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Vandalism (Youth): You may think throwing eggs at a house or spray-painting graffiti on a building is harmless, but it can come with criminal consequences. While such acts of vandalism are often considered minor offences, deliberately or recklessly damaging someone's property could land you in prison for up to 10 years, depending on the extent of the damage. There is no specific charge of vandalism. It is considered criminal mischief and is covered in s.430 (1) of the Criminal Code. In many cases, extrajudicial measures can be used in a youth's vandalism case to rehabilitate the offender. However, a Youth Court judge has the option of sentencing you as an adult for serious breaches of the law.
Table of Contents:
What is Vandalism?
Vandalism is one of the most common offences committed by youths. The Criminal Code does not include the specific charge of vandalism. It is covered by criminal mischief charges and consists of a variety of offences. If you throw a rock through a window, damage property or toilet paper a house, you can face mischief charges. Graffiti is a common form of vandalism, and many offenders believe it is harmless. However, an RCMP (Graffiti vandals) post states graffiti sends the message that nobody cares, and it can attract other forms of crime, making residents feel less safe.
There are two charges in the Code. Criminal mischief under $5,000 and criminal mischief over $5,000. Your city may also have their bylaws to deal with graffiti, with fines of up to $5,000 for offenders.
What is Needed to Convict
The Crown prosecutorLawyers who prosecutes charges on behalf of the Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubtThe standard that must be exceeded to find someone guilty that you were the one responsible for the vandalism and that you did real damage. Intent does not have to be established, and it doesn’t matter if the damage was insignificant. To win a conviction, it is up to the prosecutor to show you didn’t own the damaged property.
Any eyewitness or forensic evidence connecting you to the offence can be challenged for validity. Your defence lawyer may also be able to argue violations under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms during a police investigation.
Summary Conviction or Indictable Offence
Criminal mischief is a hybrid offenceAn offence prosecuted either as a summary conviction or as an indictable offence, allowing the Crown to proceed with the charge as an indictable offenceIndictable offences are more-serious criminal offences or by summary convictionUsed for lesser offences. If you are found guilty of an indictable offence, you will face penalties that are more severe than if you are being sentenced for a summary conviction.
When deciding how to proceed, the prosecutor will consider such factors as the seriousness of the mischief and your prior criminal record.
Extrajudicial measuresProceedings outside the formal court process could be used if your offence was relatively minor, such as dumping garbage in someone’s yard. For minor offences, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) requires police to consider using these measures before deciding to lay a criminal charge. This involves dealing with the case outside the formal youth court process in an attempt to rehabilitate an offender.
Penalties for Vandalism
How much damage you caused will affect the sentence you receive.
Those convicted as an adult for mischief over $5,000 can be sent to prison for up to 10 years. The maximum jail term is six months if the damage was less than $5,000 and is prosecuted as a summary conviction.
According to the Department of Justice, a judge may also order restitution to cover a victim’s financial losses related to damages, injury or lost property due to the crime.
As a young person, you will face sentencing under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The YCJA was enacted to hold a young person accountable “through the imposition of just sanctions that have meaningful consequences for the young person and that promote his or her rehabilitation and reintegration into society, thereby contributing to the long-term protection of the public.”
Police may choose to handle the offence through extrajudicial measures, which include:
- taking no further action;
- a warning from police;
- a caution from the police is more formal than warnings and may involve a letter from the police to the youth and the parents. The youth and parents may be required to appear at the police station for a meeting to discuss the incident;
- a referral from police to a community program or agency designed to help youth avoid committing offences;
- a Crown caution (similar to police cautions but issued by prosecutors after the police have referred the case to them); and
- an extrajudicial sanction, which is applied through more formal programs developed by provinces and territories.
Under the Act, custody sentences are intended primarily for violent and serious repeat offenders.
In all cases, any sentence must:
- not be more severe than what an adult would receive for the same offence;
- be similar to youth sentences in similar cases;
- be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the young person;
- within the limits of proportionate response, (a) be the least restrictive alternative, (b) be the sentencing option that is most likely to rehabilitate and reintegrate the young person, and (c) promote in the young person a sense of responsibility and an acknowledgement of the harm done by the offence.
In serious cases of criminal mischief, a judge can elect to sentence you as an adult, and you will face the same sentence under the Criminal Code as an adult offender. If you are jailed you will remain incarcerated in a youth facility until you are 18 before being transferred to an adult prison.
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Glossary of Legal Terms
Crown prosecutor
Lawyers who act for the federal, provincial and territorial governments and prosecute people accused of crimes on behalf of the Crown.
Extrajudicial measures
Proceedings outside the formal court process. Examples include police warnings, referrals to community programs and Crown cautions. Extrajudicial measures are seen as an effective response to less serious youth crime.
Hybrid offence
Hybrid offences fall between a summary and an indictable offence. The Crown prosecutor chooses whether to treat the offence as a summary or indictable offence.
Indictable offence
Indictable offences are the most serious offences under the Criminal Code and they come with more serious punishments, up to a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Reasonable doubt
The Supreme Court of Canada has said that reasonable doubt “falls much closer to absolute certainty than to proof on a balance of probabilities” and “that something less than absolute certainty is required, and that something more than probable guilt is required."
Summary conviction
Summary convictions are used for lesser offences with penalties, fines and short jail time. They reflect the majority of offences as defined in the Code.
