Trends in police-reported serious assaults

This article examines the incidence and nature of three types of police-reported serious assaults in Canada: assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm, aggravated assault and assault against peace officers (including police). The characteristics of these offences are presented and the long and short-terms trends are discussed at the provincial and census metropolitan levels. Adult and youth court data are also utilized to analyze the decisions and sentencing outcomes for serious assault cases.