to court on only one occasion, shattering the notion that most youth who come into contact with courts become chronic offenders.

One thing Mr. Bruser did get right is that, more often than not, the kids of 311 Jarvis come from communities that are racialized, poor and have a large police presence. They are therefore much more likely to come into contact with the police and to get caught when they offend. The kids of 311 Jarvis are not, for the most part, the kids of Forest Hill, Rosedale, Lawrence Park, Leaside or the Annex. These kids and the crimes they commit reflect the growing economic inequality of our city. Once in a while one will see a young person from the “right side of the tracks”  at 311 Jarvis--dressed in a suit and with a lawyer paid for by their parents--but this is not the norm. Children of affluence are simply not policed in the same manner, and they therefore do not end up in conflict with the law in the same way as their poorer and more heavily policed peers.

 

Whether we like it or not, the time when a young person comes into conflict with the law, whether for a serious or less serious crime, gives us an opportunity to make sure that this is the one and only time in their lives that it happens. The alternative, advocated by Mr. Bruser, is simply to lock them up and throw away the key, write them off and forget about them.  This is a very expensive and largely ineffective solution. With the rarest of exceptions, youth placed into custodial sentences will one day be back in the ranks of society with the only difference being that they are now hardened by the time they spent in custody.

Mr. Bruser’s articles also missed the fact that young people, even the ones who have transgressed in fairly significant ways, can be and are often rehabilitated with the right type of response. For instance, the story of a seventeen year old who repeatedly stole from his employer. Upon being charged with theft he was kicked out of his parents’ home and slept on his friend’s couch for a year. Between the time he was charged and the time he received his sentence he changed his life entirely. He got two new jobs, got himself into drug counselling regarding marijuana, volunteered twice a week at the hospital, maintained good attendance at school and got involved in extracurricular activities. He pleaded guilty on the basis of a joint submission between the Crown and his defense lawyer and received a conditional discharge which included terms that he continue along the path he had laid, and required that he pay restitution. A year later, he has his own apartment, is working and is about to start college.

In short, it is not uncommon for people to offend in their youth and never do it again as an adult. Many kids change. They grow up, and they learn from their mistakes.

Indisputably, some of the kids of 311 Jarvis are dangerous, embedded in a life of crime and well on their way to the adult penitentiary. Attempts to rehabilitate them are failing. These are the kids we hear about all the time. These are the kids that make great sensational stories for the media, and these are the kids that feed public outrage.

The judges, prosecutors, and defence lawyers at 311 Jarvis work very hard to make sure that kids who make mistakes both understand the serious nature of those mistakes, and get a chance to make amends and change their lives for the better. And while the culture of fear will always prefer the sensational minority to the boring minority, the fact is that 311 Jarvis and Canada’s youth criminal justice system, while undoubtedly imperfect, does work.

LAWS: Law in Action Within Schools

Here is a link to an article about a fantastic organization - LAWS: Law in Action Within Schools.

LAWS matches law students at the University of Toronto with at-risk students in three city high schools. As the article states "LAWS is not meant to create a new generation of lawyers — although some students say their career choices have changed — but rather to spark student interest and inspire them to pursue higher education."

Read more about the article here. For more information, check out the LAWS website.