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Selon certaines études, environ 5 % à 15 % des jeunes qui entrent dans le système de justice deviennent des auteurs d’infractions graves dont la trajectoire criminelle est plutôt longue (par exemple, Day, Nielsen, Ward, Rosenthal, Sun, Bevc et Duchesne, 2011; Yessine et Bonta, en cours de publication).
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The National Crime Prevention Strategy is based on the principle that “the surest way to reduce crime is to focus on factors that put individuals at risk.” This statement is based on empirical research over the past few decades and has led to the accepted proposition that a set of known factors place some youths at greater risk than others for engaging in delinquent and antisocial behaviour. For some, entry into the youth criminal justice system leads them into the adult system. Across studies, approximately 5% to 15% of youths who enter the justice system become serious offenders whose criminal trajectories are quite lengthy (e.g., Day, Nielsen, Ward, Rosenthal, Sun, Bevc & Duchesne, 2011; Yessine & Bonta, to be published). Equally importantly, evidence suggests that many adult offenders first began their criminal activities as young offenders. For instance, risk assessment data collected in Ontario indicated that, among 955 inmates, 43.6% were arrested prior to the age of 16 (Andrews, Bonta & Wormith, 2004). It is thus important to identify early those who are at high risk of serious and chronic offending so that intervention strategies can be developed to prevent them from embarking on a lengthy criminal career.
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