Is Youth Wasted on the Young?

I presented a seminar on restorative justice and the Youth Criminal Justice Act today with a couple of my mates. One of the things that surprised me a little bit was the strong opinions about whether it was ageist the way that the YCJA embraces (on its face) many restorative elements in its approach to youth criminal justice when this approach is denied, more or less, to adults in the sentencing provisions of the Criminal Code. The YCJA is explicit in the need for the justice system to consider things like least restrictive measures, rehabilitation and reintegration into the community when considering how to deal with youth accused of crimes.

In a nutshell: one side says that the government and justice system has limited resources, they have to make choices about where their resources go, and youth are the best place to park the resources that will hopefully divert from crime because they are still young, have a long life ahead, and are perhaps more salvageable than someone older offenders.

The other side says that we shouldn't be making these judgments solely based on age and that everyone should have access to the types of restorative measures we find in the YCJA if it's appropriate.

I'm not totally sure where I fall in this debate. Adults are merely young people, all grown up. It's too cynical for me to just dismiss an adult offender's prospects for restoration (writ large) because he or she (go gender equality) has got a criminal record an arm long. But, maybe if there had been a restorative intervention early on the long record wouldn't have gotten so long. I agree with the position that every offender should have access to a restorative process where appropriate. BUT resources are limited. Would the resources be better spent on restorative processes? I mean, they're going to spend the money one way or another. Why not this way? Prisons are expensive!

I hate these resource questions. All of the answers suck. And there's never enough money, apparently.