Crime and justice

Description:

This paper discusses in detail issues dealing with the technical aspects of designing and conducting surveys. It is intended for an audience of survey methodologists.

Police records collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program are the leading source of national crime statistics. Recently, audits to correct UCR records have raised concerns as to how to handle the errors discovered in these files. Concerns centre around the methodology used to detect errors and the procedures used to correct errors once they have been discovered. This paper explores these concerns, focusing on sampling methodology, establishment of a statistical-adjustment factor, and alternative solutions. The paper distinguishes the difference between sample adjustment and sample estimates of an agency's data, and recommends sample adjustment as the most accurate way of dealing with errors.

Description:

This paper discusses in detail issues dealing with the technical aspects of designing and conducting surveys. It is intended for an audience of survey methodologists.

In order to compensate for unreported, missing, unreasonable, or unusable data, the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program conducts data estimations and imputations using a variety of statistical methods. This paper illustrates how offence and arrest data are estimated using a variety of different approaches. The paper also points out the strengths and the shortcomings of each approach.

Description:

This report presents a description of the organization and operation of provincial and territorial maintenance enforcement programs. It describes the relevant provincial legislation, highlights latest developments, provides a general description of each program, describes how each manages cases, intake/withdrawal procedures, tracing, monitoring, payment processing and enforcement practices. As such, the reader will be able to identify the variations and similarities between the various programs. All of the maintenance enforcement programs rely upon several federal acts to collect, trace and enforce support payments. Therefore, a review of the relevant federal legislation is presented first, followed by a description of each provincial and territorial maintenance enforcement program.

Description:

This report is an examination of the annual police-reported crime in Canada. Data are presented within the context of both short and long term trends. The analysis focuses on trends in violent crime, property crime, other Criminal Code offences, impaired driving offences, drug offences and youth crime. Crime rates are examined at the national and provincial/territorial levels, as well as for major metropolitan areas. The trend in Canada's crime rate is put into perspective by comparing it with crime trends in some other industrialized countries. This is an annual periodical of great interest to those who work within the criminal justice system or anyone who is interested in crime in Canada.

Description:

Using data from the Homicide Survey and a combination of other statistical data sources this Juristat will examine spousal homicide trends over the period 1974-2000. In 1991 changes were made to the Homicide Survey providing more detailed breakdowns of the relationship between victims and offenders permitting comparisons of married, common-law, separated and divorced couples as well as boyfriends and girlfriends. This allows trends in other intimate partner homicides (e.g. boyfriends and girlfriends) to be examined from 1991-2000. These trends in spousal homicide will be assessed within the context of other factors, including improvements to women’s economic and social well-being (e.g. average annual income, delayed marriage and child-rearing), growth in the availability of emergency services for battered women, trends in spousal victims’ use of social services, trends in reporting spousal violence to the police, and the evolution of charging and prosecution policies.

Description:

The 1999 General Social Survey was the first attempt by Statistics Canada to measure spousal violence in a comprehensive way on a traditional victimization survey. Both women and men were asked a module of 10 questions concerning violence by their current or previous spouses and common-law partners. The nature of the violence under study ranged in severity from threats to sexual assault and concerned acts that happened in the 12-month and 5-year periods preceding the survey interview.

Description:

Persons aged 65 years and older constitute one of the fastest growing segments of the Canadian population. In 2000, there were an estimated 3.8 million older men and women representing 13% of the country's total population, up from 9% just 20 years earlier. Declining fertility rates and increased longevity, due primarily to improved health care, have contributed to this rapid growth. And as the baby-boom generation (those born between 1946 and 1965) begins to reach the age of 65 early in the next decade, the absolute number of older adults, as well as their share of the total population, is expected to grow even more quickly. Indeed, by 2021, population projections estimate that older Canadians will number close to 6.7 million or about one-fifth of the total population (George et al. 2001).

Description:

Over the past two decades, the negative consequences of child maltreatment have been extensively studied. Sexual and physical assault, emotional abuse and neglect can have a tremendous impact on the lives of victims and lead to physical health complications, long-term mental health issues, and problems with relationships or social functioning (Latimer 1998). Increasingly, exposure to spousal violence is being recognized as harmful and as putting children at risk for long-term negative effects.

Description:

The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics conducted a special study on conditional sentencing in 2001 to improve the level and quality of information available on this disposition and to assess the influence of the new sanction on correctional services caseloads. The purpose of this bulletin is to provide a preliminary examination of the results of the special study, as well as the most current data from the Adult Correctional Services Survey and the Adult Criminal Court Survey.

Description:

This bulletin examines 'home invasions'. Recent high-profile incidents of 'home invasion' have received significant exposure in the media, particularly those where the elderly have been targeted. The impact of 'home invasions' extends beyond the violence of the crime itself to a long-term loss of the victim's sense of safety at home.

Description:

The International Youth Survey (IYS) is the Canadian portion of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD) which examines the behaviour and misbehaviour of students in grades 7 to 9 in about 30 European countries, United States and Canada. The National Crime Prevention Centre of the federal department of Public Safety sponsored the Canadian survey. The city of Toronto was chosen as the most suitable city where Statistics Canada could conduct the survey and on which the analysis of results would focus.

The survey needed to be representative of each of the three grades (7 to 9) and at the grade level, of both sexes. In April 2006, about 3,200 students in 176 schools completed the IYS.

Description: This table contains 16 series, with data for years 1998 - 2004 (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 (1 item: Canada); Estimates (2 items: Number of shelters; Percentage of shelters); Type of shelter (8 items: Total shelters; Transition home; Second stage housing; Safe home network; ...).

Description: This table contains 72 series, with data for years 1998 - 2000 (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 (1 item: Canada); Type of resident (3 items: Resident;Non-resident;Ex-resident); Estimates (2 items: Number of shelters;Percent); Type of in-house service (12 items: Individual counselling;Group counselling/support;Programs for child witnesses or victims of abuse;Culturally sensitive services for Aboriginal children; ...).

Description: This table contains 48 series, with data for years 1998 - 2000 (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 (1 item: Canada); Estimates (2 items: Women;Percent); Reason for admission (24 items: Total admissions;Abusive situations;Physical abuse;Sexual abuse; ...).

Description: This table contains 45 series, with data for years 1998 - 2000 (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 (15 items: Canada; Newfoundland and Labrador; Prince Edward Island; Nova Scotia; ...); Admissions (3 items: Total admissions; Women; Children).

Description: This table contains 62 series, with data for years 1998 - 2000 (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 (1 item: Canada); Estimates (4 items: Number of women; Percentage of women; Number of children; Percentage of children); Characteristics (27 items: Total women admitted due to abuse; Age 15-24;Age 25-34;Age 35-44; ...).

Description:

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 survey also included a test collection of telephone survey data in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon. This document contains data tables for these territories produced from the sample of this test collection.

Description:

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.

Description:

These on-line data tables provide information pertaining to services provided by governmental agencies responsible for adult corrections in each of the provincial, territorial and federal sectors. Statistical data are presented on caseload characteristics (e.g. number of admissions to correctional facilities and community supervision, age and sex of offenders, offences for which the offender is admitted to a correctional facility and probation, sentence length, time served, etc.), average counts of offenders in correctional facilities and community supervision, and resources and expenditures relating to both custodial and community supervision services. Data presented in this report cover the three most recent fiscal years.

Description:

Cycle 18 of the GSS is the fourth cycle (after cycles 3, 8 and 13) to collect information on the nature and extent of criminal victimization in Canada. Content from Cycle 13 on senior abuse and public perception of alternatives to imprisonment was not repeated. New topics of interest were added including stalking, use of restraining orders and social disorder. Other subjects common to all four cycles include perceptions of crime, police and courts; crime prevention precautions; and accident and crime incident reports.

The target population of the GSS is all individuals aged 15 and over living in a private household in one of the ten provinces.

Description: Online child sexual exploitation and abuse encompasses a broad range of behaviors, including those related to child sexual abuse material, sexting materials, sextortion, grooming and luring, live child sexual abuse streaming and made-to-order content. Building on a previously published article focusing on the prevalence, trends and characteristics of police-reported online child sexual exploitation and abuse in Canada, the current article focuses on the pathways of these incidents through the justice system. Using linked data from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey and the Integrated Criminal Court Survey, the current article examines criminal justice outcomes of online child sexual exploitation and abuse incidents that were reported to police between 2014 and 2020, focusing on how incidents progressed to court, and their court outcomes.

Description: Using multiple surveys, this article examines cyberbullying and cybervictimization among Canadian youth and young adults aged 12 to 29. With rates of online and social media use being high among young people, there is an increased risk of online forms of bullying and victimization. This paper examines the prevalence of cyberbullying and cybervictimization among young people, with a focus on identifying the at-risk populations, behaviours related to prevalence, such as internet and smart phone usage, and the association of online victimization with other forms of victimization, such as fraud and assault.

Description: Using 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, this infographic looks at the prevalence of cyberbullying among youth aged 12 to 17 and the relationship between frequency of social media use and cyberbullying. It also examines potential factors to protect youth against the online victimization.

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

Description:

This Juristat article presents information on the nature and extent of crime in the rural areas of the Canadian provinces. This includes analysis of recent trends in crime rates and severity in rural and urban areas, both at the national and provincial levels. The report also examines the specific nature and extent of crime in rural areas of the provincial North. Analysis uses police-reported data from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey and the Homicide Survey, as well as self-reported data from General Social Survey on Canadians' Safety (Victimization).

Description: Infographic with main findings from the "Police-reported crime in rural and urban areas in the Canadian provinces, 2021" Juristat article.

Description: In Canada, national-level estimates have primarily focused on physical types of child maltreatment (e.g., physical abuse, sexual abuse), while less is known about non-physical types of maltreatment (e.g., emotional abuse, exposure to intimate partner violence, physical neglect). Using data from the 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces, this study examines the percentage of individuals living in Canada who reported experiencing no maltreatment, only non-physical types of maltreatment, only physical types of child maltreatment, or both non-physical and physical child maltreatment.

Description: This Juristat article examines police-reported data on men and boys' experiences with violent victimization in Canada. Some self-reported data are also presented. Overall, it provides information on rates of victimization, and the characteristics of incidents, victims and accused persons.

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

Description: Using retrospective data from the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS), this Juristat article examines factors associated with an elevated likelihood of experiencing childhood victimization and further identifies adult outcomes that are associated with experiences of childhood victimization, including adult mental and physical health, drug and alcohol use, and subsequent victimization in adulthood. The article also includes information on additional experiences of child maltreatment, including experiences of emotional abuse and neglect and witnessing violence in the home.

Description: The two primary objectives of the General Social Survey (GSS) are: - to gather data on social trends in order to monitor changes in the living conditions and well-being of Canadians over time; and - to provide information on specific social policy issues of current or emerging interest.

Description: The objective of this survey is to collect information on victim service agencies that provided services directly to primary or secondary victims of crime during the 12-month reference period, as well as to provide a one-day snapshot of clientele being served on a specific date. Information on activities by criminal injuries compensation/financial benefit programs during the 12-month reference period is also collected.

Description: The goals of this survey were to enhance our understanding of hate crime in Canada and to assess the feasibility of collecting national police-reported hate crime statistics.

Description: The primary objective of the Civil Court Survey is to develop and maintain a national civil court database of statistical information on court events and cases. It is intended to collect comparable, national level baseline data on civil court activity in Canada.

Description: The purpose of this is to collect data on residential services for abused and at-risk youth (aged 16 to 29) during the previous 12 months, as well as to provide a one-day "snapshot" of the clientele being served on a specific date.

Description: The purpose of this survey is to collect national-level data on the prevalence and types of fraud experienced by certain business sectors. These data are required to respond to the need for better information on the nature and extent of fraud in Canada in order to improve policy and public education with respect to this issue. The survey also collects information on fraud detection and prevention and actions taken in response to incidents of fraud, including use of the criminal justice system.