Youth court statistics in Canada, 2013/2014
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by Sarah Alam
[Highlights] [Full article in PDF]
- Decrease in completed cases in youth court in 2013/2014
- Almost all types of completed youth court cases decreased in 2013/2014
- Most youth court cases involve 16- and 17-year-olds
- More than half of completed youth cases result in guilty finding
- Youth court cases sentenced to custody increase for some violent offences
- Probation remains the most common sentence imposed in youth court
- Processing time to complete youth cases increases
- Completed youth court cases in 2013/2014 at a glance
- Survey description
- Detailed data tables
- References
- Notes
In Canada, to achieve the goals of rehabilitation, accountability, and public safety, accused youth are processed through youth courts which operate separately from the adult court system. The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), the legislation currently in place that applies to youth aged 12-to-17 years accused of a crime, has several objectives: to provide clear and coherent principles to improve decision-making in the youth justice system; to achieve more appropriate use of the courts, maintain fairness in sentencing, reduce the use of custody so that the most serious interventions are reserved for the most serious crimes; to have clear distinctions between serious violent offences and less serious offences; and to effectively reintegrate youth into the community (Department of Justice Canada 2013).
Using data from the Integrated Criminal Court Survey, this article presents information on youth court cases completed in Canada in 2013/2014. It highlights youth court key indicators, including the number of completed charges and cases, characteristics of youth who appear in court, case decisions, sentencing outcomes, and the length of time it takes to complete youth court cases. In addition, trends over time in completed youth court cases will also be presented.
Decrease in completed cases in youth court in 2013/2014
In 2013/2014, Canada's youth courts completed 39,901 cases involving 138,713 charges related to Criminal Code and other federal statute offences, including offences related to the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) (Table 1). The number of completed youth court cases declined by 12% from the previous year which constitutes the fifth consecutive annual decline, and the lowest number of completed youth court cases since these data were first collected by Statistics Canada in 1991/1992 (Chart 1).
The decrease in the number of completed youth court cases occurred throughout most of the country. Most provinces and territories reported a decline in the number of completed cases, with the exception of Yukon (+17%) and the Northwest Territories (+2%), which both experienced year-over-year increases. Prince Edward Island (-25%) recorded the largest year-over-year decrease in youth court cases, followed by Nova Scotia (-24%) and Ontario (-16%) (Table 2).Note 1
The volume and characteristics of cases heard in youth courts may be affected by regional differences in the reporting of criminal incidents to police, in procedures and eligibility requirements for police diversion and extrajudicial measures programs, and differences in provincial policy directing Crown discretion. Pre-charge screening by the Crown is mandatory in New Brunswick, Quebec and British Columbia and is meant to keep less serious cases out of the court system and reduce court workload. It is important to consider these factors when making comparisons between provinces and territories (Thomas 2008).
Almost all types of completed youth court cases decreased in 2013/2014
Most youth court cases in 2013/2014 involved non-violent crime, representing 71% of all completed cases. This trend has been consistent over time, and reflects what is also seen in police-reported crime statistics where most criminal offences are non-violent (Boyce et. al 2014). The top five Criminal Code case types made up 42% of all completed cases in youth court and they were cases involving theft (12%),Note 2 common assault (9%), break and enter (8%), failure to comply with an order (7%), and mischief (6%) (Chart 2).Note 3
Almost all types of completed youth court cases decreased between 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 (Table 3). Declines were observed for cases involving property offences (-15%), followed by administration of justice offences (-12%), other federal statute offences (-12%) and violent offences (-8%).
Some of the largest declines were for cases involving disturbing the peace (-35%), impaired driving (-25%) and robbery (-18%). Drug possession offences and those against the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) (e.g. contempt against youth court, failure to comply with sentence or disposition) decreased by 15%, while other drug offences, including drug trafficking, production, importing and exporting decreased by 8%. In addition, offences involving the use of a weapon decreased by 7% in 2013/2014.Note 4
While cases of violent offences decreased overall in 2013/2014, there were exceptions, specifically sexual assault (+8%), homicide (+6%), other sexual offences (+5%), and criminal harassment (+3%) all experienced year-over-year increases.
Most youth court cases involve 16- and 17-year-olds
Police-reported data consistently show that crime rates tend to peak during late adolescence and early adulthood (Brennan 2012); courts data also illustrate a similar trend. In fact in 2013/2014, 16- and 17-year-olds continued to make up the largest proportion of accused persons, representing 62% of cases completed in youth court, while 12- to 15-year-olds accounted for 38%Note 5 (Chart 3).
The larger proportion of older youth held consistent for all case types, with the exception of cases involving criminal harassment, sexual assault and other sexual offences. Youth accused aged 12- to 15-years have a higher proportion than 16- and 17-year-olds for sexual assault and other sexual offences (Table 4).
Overall, males represented 78% of all accused persons in youth court.Note 6 The representation of females was highest among cases for failure to appear (41%), prostitution (40%) and fraud (36%). The representation of females was lowest among cases for sexual assault (2%), other sexual offences (3%) and attempted murder (7%).
More than half of completed youth cases result in guilty finding
Cases completed in youth court typically result in one of three outcomes. First, cases may result in a guilty finding wherein the accused pleads guilty or is found guilty by the court. Second, cases may be stayed (suspended for up to 1 year), withdrawn, dismissed or discharged as a result of proceedings being stopped or interrupted. Third, cases may result in an acquittal when the accused is found not guilty of the charge.Note 7,Note 8
In 2013/2014, more than half (56%) of all cases completed in youth court resulted in a guilty finding. This proportion is the lowest since data was first collected in the early 90s.
There were some case types that resulted in a finding of guilt more or less often than others. Unlawfully at large (85%), Youth Criminal Justice Act (80%), and impaired driving cases (79%) had the highest proportion of guilty findings, while drug possession (28%) and prostitution (27%) had the lowest, with stayed or withdrawn being their main disposition (Table 5).
For youth courts, slightly more than 4 in 10 of all completed cases were stayed or withdrawn, whereas for adult criminal courts in 2013/2014, slightly more than 3 in 10 of all completed cases were stayed or withdrawn (Maxwell 2015). This variation between adult and youth courts is consistent with data observed since 2008/2009. The larger proportion of stayed or withdrawn cases found in youth courts could be related to the use of extrajudicial measures. Depending on a number of factors, courts may stay a case while the youth participates in a program or completes community work. This is something that the YCJA encourages, and when the conditions have been satisfied, the charge(s) may be withdrawn by the Crown.Note 9
In addition, about 2% of cases were acquitted, and less than 1% received another type of decision.
Guilty findings vary across provinces and territories. For example, in 2013/2014, guilty findings ranged from a high of 77% in New Brunswick to a low of 45% in Ontario (Chart 4).
There are several possible factors that influence variations in the proportion of cases found guilty.Note 10 First, some jurisdictions use diversion programs to a greater extent which may reduce the number and types of cases that proceed to court. Second, the use of stays and withdrawals varies across the country. Cases that are stayed or withdrawn are often indicative of charges set aside pending completion of extrajudicial/alternative measures or diversion programs. For example, more than one-half (54%) of cases were stayed, withdrawn or dismissed in Ontario, compared with 20% in New Brunswick. Third, the use of pre-charge screening by the Crown, which occurs in New Brunswick, Quebec, and British Columbia, may also affect the percentage of convictions through increased vetting of charges (Thomas 2008).
Youth court cases sentenced to custody increase for some violent offences
In determining the most appropriate sentence, judges must ensure meaningful consequences while balancing the principles of the YCJA, including the protection of society and the rehabilitative needs of the youth.Note 11 Under the YCJA, there are more sentence types that may be imposed once a youth is found guilty, and often many youth court cases result in a combination of multiple types of sentences. The most severe sentence according to the YCJA is a custody sentence. This sentence is reserved for the most serious of crimes committed by youth.
In 2013/2014, custodial sentences were imposed in 15% of guilty youth court cases (Table 6). A custody sentence was most often imposed in homicide cases (81%) and attempted murder cases (78%). The proportion of custody sentences imposed in homicide and attempted murder cases has increased since 2012/2013, where custodial sentences were imposed in fewer homicide cases (48%) and fewer attempted murder cases (44%), and the proportion of custody sentences imposed has generally increased in the last five years for these two types of cases. Custodial sentences were imposed the least for cases involving impaired driving and drug possession.
Overall, the median length of a custodial sentence in 2013/2014 was 39 days.Note 12 The median length of custody was 80 days for violent offence cases, 45 days for property offences, and 18 days for administration of justice offences. Of the cases that had the highest proportion of guilty cases sentenced to custody, the median length of custody for homicide cases was the longest at 1,090 days (about 3 years), followed by attempted murder cases at 710 days (about 2 years).
Almost half of all custody sentences were one month or less (48%). Another 26% of custody sentences were greater than one month to three months, and the remaining 26% were greater than three months (Chart 5).
The number of youth court cases sentenced to custody varies across the provinces and territories.Note 13 The proportion of guilty cases with custody sentences was highest in Yukon (25%) and lowest in Quebec (9%) (Chart 6).
Since the implementation of the YCJA in 2003, the proportion of youth court cases resulting in a sentence to custody has decreased. In 2013/2014, 15% of guilty youth court cases resulted in a custody sentence which has declined since 2003/2004 when it was reported at 22%. The deferred custody and supervision sentence, introduced in 2003 under the YCJA, is considered an alternative to custody. This type of sentence is served in the community under a set of strict conditions which, if violated, can result in the young person being sent to custody to serve the balance of the sentence (Chart 7).Note 14
Probation remains the most common sentence imposed in youth court
In 2013/2014, as has been the pattern since the data was first collected in 1991/1992, probation was the most common type of sentence imposed in youth court cases, either on its own or in combination with another type of sentence, at 58% of all guilty cases (Chart 8). A probation sentence requires the offender to remain in the community and be subject to particular conditions, such as keeping the peace, reporting to a probation officer and to appear in court as required.
The median length of probation in 2013/2014 was about a year (360 days) for all case types.Note 15 The median length of probation was similar between broad offence categories, including violent offences, property offences, administration of justice offences, other Criminal Code offences, and Criminal Code traffic offences. Among guilty cases, the median length of probation for homicide cases was the longest (about 24 months) followed by sexual assault cases (about 18 months).
A community service order was the second most common type of sentence imposed in youth court cases (25%), either on its own or in combination with another type of sentence. Community service requires a youth to perform unpaid work.
Processing time to complete youth cases increases
The YCJA stipulates that the measures taken against young persons who commit an offence should be administered within a timely manner. The issue of reasonable elapsed time between charges being laid and the accused being brought to trial was considered in the Supreme Court decision R. v. Askov [1990], and then further examined in R. v. Morin [1992]. While a specific time frame is not stated, in general, an 8- to 10-month period is considered acceptable.Note 16 For cases involving a trial, an additional 6-to-8 months is considered acceptable.Note 17
In 2013/2014, the median length of time taken to complete a youth court case was 120 days, or about 4 months. This represents an increase from 2012/2013, when the median length of time to complete a youth court case was 114 days.
In 2013/2014, Prince Edward Island had the shortest median case elapsed time (50 days) while Yukon had the longest (155 days) (Chart 9).Note 18
Cases involving more serious offences often take longer than others to complete. In 2013/2014, homicide cases took the longest and were the only offence type with a median length greater than one year (611 days). The median length of time to complete homicide cases has increased since 2012/2013, when it was reported as 448 days, and it has been increasing for the last decade. Sexual assault cases followed homicide cases in length of time to complete the case (median of 256 days), followed by attempted murder cases (median of 248 days) (Table 3). Cases involving a trial often require a significant amount of time and resources to hear all of the evidence, as well as witness testimonies and victim impact statements. Cases involving juries also tend to take longer due to the jury selection process. All of these factors impact the timeliness of court cases.
Completed youth court cases in 2013/2014 at a glance
Survey description
The Integrated Criminal Court Survey (ICCS) is administered by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (Statistics Canada) in collaboration with provincial and territorial government departments responsible for criminal courts in Canada. The survey collects statistical information on adult and youth court cases involving Criminal Code and other federal statute charges. Data contained in this article represent the youth court portion of the survey. The individuals involved are persons aged 12 to 17 years (up to the 18th birthday) at the time of the offence. All youth courts in Canada have reported data to the youth component of the survey since the 1991/1992 fiscal year.
The primary unit of analysis is a case. A case is defined as one or more charges against an accused person or company that were processed by the courts at the same time and received a final decision. A case combines all charges against the same person having one or more key overlapping dates (date of offence, date of initiation, date of first appearance, date of decision, or date of sentencing) into a single case.
A case that has more than one charge is represented by the charge with the "most serious offence" (MSO). The most serious offence is selected using the following rules. First, court decisions are considered and the charge with the "most serious decision� (MSD) is selected. Court decisions for each charge in a case are ranked from most to least serious as follows: 1) guilty, 2) guilty of a lesser offence, 3) acquitted, 4) stay of proceeding, 5) withdrawn, dismissed and discharged, 6) not criminally responsible, 7) other, and 8) transfer of court jurisdiction.
Second, in cases where two or more charges result in the same MSD (e.g., guilty), Criminal Code sentences are considered. The charge with the most serious offence type is selected according to an offence seriousness scale, based on actual sentences handed down by courts in Canada.Note 19 Each offence type is ranked by looking at (a) the proportion of guilty charges where custody was imposed and (b) the average (mean) length of custody for the specific type of offence. These values are multiplied together to arrive at the final seriousness ranking for each type of offence. If, after looking at the offence seriousness scale, two or more charges remain tied then information about the sentence type and duration of the sentence are considered (e.g., custody and length of custody, then probation and length of probation, etc.).
Cases are counted according to the fiscal year in which they are completed. Each year, the ICCS database is considered final at the end of March for the production of court statistics pertaining to the preceding fiscal year. However, these counts do not include cases that were pending an outcome at the end of the reference period. If a pending outcome is reached in the next fiscal year, then these cases are included in the completed case counts for that fiscal year. However, if a one-year period of inactivity elapses, then these cases are deemed complete and the originally published counts for the previous fiscal year are subsequently updated and reported in the next year's release of the data. Historically, updates to a previous year's counts have resulted in an increase of about 2%.
Detailed data tables
Table 1 Charges and cases completed in youth court, Canada, 2008/2009 to 2013/2014
Table 2 Cases completed in youth court, by province and territory, 2012/2013 and 2013/2014
Table 3 Cases completed in youth court, by type of offence, Canada, 2012/2013 and 2013/2014
Table 5 Cases completed in youth court, by type of offence and decision, Canada, 2013/2014
References
Boyce, J., A. Cotter and S. Perreault. 2014. "Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2013.� Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.
Brennan, S. 2012. "Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2011.� Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.
Cotter, A. 2014. "Firearms and violent crime in Canada, 2012.� Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.
Department of Justice Canada. 2013. The Youth Criminal Justice Act: Summary and Background. Ottawa. (accessed June 10, 2015).
Maxwell, A. 2015. "Adult criminal court statistics in Canada, 2013/2014.� Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.
Thomas, J. 2008. "Youth court statistics, 2006/2007.� Juristat. Vol. 28, no. 4. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-XIE.
Notes
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