Is youth violence on the rise? If so, why and what can be done about it?

Presenter: Tanya Long

Please join the Zoom Meeting here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/971381033

On Thursday, May 29, 2025, a 14-year-old boy stabbed to death an elderly woman in Pickering, Ontario. He has been charged with 1st degree murder. The youth, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has a lengthy no-contact order with a number of people.

On December 18, 2022, Kenneth Lee was beaten and stabbed to death at a downtown Toronto parkette by eight girls aged 13 to 16. All were charged with second degree murder. All eight have since been found guilty of lesser charges from assault to manslaughter.

These incidents suggest that youth crime in Canada is increasing. Statistics bear this out. From 2022 to 2023 increases in the rate of youth crime were observed for most categories: violent crime up 10%, property crime up 13%, other Criminal Code offenses (such as arson, drug offenses, driving offenses, prostitution) up 20%. Prior to 2022 youth crime rates had been trending downward for almost two decades.

The two crimes described above are particularly violent and give rise to many questions:

• What could be the causes of this increase: COVID, social media, video games, mental health issues, parenting issues, other?

• Are we too lenient with young offenders? The Youth Criminal Justice Act states that the maximum prison sentence is two to 10 years, although in the case of murder the sentence may be longer. There is a big difference from adult crimes in parole eligibility.

• What role do parents play?

• For those of you who do not live in Canada, are there similar trends in your country?

Please join us for a discussion on this serious issue.