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This report presents indicators to measure the workload and performance of the criminal justice system, as well as indictors on a number of socio-demographic and economic factors that can be associated with crime and victimization. In this report, workload and volume measures centre on the work of the police, courts, corrections, diversion programs and victim services and changes over time. Examples of workload and volume indicators examined in this report include: the number of criminal incidents known to police; the number of people serviced by alternative measures, mediation, dispute resolution and diversion programs; the number of cases dealt with in court; average counts in corrections institutions, and; the number of persons assisted by victim service agencies. Performance indicators are organized according to the following five general goals of the criminal justice system: 1) Public order, safety and national security through prevention and intervention; 2) Offender accountability, reintegration and rehabilitation; 3) Public trust, confidence and respect for the justice system; 4) Social equity and access to the justice system for all citizens, and; 5) Victim needs served. Examples of performance indicators examined in this report are: the overall cost of administering the sectors of the criminal justice system; the type and length of sentences ordered in court; public satisfaction with the police, the courts, and the correctional and parole systems; the number of applications for legal aid, and; the number of services for victims of crime. The various socio-demographic and economic indicators included in this report are presented in order to present statistical information on the factors that can be associated with crime. These 'context of crime indicators are organized into three broad categories: Community and society, Family, and Individual. Examples of such indicators examined in this report are: the age and sex distributions of the population; income levels and labour force participation; levels of social engagement; levels of gang activity; family structures; levels of child support; levels of education; the rate of literacy, and; the rate of alcohol and drug abuse among the adult and youth population.

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.

The annual report on crime statistics presents an analysis of the police-reported data in 2004. These data are presented within the context of both short and long term trends. Data are examined at the national, provincial and territorial levels, as well as for major metropolitan areas by type of crime. The report distinguishes between violent crime, property crime, other Criminal Code offences, impaired driving, drug offences and youth crime.

This research paper provides an overview of patterns in crime data between 1962 and 2003, with a particular focus on the decline in recorded crime throughout the 1990s. This paper also explores the statistical relationship between selected crime patterns (homicide, robbery, break and enter and motor vehicle theft) and various macro-level demographic and economic changes. Analysis is based on police-reported crime data from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Consumer Price Index, Labour Force Survey and institution data on the control and sale of alcoholic beverages in Canada.

In general, bivariate results indicate that throughout the 1990s the greatest gains in reducing crime rates were made in property crimes, especially among young offenders. Significant declines were also noted for robberies and homicides involving firearms as well as homicides overall.

Multivariate results indicate that, at the macro-level, different types of crime are influenced by different social and economic factors. Specifically, shifts in inflation were found to be associated with changes in the level of all financially motivated crimes examined (robbery, break and enter, motor vehicle theft). Shifts in the age composition of the population, on the other hand, were found to be correlated with shifts in rates of break and enter and were not statistically significant for the other types of crimes studied. Finally, shifts in alcohol consumption and unemployment rates were found to be correlated with shifts in homicide rates.

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.

This report presents indicators to measure the workload and performance of the criminal justice system, as well as indictors on a number of socio-demographic and economic factors that can be associated with crime and victimization. In this report, workload and volume measures centre on the work of the police, courts, corrections, diversion programs and victim services and changes over time. Examples of workload and volume indicators examined in this report include: the number of criminal incidents known to police; the number of people serviced by alternative measures, mediation, dispute resolution and diversion programs; the number of cases dealt with in court; average counts in corrections institutions, and; the number of persons assisted by victim service agencies. Performance indicators are organized according to the following five general goals of the criminal justice system: 1) Public order, safety and national security through prevention and intervention; 2) Offender accountability, reintegration and rehabilitation; 3) Public trust, confidence and respect for the justice system; 4) Social equity and access to the justice system for all citizens, and; 5) Victim needs served. Examples of performance indicators examined in this report are: the overall cost of administering the sectors of the criminal justice system; the type and length of sentences ordered in court; public satisfaction with the police, the courts, and the correctional and parole systems; the number of applications for legal aid, and; the number of services for victims of crime. The various socio-demographic and economic indicators included in this report are presented in order to present statistical information on the factors that can be associated with crime. These 'context of crime indicators are organized into three broad categories: Community and society, Family, and Individual. Examples of such indicators examined in this report are: the age and sex distributions of the population; income levels and labour force participation; levels of social engagement; levels of gang activity; family structures; levels of child support; levels of education; the rate of literacy, and; the rate of alcohol and drug abuse among the adult and youth population.

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.

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.

The annual report on crime statistics presents an analysis of the police-reported data in 2004. These data are presented within the context of both short and long term trends. Data are examined at the national, provincial and territorial levels, as well as for major metropolitan areas by type of crime. The report distinguishes between violent crime, property crime, other Criminal Code offences, impaired driving, drug offences and youth crime.

This research paper provides an overview of patterns in crime data between 1962 and 2003, with a particular focus on the decline in recorded crime throughout the 1990s. This paper also explores the statistical relationship between selected crime patterns (homicide, robbery, break and enter and motor vehicle theft) and various macro-level demographic and economic changes. Analysis is based on police-reported crime data from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Consumer Price Index, Labour Force Survey and institution data on the control and sale of alcoholic beverages in Canada.

In general, bivariate results indicate that throughout the 1990s the greatest gains in reducing crime rates were made in property crimes, especially among young offenders. Significant declines were also noted for robberies and homicides involving firearms as well as homicides overall.

Multivariate results indicate that, at the macro-level, different types of crime are influenced by different social and economic factors. Specifically, shifts in inflation were found to be associated with changes in the level of all financially motivated crimes examined (robbery, break and enter, motor vehicle theft). Shifts in the age composition of the population, on the other hand, were found to be correlated with shifts in rates of break and enter and were not statistically significant for the other types of crimes studied. Finally, shifts in alcohol consumption and unemployment rates were found to be correlated with shifts in homicide rates.

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.