Yellowknife (Sep 15/06) - The number of criminal cases diverted from courts to community justice programs has skyrocketed in recent months, leaving officials with their hands full, according to one social advocate.

Restorative justice is about keeping youth out of jail, but it can be tough to do said a member of the justice committee. - Jessica Gray/NNSL photo

Between 2004 and 2005, Lydia Bardak, from the John Howard Society, a non-profit advocacy group, said she saw 13 cases shunted from the courts to restorative justice programs.

But those numbers have risen to about 13 per month, she said.

The programs allow adults and young offenders to avoid criminal records by performing community service and making other reparations to victims.

But dealing with youth can be quite a challenge with the number of cases rising dramatically, said Bardak.

Getting youth to actually fulfil the terms they've agreed to is another challenge.

"They aren't necessarily the highest motivated kids," said Bardak.

In fact, she often must chase down youth who need to complete community service hours.

But it's no secret why these teens aren't interested in activities like picking up garbage, said Bardak.

"They're still kids. It's tough, especially in the summer when they're up all night and sleep all day," she said.

Restorative justice is most successful when youth are supported by family and realize their actions have consequences, said Bardak.

She couldn't say what percentage of teens complete their assigned tasks and stay out of trouble, but said there are many times when their time limits are extended in youth court.

Also called diversion, youth and those adults who are accept responsibility for a minor crime, can do a number of things to appease the courts.

Options include written or verbal apologies, working for the victim or business in question, donations to charity, attending counselling or programs, and community service.

The punishment depends on what the justice committee, victims, and offender decide is best.

Keeping youth out of jail is a philosophy taken from the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which came into effect in 2003.

It replaced the Young Offenders Act which was criticized for being too tough on youth and focused on punishment instead of rehabilitation.

But according to some teens, the new restorative justice approach just doesn't work.

"Some kids end up not doing the work," said 15-year-old Sarah Gorman who has friends who did community service.

But a 15-year-old teen who can't be named under Canadian law, said staying out of jail gave him a chance to redeem himself.

The boy had to clean up the area around the Yellowknife Multiplex and help out at the downtown Side Door youth centre for breaching his probation twice.

He was originally charged as an accomplice in a shoplifting case. It enabled him to give back and do something productive for the city, he said.

Bardak said the majority of cases she deals with involve substance abuse of some sort.