Crime and justice

Description:

This issue of Juristat examines how much is being spent to operate the justice system in Canada. Trends in spending and personnel are discussed for policing, courts, legal aid, criminal prosecutions, and corrections. The report data come from several sources, including the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics' resource, Statistics Canada's Financial Management System, and expenditure and personnel surveys. The data cover the period up to 2000-2001.

Description:

The Adult Correctional Services Survey (ACSS) collects annual aggregate data from all jurisdictions on the delivery of adult correctional services from both the provincial, territorial and federal correctional systems. Key themes include the average daily counts of adults in custodial facilities, including remand, as well as monthly counts of probationers; and new admissions (commencements) to correctional programs of sentenced custody, probation, conditional sentences and other community-based programs. The survey also captures information on conditional releases to the community, including parole and statutory release. In addition, the survey collects information on the financial and human resources involved in the delivery of adult correctional services. While trends are presented for the key units of count, the reference period for this release is 2000-2001.

Description:

In January 1999, the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS) received a commitment of four years funding from the federal government's Policy Research Initiative (PRI) to conduct a study on hate crime in Canada. The purpose of the overall study is to enhance our understanding of hate crime and to assess the feasibility of collecting police-reported hate crime statistics in Canada. In 2001, the CCJS released a report entitled "Hate crime in Canada: an overview of issues and data sources", catalogue no. 85-551-XIE.

This report helped to address some questions regarding the nature and magnitude of hate crimes in Canada, although certain data gaps were identified. As a result, it was determined that a pilot survey should be conducted with police departments that collect hate crime statistics. In order to determine specific information needs for the pilot survey, consultations were held with a number of academics; members of various non-governmental and community organizations; and federal and provincial departments responsible for the administration of justice, as well as police departments.

The information contained in this report provides a summary of the consultations that were held between September 2001 and March 2002.

Description:

The Juristat publication, "Pilot analysis of recidivism among convicted youth and young adults, 1999/00," summarizes trends from the provincial/territorial courts across Canada that provided data to the Adult Criminal Court Survey (ACCS) and the Youth Court Survey (YCS). This report attempts to gauge the prevalence of recidivism in young adults by examining the conviction histories of young adults convicted in Canadian criminal courts in 1999-2000. It also examines the transition from youth to adult offending, including patterns of re-offending, differences in conviction histories by age of onset and the impact of conviction history on court sentencing.

Description:

This Juristat presents and analyzes information on young offender admissions to custody and community services, with breakdowns by custody (remand, secure, and 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 and analyzed at the national and provincial/territorial level.

Alternative measures refer to formalized programs across Canada through which persons who would otherwise proceed to court are dealt with via non-judicial sanctions. An analysis on alternative measures includes data pertaining to the participation and agreement by the youth to enter these community-based alternatives. The key case characteristics of this survey are similar to those collected by the Youth Custody and Community Services survey.

The Youth Key Indicators describe average daily counts (caseload), which measure the volume of offenders held in custody or on probation on an average day. This information also provides an examination of youth incarceration and probation rates in Canada.

Data summarized in this Juristat are primarily drawn from three perspectives: 1) The Youth Custody and Community Services (YCCS) survey. The scope of the survey is to collect and analyze information on the application of dispositions under the Young Offenders Act from provincial and territorial agencies responsible for youth corrections and programs. 2) The Alternative Measures survey, which collects and analyzes data on the number of agreements achieved and completed. And, 3) The Youth Key Indicator Report that measures the average counts of youth in custody (remand, secure and open) and on probation.

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:

Recognizing that there is the need for better information and statistics on organized crime, and for methodologies to measure its impact on Canadians, the federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for Justice have endorsed a plan to begin addressing Canada's data gap in the area of organized crime.

The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics was contracted by the Solicitor General of Canada to investigate the feasibility of collecting quantitative data on organized crime. This report highlights the lessons learned during consultations with selected police intelligence units and it presents a number of options for data collection.

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:

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 dashboard presents key indicators for preliminary quarterly data on adult criminal and youth courts, by offence and sex of the accused, Canada, provinces and territories.

Description: Preliminary quarterly key indicator percentage change (year-over-year) on adult criminal courts and youth courts, by offence and sex of accused, for all reporting provinces and territories.

Description: Preliminary quarterly key indicator results and year-over-year absolute change (refers to the simple difference in the indicator over two periods of time (new-old)) for adult criminal courts and youth courts, by offence and sex of accused, for all reporting provinces and territories.

Description: Annual admissions (number, percent) to residential facilities for victims of abuse, by resident type and area density, Canada, Province or territory, reference year.

Description: One day snapshot of residents (number, percent) in residential facilities for victims of abuse, by reason for seeking shelter, Canada, Province or territory, reference year.

Description: One day snapshot of women and accompanying children (number, percent) residing in residential facilities for victims of abuse compared with individuals living in Canada, by selected characteristics, Canada, Province or territory, reference year.

Description: One day snapshot of women and accompanying children (number, percent, rate per 100,000) residing in residential facilities for victims of abuse, by age group, Canada, region, reference year.

Description: One day snapshot of women (percent) residing in residential facilities for victims of abuse, by type of abuse experienced, Canada, Province or territory, reference year.

Description: One day snapshot of women (number, percent) residing in residential facilities for victims of abuse, by relationship of abuser to the adult female, Canada, Province or territory, reference year.

Description: Percent of residential facilities for victims of abuse offering selected services, Canada, region, reference year.

Description:

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.

Description:

Recently, through the General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization, questions related to spousal violence against women and men were repeated. Results of this survey permit the analysis of how spousal violence has changed in nature and extent over the two cycles of the survey from and, for the first time, provide trends on male spousal violence. As will be highlighted in this chapter, the GSS illustrates that overall spousal violence rates have remained stable, but violence in previous relationships has decreased for both women and men and continues to be more common than in current relationships. In addition, the data continue to show that violence is more prevalent in common-law relationships than in marital unions, and although relatively equal proportions of women and men report some type of spousal violence, women continue to suffer more serious and repeated spousal violence than do men and incur more serious consequences as a result of this violence.

Description:

In the past decade, four large-scale victimization surveys have been conducted to obtain national population estimates of stalking. These surveys have been carried out in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and Canada. For the first time in Statistics Canada measured stalking through the General Social Survey on Victimization (GSS). The present analysis details the prevalence of stalking in Canada, describing victim characteristics, victim'offender relationships, types of stalking experienced, violent stalking relationships, help-seeking behaviour of stalking victims, emotional consequences of stalking, reasons for reporting or not reporting the stalking to the police, types of charges laid against stalkers, and the use and breach of restraining orders.

Description:

Using data from the Homicide Survey, the following chapter examines the different circumstances and characteristics of family-related homicides in Canada which occurred. The analysis includes details about spousal homicides, child and youth homicides and family homicides of older persons (65+). This chapter will present data on the characteristics of the accused, the incident and the victim in these homicides.

Description:

This chapter examines homicide-suicide trends involving three populations; spouses, children and youth under the age of 18 and older adults (65 years of age and older). The following analysis use data from the Homicide Survey explores the Homicide narratives to add contextual information.

Description:

This chapter will focus on the physical and sexual assaults against children and youth (under the age of 18) that were reported to police services. In addition, other forms of child maltreatment and child abuse are presented including the extent to which children and youth witness violence in the home. System responses to the issue of child maltreatment and violence will be examined, using information from the Transition Home and Victim Services Surveys. As well, recent policy developments to address and improve the situation of family violence against children and youth in Canada will be highlighted.

Description:

Persons over the age of 65 represented 13% of the Canadian population compared to 11% in. It is projected that persons age 65 years and over will represent 15% of the population of Canada. Concern for the well-being of seniors is heightened by the fact that this segment of the population is growing faster than any other age cohort. There are numerous implications for Canadian society as a result of this growth including meeting the health needs of an aging population as well as ensuring that seniors are not victims of violent crime either from within or outside of the family.

Description:

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.

Description:

Trends in rates of death involving firearms are examined from 1979 to 2002. Rates of firearms-related suicide, homicide, and unintentional death are reported over time and by province. Recent rates of gun-related death in Canada's four largest cities -Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver and Calgary -are compared.

Description:

This series of reports provides detailed statistics and analysis on a variety of topics and issues concerning Canada's justice system. The annual Juristat, Youth Court Statistics, 2003-2004, summarizes trends from provincial/territorial youth courts across Canada, which provide data to the Youth Court Survey (YCS). In this Juristat, information is presented on the characteristics of cases and accused youth, conviction rates, sentencing and related issues. As well, statistics are presented for the thirteen year period from 1991-1992, the first year for which national data are available for the YCS, to the current year, 2003-2004.

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.