Toronto Northwest Justice Centre

Justice Centres in Ontario are innovative, community-based initiatives designed to address the root causes of crime by integrating legal proceedings with health, social, and community services.

There are two justice centres in Toronto – one being the Toronto Northwest Justice Centre.

If you or your children are facing criminal charges and are required to appear at the Toronto Northwest Justice Centre, contact a Toronto Northwest Justice Centre lawyer for a free case review at (647) 878 – 6355.

Core Functions of Ontario’s Justice Centres

There are a number of “Core Functions” of all Ontario’s Justice Centres, including the Toronto Northwest Justice Centre:

Integrated Service Delivery
Community-Centered Design
Restorative Justice Practices
Targeted Support for Vulnerable Populations

Benefits of Justice Centres in Ontario

The Toronto Northwest Justice Centre, and the other Justice Centres in Ontario, are similar to other centres across 70 communities around the globe. The similarity is that there is a move out of the traditional court system and setting into a community setting.

These Centres, by relying no resources in the community, attempt to break the cycle of youth offending. The Centres do so in a number of ways:

They are tailored to the unique needs of local communities
The Justice Centre model improves outcomes for offenders, victims and communities by holding
individuals accountable for their offences while connecting them to services that reduce the risk of reoffending. Central to the approach is a commitment to better support victims and communities harmed
by crime.
Through Justice Centres a whole-of-government approach can promote cross-sector collaboration and
multi-agency supports for common clients in order to address the intersecting risk factors that lead to
chronic offending, as well as to support improved capacity, coordination and integration with other
provincial service systems and sectors, such as health, social services, and housing

Justice Centres as Pilot Projects

The Toronto Northwest Justice Centre, like all the JC’s in Ontario, are based on pilot projects currently being evaluated. The evaluation is to assess their effectiveness in reducing reoffending rates and improving community well being.

How to Have Matter Enter a Justice Centre

There are two ways to have a matter enter the Toronto Northwest Justice Centre:

The police require the youth to appear at the centre following the laying of a charge
The youth matter is “traversed” or transferred into the centre with approval from the Crown Attorneys at the Centre

Note that only certain matters are eligible for entry into the Toronto Northwest Justice Centre, and this is primarily dictated by the location of the alleged offence and police division assigned.

What Happens When Matter Commences at a Justice Centre

Once a matter enters the centre, the Young Person would be asked to sign a Participation Agreement, agreeing to take part in programming that would be assigned to them by a case worker.

Following that, the Young Person would meet with a case worker who would conduct an intake. Based on the info gathered at the intake, the case worker would determine the program requirements to be met, which may include things like volunteer work, counselling,

Finally, the Young Person’s lawyer would have a meeting with the Crown Attorney to determine the particular type of resolution that would be suitable in the circumstances. Often, given the objective of the Centres, the resolution would be geared towards reintegrating and repairing rather than any form of punishing of the Youth.