Crime and justice

Description:

This annual report is an examination of homicide in Canada. Detailed information is presented on the characteristics of homicide incidents (murder, manslaughter and infanticide) and, within the context of both short and long-term trends, the victims and accused. 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.

Description:

Custodial remand occurs when a person is ordered by the court to be held in custody while awaiting a further court appearance. While rates of crime and sentenced custody have been generally decreasing, the use of custodial remand has been increasing steadily, progressively comprising a larger share of the incarcerated population.

This special topic Juristat provides an overview of incarceration trends, focussing on changes in the use of custodial remand. A variety of factors and data sources are also examined in order to provide insights into why the use of custodial remand may be increasing. Factors examined include the changes in the violent crime rate, the use of time served sentences, increasing duration of remand, implementation of conditional sentences (and conditional sentence breaches), and changes to the Criminal Code.

Description:

This issue of Juristat presents statistical information on the extent and nature of sexual offences in Canada. Rates of sexual offences are examined at the national and provincial/territorial levels and for major metropolitan areas. Data used in the report include police statistics from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey and the Homicide Survey and court data from the Adult Criminal Court Survey and the Youth Court Survey. This Juristat also presents analysis from the 1999 General Social Survey on Victimization and takes into account historical and recent amendments to the Criminal Code concerning sexual offences. Other topics include child pornography, trafficking of persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation, child prostitution, dating violence and homicides involving sexual violence.

Description:

This report is an examination of 2002 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, impaired driving offences, drug offences and youth crime. Crime rates are examined at the national, provincial/territorial and census metropolitan area levels. The trend in Canada’s crime rate is put into perspective by comparing it with the United States and England and Wales. Detailed information on incidents and accused persons is also presented where appropriate.

Description:

This report provides the most recent information from the 2001/02 Transition Home Survey. It surveys facilities providing residential services for abused women conducted every two years. Questionnaires are mailed to every known facility identified as providing residential services (shelter) to abused women in each province and territory. Information is collected on the characteristics of the facilities and the services provided during the previous 12 months. The survey also provides a one-day snapshot of the characteristics of women and children residing in shelters on a specific day. For the 2001/02 survey, the snapshot day was April 15, 2002. In 2001/02, some 92% of shelters responded to the survey. Where possible, comparisons are made with the 1997/98 and 1999/00 Transition Home surveys.

Description:

This chapter focusses on the nature and extent of spousal violence and on the police response to incidents reported to them.

Description:

This chapter focusses on violence and homicides committed against older adults by family members as reported to police forces across Canada in 2001. In addition, trends over time are examined.

Description:

This chapter focusses on physical and sexual assaults and homicides committed against children and youth (under the age of 18) and reported to police forces across the country. In addition, system responses to the problem of child maltreatment are examined.

Description:

This product profiles in detail the characteristics of the facilities which serve abused women and their children, as well as the characteristics of the clients served by shelters on snapshot day.

Description:

This chapter highlights initiatives in place in four jurisdictions (Ontario, Winnipeg, Calgary and the Yukon) to develop specialized domestic violence court programs. It also outlines activities by the Correctional Service of Canada that identify offenders at risk of family violence and provide treatment programs for them.

Description:

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.

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 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.

Description:

This report presents an overview of Canadians' outlook on crime and the criminal justice system at both the national and Census Metropolitan Area levels. The information was collected in 2004 through Cycle 18 of the General Social Survey (GSS) on victimization. This survey, which has been previously carried out in 1999, 1993, and 1988, collects information on Canadians' experience of victimization, and public attitudes towards crime, police, courts, prison and parole. 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:

Crime statistics for 2003 were first released in July 2004. Canadian crime statistics, 2003, released today, presents additional detailed information. Standard crime tables are presented for Canada, the provinces and territories, and all census metropolitan areas. Also included in the publication is a set of 20 tables from the Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, based on data collected from 122 police departments in nine provinces that dealt with 61% of the national volume of police-reported crime. These tables examine the characteristics of the victims and the accused (their age and sex, the relationship of the accused to the victim, level of injury and weapon causing injury), as well as the criminal incident itself (location of the incident, target of violation, presence of weapons and type of property stolen).

Description:

The 'conditional sentence' was enacted in September 1996 as a new sentencing option for adult offenders. Under this new sanction, an offender could be ordered a term of imprisonment of less than two years to be served within the community. During the 2001 to 2002 period, the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics conducted a special study of conditional sentences in correctional services in order to examine the impact of this new sentence on the administration of sentencing in Canada and to explore its application through an examination of caseloads and case characteristics.

This report uses data from that special study, as well as the Adult Correctional Services survey, to profile conditional sentence caseloads and case characteristics (e.g., length of sentence, most serious offence, conditions ordered), and offender characteristics (e.g., age, sex, Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal), nationally, provincially and territorially for the period of 1997 to 2001. Data on conditional sentences are also compared with probation and custody trends in order to examine the impact of conditional sentencing on probation and incarceration. Additional information describing jurisdictional administrative policies and procedures governing conditional sentences is also provided. The correctional services data have been supplemented with court data on conditional sentences from three jurisdictions: Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Alberta.

Description:

This publication presents data on young offender admissions to custody and community services, with breakdowns by custody (remand, secure, open) and probation, and key case characteristics, such as age, sex, Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal status and most serious offence. In addition, it includes data pertaining to releases from remand, secure custody and open custody, by sex and time served. These breakdowns are presented at the national and provincial/territorial levels.

Data presented in this publication are drawn from two primary sources: 1) The Youth Custody and Community Services (YCCS) Survey. The objective of this survey is to collect and analyse information on the application of dispositions under the Young Offenders Act from provincial and territorial agencies responsible for youth corrections and programs. 2) The Youth Key Indicator Report (YKIR). This survey measures the average counts of youth in custody (remand, secure and open) and on probation. The YKIR describes average daily counts (caseload), which measure the volume of offenders held in custody or on probation on an average day at month-end. This information also provides an examination of youth incarceration and probation rates in Canada.

Description:

Bulletins are short documents that provide information or statistics on important justice related topics. The articles cover current issues in justice such as impaired driving, youth and crime, intermittent sentencing, criminal harassment, etc.

Description:

This product provides data on revenues, expenditures, and caseloads of legal aid plans in Canada. Data are presented in table format, and includes aggregate data at the provincial/territorial level on the sources of revenue, expenditures and caseloads associated with the delivery of legal aid in Canada. An analytical discussion of these data is provided in the associated publication entitled Legal aid in Canada: resource and caseload statistics, catalogue no. 85F0015XIE, which provides an overview of the revenues, expenditures and caseloads of legal aid plans in Canada.

Description:

This report presents data from the Courts Personnel and Expenditure Survey including national totals and jurisdictional information on personnel (judiciary and court staff); judiciary by level of court; expenditures by type (i.e. salaries and benefits); and operating expenditures (i.e. law library/publication costs, witness costs). The survey is administered on a biennial basis and this year's report covers data for the 2000/01 fiscal year.

Description:

This report presents highlights from the Criminal Prosecutions Personnel and Expenditures Survey including national totals and jurisdictional information on type of staff; use of contract lawyers; expenditures by type (i.e. salaries and benefits, administrative services, etc.); and the types of services provided, (e.g. specialized services versus general duties). The survey is administered on a biennial basis, be reporting data for the 2000-01 fiscal year.

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: The Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD) is an area-based index which uses Census of Population microdata to measure four key dimensions of deprivation at the dissemination area (DA)-level: residential instability, economic dependency, situational vulnerability and ethno-cultural composition.

The CIMD allows for an understanding of inequalities in various measures of health and social well-being. While it is a geographically-based index of deprivation and marginalization, it can also be used as a proxy for an individual. The CIMD has the potential to be widely used by researchers on a variety of topics related to socio-economic research. Other uses for the index may include: policy planning and evaluation, or resource allocation.

Description:

The Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD) is an area-based index which uses Census of Population microdata to measure four key dimensions of deprivation at the dissemination area (DA)-level: residential instability, economic dependency, situational vulnerability and ethno-cultural composition. The CIMD allows for an understanding of inequalities in various measures of health and social well-being. While it is a geographically-based index of deprivation and marginalization, it can also be used as a proxy for an individual. The CIMD has the potential to be widely used by researchers on a variety of topics related to socio-economic research. Other uses for the index may include: policy planning and evaluation, or resource allocation.

Description:

The User Guide for the Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD) outlines uses for the index, as well as it provides a brief description of the methodology behind the development of the index. This User Guide also provides instructions on how to use the index, and lists considerations when using the CIMD data.

Description:

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.

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 publication describes the structure and administration of provincial/territorial legal aid services in Canada. It also includes information on legislation, organization, coverage, eligibility, duty counsel and tariffs.

Description:

This publication includes a list of federal and provincial courts across the country. The purpose of this directory is to identify all courts (permanent and most frequently visited circuit points) in Canada by type, level, and location.

Description: The purpose of this survey is to collect education related financial data on all reform and correctional institutions in Canada. These data are used to supplement data collected from the Provincial Public Accounts on provincial expenditures on education.

Description: The purpose of the Police Administration Survey (PAS) is to collect statistics on public policing personnel and expenditures from municipal, provincial and federal police services in Canada. The information collected is used by federal and provincial policy makers, individual police services as well as officials responsible for police budgets. The data are also used by the media for the purpose of providing information to the general public.

Description: The Uniform Crime Reporting Survey was designed to measure the incidence of crime in Canadian society and its characteristics. The information is used by federal and provincial policy makers as well as public and private researchers.