Last Monday morning the Wood Buffalo RCMP received a report of an aggravated assault on a cab driver, and the attacker was a young juvenile. The call came in at around 3:30 am on February 16, and he incident occurred close to downtown Fort MacMurray along the side of highway 63. According to Cst. Mylene Michon of the RCMP “Along Highway 63 in the downtown area, somebody saw a physical altercation between a male and a cab driver. We can confirm that a [young offender] was charged with aggravated assault and fail to comply with conditions.” The male juvenile has not been identified, but it was confirmed that he was 15 years old. The cab driver was a male in his mid 30s, and he was stabbed by the juvenile during the altercation.

The stabbing and aggravated assault of a cab driver by a 15 year old juvenile is a cause for concern in Fort MacMurray. The law does not allow the juvenile to be named because he is a minor, however his crime was an adult crime that was serious and violent. Are the juvenile laws no longer sufficient? Younger teenagers are committing violent crimes today, and the juvenile justice system is not always equipped to handle dangerous and violent offenders. These are not kids who steal some candy or go for a joyride, and some believe that they should be tried in an adult court because of the seriousness of their actions. The cab driver in this case required treatment at the local hospital after being stabbed, and the outcome could have been much different. Do you think the juvenile justice system coddles violent teens?