Crime and justice

Description:

Homicide tends to receive more media attention and consequently closer public scrutiny than any other criminal act. The act itself, especially if cruel in nature or targeting defenceless members of society, promotes fear in the general public. Despite a growing concern among Canadians about threats of attack or violence, the homicide rate has gradually been declining since the mid 1970s.

Description:

This Juristat examines the extent to which weapons, such as guns, knives and blunt objects, are used in violent crimes. In order to understand the prevalence of violent crime in general, the first section provides a brief explanation of the trends over time in Canada, while the second section of this Juristat provides a snapshot of the use of weapons in violent crime in 1995. The final section more specifically examines the national trends in weapon use in the crimes of homicide and robbery since 1975, with a particular focus upon the use of firearms.

Description:

The purpose of this report is to reduce the level of confusion arising from the use of crime data originating from two very different sources (i.e., the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey - UCR and the General Social Survey - GSS) and to inform discussions about which is the better measure of crime. It explains why the findings based on these data sources diverge and summarizes the major differences between the two surveys.

Description:

This Juristat examines data from the Adult Corrections Survey (ACS) and provides readers with a comprehensive overview of the adult prison population, operating costs, charge and offence information, sentencing data, and community supervision services. The findings reported here are provided in greater detail in the annual report Adult Correctional Services in Canada, 1995-96(Catalogue 85-211-XPB).

Description:

This juristat answers questions about the relative cost of justice services within the context of total government spending, and examines changes in spending patterns over time. In addition, financial profiles are provided for six major justice services: policing, courts, adult corrections, youth corrections, legal aid, and prosecutions. Some of the initiatives underway to give taxpayers more efficient and effective services are also discussed.

Description:

This Juristat deals with prostitution-related crime in Canada, that is, communicating, procuring and bawdy-house offences (see Prostitution in the Criminal Code). Incidents reported during the 1977-1995 period are examined, with a focus on recent years. A wide variety of data and other information sources dealing with street prostitution have been consulted to provide a multi-faceted look at these activities.

Description:

The purpose of this document is to provide a picture of the most recent sentencing trends in Canadian adult provincial courts. Several issues can be explored using the aggregate statistics found in this data base. First, what percentage of all convictions result in a sentence of imprisonment? Many commissions of inquiry as well as the federal government have noted the need to develop more alternatives to imprisonment, in order to reduce Canada's reliance on incarceration as a sanction. Second, what kinds of sanctions are associated with various offences? Third, are sentences proportional in their severity to the seriousness of the crimes for which they are imposed? The principle of proportionality in the use of punishment lies at the heart of the sentencing system in Canada. The recently enacted sentencing reform Bill, declared that "A sentence must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender". Fourth, what kinds of offences attract non-custodial sanctions such as probation and fines?

Description:

The intent of this Juristat is to present police and court data on criminal harassment that are currently available from Statistics Canada's Revised Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey and Adult Criminal Court Survey (ACCS). As the legislation is relatively new, this report is a first attempt at producing a detailed analysis of criminal harassment data. The statistics in this report provide only a partial picture of criminal harassment in Canada and are not nationally representative. As such, the analysis will focus on the nature of incidents rather than the extent. Please refer to the Methodology section for more details on the data sources.

Description:

Police-reported violent crime in Canada increased steadily from the early 1970s through to the early 1990s. Homicides, in particular, tend to be widely covered in the media, especially those of a brutal nature or those targeting the more vulnerable members of society. The 1993 General Social Survey indicated a growing concern among Canadians about threats of attack or violence. Yet the homicide rate has gradually been declining since the mid 1970s.

Description:

In every province and territory, abused women and their children can find refuge in a variety of facilities that provide residential services. In 1994-95, transition homes and similar institutions recorded more than 85,000 admissions. Most of the women admitted were escaping physical abuse by a current or previous spouse or common-law partner.

Description: This table contains 142 series, with data for years 1978/1979 - 2008/2009 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years), and is no longer being released. This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (17 items: Canada;Provinces and territories;Newfoundland and Labrador;Prince Edward Island; ...); Operating expenditures (9 items: Total operating expenditures;Custodial services;Community supervision services;Headquarters and central services; ...).

Description:

This package was designed to help users access and manipulate the public use microdata file (PUMF – provincial) for the 2014 General Social Survey (GSS) on Canadians’ Safety (Victimization). It contains the PUMF data and describes the objectives, methodology and estimation procedures for this survey as well as guidelines for releasing estimates.

Statistics Canada collected data on the topic of Canadians’ safety (Victimization) for the sixth time in 2014. Data were previously collected in 1988 (Cycle 3), 1993 (Cycle 8), 1999 (Cycle 13), 2004 (Cycle 18) and 2009 (Cycle 23). The 2014 provincial GSS collected data from persons aged 15 years and over living in private households in Canada, excluding residents of the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut and full time residents of institutions.

Between 2009 and 2014, the core content of the survey was revised in a number of ways, based on experience gained from earlier iterations. Some questions were revised to improve their clarity for respondents, and others were added or dropped following consultations with stakeholders from the justice sector, government and academic communities.

Description: Legal aid plan revenues by type of revenue, five years of data.

Description: Legal aid service delivery by type of lawyer, five years of data.

Description: Federal government contributions to legal aid plans, five years of data.

Description: Provincial and territorial government contributions to legal aid plans, five years of data.

Description: Direct legal service expenditures on legal aid plans by criminal and civil matters, five years of data

Description: Refused legal aid applications by reason for refusal, five years of data.

Description: Personnel resources and legal aid plan personnel as of March 31, five years of data.

Description: Legal aid duty counsel services, five years of data.

Description: Key statistics about crime in Canada are presented in this infographic. Findings on changes to the Crime Severity Index (CSI) at the national and provincial, territorial levels are presented. Also included are the categories of crime which were reported in 2023.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: This publication presents key highlights and results from the General Social Survey on the topics of caregiving and care receiving; social identity; giving, volunteering and participating; victimization; time use; and family.

Description: This Juristat article explores recent trends in police-reported sexual assault and other selected types of violent crime, following the implementation of changes to the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey in 2018. Analysis includes a focus on clearance status and victim, accused person and incident characteristics, comparing results from 2017 to the years that followed the changes.

Description: This publication provides in-depth analysis and detailed statistics on a variety of topics and issues related to justice and public safety. Topics include crime, victimization, homicide, civil, family and criminal courts, and correctional services. Issues related to community safety, and perceptions of safety are also covered. The publication is intended for those with an interest in Canada's justice and public safety systems as well as those who plan, establish, administer and evaluate programs and projects related to justice and public safety.

Description: This Juristat article uses data from the 2022/2023 Survey of Residential Facilities for Victims of Abuse (SRFVA) to present results on residential facilities in Canada that are primarily mandated to serve victims of abuse. Results presented in this article refer to two distinct time periods. The first focuses on a 12-month period within 2022/2023, and provides an overview of facility characteristics, touching on shelter admissions, availability of accommodations, and general services provided. The second focuses on information for a predetermined snapshot date of April 13, 2023, and presents a profile of residents using residential facilities on this date.

Description: Using police-reported data from the 2022 Homicide Survey, this infographic is a visual representation of some of these data. Findings include results based on Indigenous identity. Also included are findings related to the characteristics of victims as well as the prevalence of missing persons and spousal and intimate partner violence.

Description: Using data from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey and the Integrated Criminal Courts Survey, this infographic is a visual representation of the prevalence of police-reported incidents of online child sexual exploitation in Canada between 2014 and 2022. Findings include the types of incidents reported to police, including both online sexual offences against children and child pornography offences, as well as characteristics of victims and accused persons.

Description: This infographic is a visual representation using some of the data from the 2023 Police Administration Survey. Findings reported on the infographic include results on key indicators such as police strength, number of police officers, number of calls for service and police personnel data.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: The purpose of the Adult Correctional Services (ACS) survey is to provide important indicators as to the nature and characteristics in correctional case-flow that are of use to agencies responsible for the delivery of these services, the media and the public. The survey collects annual data on the delivery of adult correctional services from both the provincial/territorial and federal correctional systems.

Description: The survey provides the justice community, academics and the public with information on revenues, expenditures, personnel, and caseload statistics associated with the delivery and administration of legal aid in Canada.

Description: The objective of the Youth Court Survey (YCS) is to develop and maintain a database of statistical information on appearances, charges, and cases in youth courts.

Description: The objective of this survey is to provide information on the human resources and costs associated with the operation of Canadian courts.

Description: The objective of the Integrated Criminal Court Survey (ICCS) is to develop and maintain a national database of statistical information on appearances, charges, and cases in youth courts and adult criminal courts. The survey is intended to be a census of pending and completed federal statute charges heard in provincial-territorial and superior courts in Canada. Appeal courts, federal courts (e.g., Tax Court of Canada) and the Supreme Court of Canada are not covered by the survey.

Description: The Corrections Key Indicator Report for Adults and Youth monitors trends in correctional populations and provides a basis for calculating incarceration rates based on the Canadian population. This survey describes average counts of adults and youth under custody and under community supervision, who are under the responsibility of provincial/territorial correctional services.

Description: This survey collects detailed data on homicide in Canada. The survey has collected police-reported data on the characteristics of all murder incidents, victims and accused persons since 1961 and all homicides (including murder, manslaughter and infanticide) since 1974.

Description: The primary objective of this survey is to provide information on the human resources and costs associated with the delivery of criminal prosecutions services in Canada.

Description: The purpose of the Youth Custody and Community Services (YCCS) survey is to provide important indicators as to the nature and case characteristics of youth in correctional services and are of use to agencies responsible for the delivery of these services, the media and the public. The survey collects annual data on the delivery of youth correctional services from the provinces and territories.

Description: This survey collects statistical and descriptive information on child and spousal support payments from provincial and territorial maintenance enforcement programs.