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: This Juristat article presents data and information on the extent of Indigenous over-representation in correctional systems across Canada in 2019/2020 and 2020/2021, using three new corrections indicators recently developed: Incarceration Rates for Indigenous and non-Indigenous persons, the Over-Representation Index, and the Custodial Involvement Rate. In addition, trends in the use of bail and remand will be explored, along with possible impacts on over-representation. The findings are presented from five provincial correctional service programs reporting to the Canadian Correctional Services Survey (CCSS): Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.

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

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

Description: This Juristat analyzes police-reported data of homicides involving women and girls who were killed by an intimate partner, family member, within the context of sex work as well as those who experienced sexual violence. Some data on the attempted murder of women and girls are also presented. Overall, it provides information on rates of victimization, and the characteristics of victims, incidents and accused persons.

Description: This infographic analyzes police-reported data of homicides involving women and girls who were killed by an intimate partner, family member, within the context of sex work as well as those who experienced sexual violence. Some data on the attempted murder of women and girls are also presented. Overall, it provides information on rates of victimization, and the characteristics of victims, incidents and accused persons.

Description: This infographic is a visual representation using some of the data from the 2022 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, police personnel data and financial cost-drivers for police services.

Description: The Survey of Maintenance Enforcement Programs (SMEP) collects information on child and spousal support payments and cases from provincial and territorial maintenance enforcement programs (MEPs). These programs exist in each province and territory to assist in the collection and enforcement of child and spousal support payments.

The SMEP data provide information on the volume and type of cases enrolled, enforcement actions taken, support amounts due and compliance with support payments, among other measures. The data do not cover all support cases in Canada, as not all support orders are registered in MEPs.

Description: Using police-reported data from the 2021 Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey, this infographic is a visual representation of some of these data. Findings include results at the national, provincial, and territorial levels. Also included are findings related to the type and motivation of hate crimes committed in Canada, as well as the most serious violations reported in each incident.

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: Using 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces, this infographic examines cybervictimization among Canadian young adults aged 18 to 29. It identifies the at-risk populations and the association of online victimization with other forms of victimization.

Description: The primary objective of this survey is to better understand how Canadian students perceive their personal safety in the school-related environment, as well as their experiences of victimization in this setting. The information will be used by governments to develop and implement programs and policies to help Canadian postsecondary students.

Description: The purpose of the Survey on Sexual Misconduct at Work (SSMW) is to obtain an accurate picture of the nature, extent, and impact of: inappropriate sexual behaviours; discriminatory behaviours based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity; and sexual victimization within Canadian work-related settings.

Description: The purpose of the Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian Victim Services survey is to collect information on the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on the operations of Canadian victim service programs, including factors that have affected their ability to provide services and how they have adapted their operations to continue to serve victims.

Description: The purpose of the Canadian Legal Problems Survey (CLPS) is to identify the kinds of serious problems people face, how they attempt to resolve them, and how these experiences may impact their lives. The information collected will be used to better understand the various methods people use to resolve problems - not just formal systems such as courts and tribunals, but also informal channels such as self-help strategies.

Description: Data from the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada will be used to create an indicator for the Gender Results Framework. The purpose is to present the gender distribution of federally appointed judges in federal, provincial and territorial courts.

Description: This is non-Statistics Canada information.