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Juvenile Court case files
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- Textual record
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0.9 m of textual records
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Administrative history
The Vancouver Juvenile and Family Courts was established as the Vancouver Juvenile Court in 1910 in order to facilitate implementation of the provisions of the Juvenile Delinquents Act (Canada), passed in 1908. The Court itself was created by British Columbia legislation.
At the time the Juvenile Court was founded, the City also established an affiliated Juvenile Detention Home, which operated in conjunction with the Court. The two were located in the same building and reported jointly to the City. The Detention Home included a school, which was a branch of the Fairview public school.
The Juvenile Court was established as a magistrate's court, for the purpose of enacting the provisions of the Act relating to charges, prosecution and sentencing of minors. Broadly speaking, the Act was enacted in order to separate juveniles from the adult justice system, and provide a social care approach to juvenile offenders which allowed for alternate sentencing than was available in the adult justice system. The attached Juvenile Detention Home acted as both remand centre and detention centre for juvenile offenders.
The Court was advised by various Committees, including the Protestant Committee and the Catholic Committee; the social care aspects of the Court's responsibilities meant that it had a close working relationship with the City's Social Services departments.
In 1944, the City established the Vancouver Family Court, also a magistrate's court, which was responsible for addressing matters relating to family maintenance enforcement as per the Deserted Wives' Maintenance Act and others, divorce proceedings (including custody matters), and domestic violence offenses as defined by the Criminal Code. The Court was founded under the terms of the amended Juvenile Court Act, which mandated the creation of a parallel Family Court staffed by the officers of the existing Juvenile Court.
Until ca. 1948, the Juvenile Court was closely associated with the Police Court, and so was also affiliated with the Police Department. At this time it appears to have become its own City department, though merged with the Family Court, operating under the name Juvenile and Family Court(s). In 1963 the name was changed to the Family and Children's Court.
The Vancouver Family and Children's Court was was wound up in 1968, when the municipal magistrate's courts system across the province was replaced by the Provincial Court of British Columbia. The Family and Children's Court was replaced by the Provincial Court of British Columbia, Family Division.
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Scope and content
Series consists of highly sensitive case files of juveniles who were processed in the Vancouver Juvenile/Family Court system. Records include complaint sheets, correspondence, and family histories.
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Restrictions on access
Access to this series is restricted indefinitely, as stipulated by Part 6 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada). Records contain information on charges, convictions and/or sentencing of young offenders. Researchers wanting to access these records must obtain a youth court judicial order which gives them permission to access the records of young offenders, as per s.126 of the Act. Researchers seeking access to these records should contact: Provincial Court of British Columbia, Youth Court Division; 800 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2C5; Tel: (604) 660-8989
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General note
Titles of case files have been truncated, as full disclosure of accused's name would be in contravention of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada).