Children’s Street Connections in a Canadian Community

Abstract

Preteen children’s street activities in a small southern Ontario city were examined for understandings about how children on the street affiliate with one another and with adults after school. The everyday connections between children, shopkeepers, and municipal workers demonstrate that the municipal workers and merchants can offer caring, support, and sanctions to children when parents or teachers are not accompanying them. This provides children on the street with a form of guidance from extrafamilial mentors. The findings point to community-based potentials for naturally occurring crime prevention strategies, a significant aspect of Canada’s new law: Youth Criminal Justice Act, 2003.