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This is the first quasi-national Canadian study of the criminal careers of a birth cohort. It uses linked data from the Youth Court Survey and Adult Criminal Court Survey to describe the court careers up to the 22nd birthday of Canadians born in 1979/80. The study includes six provinces - Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta - accounting for approximately 78% of the population of Canada.

Eighteen per 100 members of the cohort were referred to court for a criminal offence allegedly committed before their 22nd birthday. Thirteen were found guilty of at least one offence, and ten received a sentence which put them under the supervision of correctional or probation authorities. The peak age of referral to court is 18 years. On average, between the ages of 12 and 21 inclusive, alleged offenders were referred to court in connection with 3.1 criminal incidents' or 2.4, if administrative offences are excluded. Just over half of alleged offenders had only one incident in their court career. Seventeen percent of alleged offenders were classified as chronic offenders, who were responsible for 58% of all alleged criminal incidents.

Individuals whose contact with the court system begins later in adolescence tend to be involved in fewer criminal incidents. The lengths of court careers vary widely, but the mean and median lengths are 20 months and 13 months respectively. Age-specific annual rates of alleged offending are similar for accused males and females, and peak at 15 years of age. There is no particular tendency to escalation, de-escalation, or stability in the seriousness of repeated court referrals: all three patterns occur frequently. Thirty-seven percent of individuals with multiple court referrals have adolescent-limited careers (i.e. no incidents after the 18th birthday which resulted in court referral), 43% have adult-onset careers (no incidents before the 18th birthday), and 20% are persistent offenders (with incidents both as youths and as adults). The latter have many more criminal incidents in their careers and are much more likely than the others to have been referred to court for an offence against the person; however, the incidents in their careers are not more serious on average, and they are not more likely to have had an early onset of contact with the court system.

The file from which these results were derived could support much more detailed analyses of the topics which are touched on by this report, as well as other topics which have not been addressed, such as the timing of incidents during the career, the processing of cases through the courts, the sequence of case outcomes and sentences, and the interactions between sentencing and future offending, including the impact on careers of incapacitation. As additional years of court data become available, future research should follow court careers past the 22nd birthday. This will result in a more complete picture of the court careers of chronic, persistent offenders, as well as a more thorough investigation of the court careers of "adult-onset " offenders, who had no contact with the court system during adolescence.

In 2004, as part of its General Social Survey program, Statistics Canada conducted a survey on victimization and public perceptions of crime and the justice system. It was the fourth time that the General Social Survey (GSS) had examined victimization - previous surveys were conducted in 1999, 1993 and 1988.

For the 2004 survey, interviews were conducted by telephone with approximately 24,000 people, aged 15 and older, living in the 10 provinces. Respondents were asked about their experiences with criminal victimization. Those respondents who had been victims of a crime in the previous 12 months were asked for detailed information on each incident, including when and where it occurred; whether the incident was reported to the police; and how they were affected by the experience.

This Juristat explores the overall trends and regional variations of criminal victimization, as well as the individual risk factors associated with victimization. The impacts and consequences of being victimized are discussed, along with the informal and formal sources of support for victims.

This annual report is an examination of homicide in Canada. Detailed information is presented on the characteristics of homicide incidents (murder, manslaughter and infanticide), victims and accused within the context of both short and long-term trends. Geographical patterns of homicide are examined at the national and provincial/territorial levels, as well as for major metropolitan areas. Other key themes include international comparisons of homicide, gang-related homicides, firearm-related homicides, youth homicide and family (including spousal) homicides. The data are intended to respond to the needs of those who work in the criminal justice system as well as to inform researchers, policy analysts, academics, the media and the public on the nature and extent of homicide in Canada.

Provincial and territorial governments are responsible for the administration of community-based correctional services in Canada for adults and youth, which include, but are not limited to probation, conditional sentences, and temporary absence programs. Although the Criminal Code of Canada, the Young Offenders Act and the Youth Criminal Justice Act set out guidelines, jurisdictions are not obliged to follow them directly. Jurisdictions will differ, sometimes substantially, in their administration.

This publication provides a descriptive overview of sentences and the delivery of community correctional services across all jurisdictions in Canada for both adult and youth. In addition, this publication reports on community corrections data collected from the special study, as well as data from the Adult Correctional Services Survey, the Key Indicator Report, the Youth Custody and Community Services Survey, and the Alternative Measures Survey. It examines admissions and average counts of adults and youth who were under community supervision, showing trends as far back as 1993/94. Furthermore, data on offender characteristics, such as sex and Aboriginal status are also presented.

In 2004, as part of its General Social Survey program, Statistics Canada conducted a survey on victimization and public perceptions of crime and the justice system. It was the fourth time that the General Social Survey (GSS) had examined victimization - previous surveys were conducted in 1988, 1993, and 1999. The target population was Canadians aged 15 years and older living in the ten provinces.

This report provides an overview of the main findings from cycle 18 of the General Social Survey on Victimization and makes comparisons with previous survey cycles. The analysis focuses on Canadians' outlook on crime and the criminal justice system, as well as their fear of crime. Variations by province are also presented.

This series of reports provides detailed statistics and analysis on a variety of topics and issues concerning Canada's justice system. The annual Juristat, Youth Court Statistics, 2003-2004, summarizes trends from provincial/territorial youth courts across Canada, which provide data to the Youth Court Survey (YCS). In this Juristat, information is presented on the characteristics of cases and accused youth, conviction rates, sentencing and related issues. As well, statistics are presented for the thirteen year period from 1991-1992, the first year for which national data are available for the YCS, to the current year, 2003-2004.

This Juristat examines the case histories and correctional outcomes of adults under provincial correctional supervision in Saskatchewan during the years 1999/00 through 2003/04. This is the first report analyzing data from the newly implemented Integrated Correctional Services Survey (ICSS). It provides an analysis of characteristics of persons supervised in correctional services, and a description of their involvement, any re-involvements, as well as a comparative analysis of these characteristics between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal persons. Several cohorts of persons released from supervised correctional activity in Saskatchewan are analyzed regarding their return to correctional services as well as the relationship between these re-involvements and various demographic, case history and criminal justice factors.

This objective of this report is to present the status of national data on Aboriginal people who come into contact with the criminal justice system as offenders and victims. The report examines the current and potential collection of an individual's Aboriginal identity through various justice-related surveys at Statistics Canada, the challenges within these surveys to collect these data and provides some insight into the quality of these data. The data and sources are examined within the context of information needs for the justice and social policy sectors, and in relation to the preferred method of measuring Aboriginal Identity at Statistics Canada. Data sources examined include the Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, the Homicide Survey, the Integrated Criminal Courts Survey, the Adult Corrections Survey, the Youth Custody and Community Services Survey, the Youth Alternative Measures Survey, the Transition Home Survey, the Victim Services Survey and the General Social Survey on Victimization. Finally, the report briefly describes efforts by other countries to improve justice-related information on their indigenous populations.

Provincial and territorial governments are responsible for the administration of community-based correctional services in Canada for adults and youth, which include, but are not limited to probation, conditional sentences, and temporary absence programs. Although the Criminal Code of Canada, the Young Offenders Act and the Youth Criminal Justice Act set out guidelines, jurisdictions are not obliged to follow them directly. Jurisdictions will differ, sometimes substantially, in their administration.

This publication provides a descriptive overview of sentences and the delivery of community correctional services across all jurisdictions in Canada for both adult and youth. In addition, this publication reports on community corrections data collected from the special study, as well as data from the Adult Correctional Services Survey, the Key Indicator Report, the Youth Custody and Community Services Survey, and the Alternative Measures Survey. It examines admissions and average counts of adults and youth who were under community supervision, showing trends as far back as 1993/94. Furthermore, data on offender characteristics, such as sex and Aboriginal status are also presented.

In 2004, as part of its General Social Survey program, Statistics Canada conducted a survey on victimization and public perceptions of crime and the justice system. It was the fourth time that the General Social Survey (GSS) had examined victimization - previous surveys were conducted in 1988, 1993, and 1999. The target population was Canadians aged 15 years and older living in the ten provinces.

This report provides an overview of the main findings from cycle 18 of the General Social Survey on Victimization and makes comparisons with previous survey cycles. The analysis focuses on Canadians' outlook on crime and the criminal justice system, as well as their fear of crime. Variations by province are also presented.

This is the first quasi-national Canadian study of the criminal careers of a birth cohort. It uses linked data from the Youth Court Survey and Adult Criminal Court Survey to describe the court careers up to the 22nd birthday of Canadians born in 1979/80. The study includes six provinces - Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta - accounting for approximately 78% of the population of Canada.

Eighteen per 100 members of the cohort were referred to court for a criminal offence allegedly committed before their 22nd birthday. Thirteen were found guilty of at least one offence, and ten received a sentence which put them under the supervision of correctional or probation authorities. The peak age of referral to court is 18 years. On average, between the ages of 12 and 21 inclusive, alleged offenders were referred to court in connection with 3.1 criminal incidents' or 2.4, if administrative offences are excluded. Just over half of alleged offenders had only one incident in their court career. Seventeen percent of alleged offenders were classified as chronic offenders, who were responsible for 58% of all alleged criminal incidents.

Individuals whose contact with the court system begins later in adolescence tend to be involved in fewer criminal incidents. The lengths of court careers vary widely, but the mean and median lengths are 20 months and 13 months respectively. Age-specific annual rates of alleged offending are similar for accused males and females, and peak at 15 years of age. There is no particular tendency to escalation, de-escalation, or stability in the seriousness of repeated court referrals: all three patterns occur frequently. Thirty-seven percent of individuals with multiple court referrals have adolescent-limited careers (i.e. no incidents after the 18th birthday which resulted in court referral), 43% have adult-onset careers (no incidents before the 18th birthday), and 20% are persistent offenders (with incidents both as youths and as adults). The latter have many more criminal incidents in their careers and are much more likely than the others to have been referred to court for an offence against the person; however, the incidents in their careers are not more serious on average, and they are not more likely to have had an early onset of contact with the court system.

The file from which these results were derived could support much more detailed analyses of the topics which are touched on by this report, as well as other topics which have not been addressed, such as the timing of incidents during the career, the processing of cases through the courts, the sequence of case outcomes and sentences, and the interactions between sentencing and future offending, including the impact on careers of incapacitation. As additional years of court data become available, future research should follow court careers past the 22nd birthday. This will result in a more complete picture of the court careers of chronic, persistent offenders, as well as a more thorough investigation of the court careers of "adult-onset " offenders, who had no contact with the court system during adolescence.

In 2004, as part of its General Social Survey program, Statistics Canada conducted a survey on victimization and public perceptions of crime and the justice system. It was the fourth time that the General Social Survey (GSS) had examined victimization - previous surveys were conducted in 1999, 1993 and 1988.

For the 2004 survey, interviews were conducted by telephone with approximately 24,000 people, aged 15 and older, living in the 10 provinces. Respondents were asked about their experiences with criminal victimization. Those respondents who had been victims of a crime in the previous 12 months were asked for detailed information on each incident, including when and where it occurred; whether the incident was reported to the police; and how they were affected by the experience.

This Juristat explores the overall trends and regional variations of criminal victimization, as well as the individual risk factors associated with victimization. The impacts and consequences of being victimized are discussed, along with the informal and formal sources of support for victims.

This annual report is an examination of homicide in Canada. Detailed information is presented on the characteristics of homicide incidents (murder, manslaughter and infanticide), victims and accused within the context of both short and long-term trends. Geographical patterns of homicide are examined at the national and provincial/territorial levels, as well as for major metropolitan areas. Other key themes include international comparisons of homicide, gang-related homicides, firearm-related homicides, youth homicide and family (including spousal) homicides. The data are intended to respond to the needs of those who work in the criminal justice system as well as to inform researchers, policy analysts, academics, the media and the public on the nature and extent of homicide in Canada.

This series of reports provides detailed statistics and analysis on a variety of topics and issues concerning Canada's justice system. The annual Juristat, Youth Court Statistics, 2003-2004, summarizes trends from provincial/territorial youth courts across Canada, which provide data to the Youth Court Survey (YCS). In this Juristat, information is presented on the characteristics of cases and accused youth, conviction rates, sentencing and related issues. As well, statistics are presented for the thirteen year period from 1991-1992, the first year for which national data are available for the YCS, to the current year, 2003-2004.

This Juristat examines the case histories and correctional outcomes of adults under provincial correctional supervision in Saskatchewan during the years 1999/00 through 2003/04. This is the first report analyzing data from the newly implemented Integrated Correctional Services Survey (ICSS). It provides an analysis of characteristics of persons supervised in correctional services, and a description of their involvement, any re-involvements, as well as a comparative analysis of these characteristics between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal persons. Several cohorts of persons released from supervised correctional activity in Saskatchewan are analyzed regarding their return to correctional services as well as the relationship between these re-involvements and various demographic, case history and criminal justice factors.

This objective of this report is to present the status of national data on Aboriginal people who come into contact with the criminal justice system as offenders and victims. The report examines the current and potential collection of an individual's Aboriginal identity through various justice-related surveys at Statistics Canada, the challenges within these surveys to collect these data and provides some insight into the quality of these data. The data and sources are examined within the context of information needs for the justice and social policy sectors, and in relation to the preferred method of measuring Aboriginal Identity at Statistics Canada. Data sources examined include the Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, the Homicide Survey, the Integrated Criminal Courts Survey, the Adult Corrections Survey, the Youth Custody and Community Services Survey, the Youth Alternative Measures Survey, the Transition Home Survey, the Victim Services Survey and the General Social Survey on Victimization. Finally, the report briefly describes efforts by other countries to improve justice-related information on their indigenous populations.