Article 160

It is hereby recognized and declared that:

crime prevention is essential to the protection of society and requires addressing the underlying causes of crime by young offenders and developing approaches to identifying and responding to young offenders at risk of committing criminal offences in the future;

while young offenders should not in all instances be held accountable in the same manner or suffer the same consequences for their behavior as adults, young offenders who commit offences should nonetheless bear responsibility for their conduct;

society must, although it has the responsibility to take reasonable measures to prevent criminal conduct by young offenders, be afforded necessary protection from illegal behavior;

young offenders who commit offences require supervision, discipline and control, but, because of their dependency, level of development and maturity, they also have special needs and require guidance and assistance;

the protection of society, which is the primary objective of the criminal law applicable to youth, is best served by rehabilitation, wherever possible, of young offenders who commit offences and rehabilitation is best achieved by addressing the needs and circumstances of a young offender that are relevant to the young offender’s offending behavior, his family and his community;

where it is not inconsistent with the protection of society, taking no measures or taking measures other than judicial proceedings under this Title should be considered for dealing with young offenders who have committed offences;

young offenders have a right to be heard in the course of, and to participate in, the processes that lead to decisions that affect them and young offenders should have special guarantees of their rights and freedoms;

in the application of this Title, having regard to the needs of young offenders and the interests of their families, young offenders shall be dealt with in a manner that involves the least possible interference with freedom that is consistent with the protection of society; and

families have responsibility for the care and supervision of their children and for that reason young offenders should be removed from the supervision of their families, either partly or entirely, only when measures that provide for continuing supervision by the family are inappropriate.

This Title shall be liberally construed to the end that young offenders will be dealt with in accordance with the principles set out in sub-Article (1).