Context - Crime and the Criminal Justice System

Table of Contents

1. Police-reported crime rate has decreased since 1991
2. Crime rates are higher in the west and are highest in the north
3. Canada's incarceration rate is high relative to most western European countries
4. The rate of adults charged has declined since 1980
5. Administration of justice charges account for 21% of charges in adult courts
6. Victimization rates for theft of personal property have increased
7. The majority of victims of violent crime are under 30
8. Most adult custodial sentences ordered by the court are short
9. Relatively few crimes result in sentences to federal penitentiaries
10. The rate of youth charged peaked in 1991
11. The most common youth court case is theft
12. Probation is the most common youth court disposition

Police-reported crime rate has decreased since 1991

Figure A1

Source: Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

• The crime rate increased during the 1980's, decreased throughout the 1990's, and has increased slightly since 2001.
• The property crime rate in 2004 was 27% lower than in 1980 and 35% lower since peaking in 1991.
• Violent crime peaked in 1992 and since then has been gradually decreasing.

Note:
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada December, 2005 Violent crimes include homicide, attempted murder, assault, sexual offences, abduction and robbery. Property crimes include break and enter, motor vehicle thefts, other thefts, possession of stolen goods, and fraud. These crime statistics are based on crimes that are reported to the police. Since not all crimes are reported to the police, these figures underestimate actual crime. See Figure A6 for rates based on victimization surveys (drawn from the General Social Survey), an alternative method of measuring crime.

Table A1

Source: Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

Note:
Rates are based on incidents reported per 100,000 population.
Due to rounding, rates may not add to Totals.

Crime rates are higher in the west and are highest in the north

Figure A2

Source: Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

• Crime rates are higher in the west and highest in the Territories. This general pattern has been stable over time.
• The Canadian crime rate has changed little in the last year from 8,146 in 2003 to 8,051 in 2004.

Note
Rates exclude federal and provincial/territorial statutes and traffic offences.

Table A2

Source: Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

Note:
Rates are based on 100,000 population.
Rates exclude federal and provincial/territorial statutes and traffic offences.

Canada's incarceration rate is high relative to most western European countries

Table A3

Source: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada; World Prison Population List (sixth edition), International Centre for Prison Studies.

• Canada’s incarceration rate is higher than the rates in most Western European countries but much lower than the United States, which had an incarceration rate of 714 per 100,000 general population in 2003.
• The incarceration rate in Canada has decreased 18.2% from 132 per 100,000 in 1995 to 108
  per 100,000 in 2003, whereas most Western European rates have remained stable or increased during the same time period.

Note:
*Figures for the United States are for incarcerated adults only (i.e. youths are excluded). The incarceration rate, in this figure, is a measure of the number of people (i.e., adults and youth) in custody per 100,000 people in
the general population. Different practice and variations in measurement in different countries limit the comparability of these figures.

Table A3

Source: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada; World Prison Population List (sixth edition), International Centre for Prison Studies.

Note:
*Figures for the United States are for incarcerated adults only (i.e., youths are excluded).
**Canadian youth custody figures for 1997 to 2002 were adjusted to represent 100% survey coverage. Canadian rates are reported
on a fiscal year basis (April 1 through March 31).
Rates are based on 100,000 population.
-- Figures not available.

The rate of adults charged has declined since 1980

Figure A4

Source: Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

• The rate of adults charged declined consistently from 1991 to 1999, and has shown small fluctuations in the past five years.
• The rate of women charged with violent crimes rose almost fourfold between 1980 and 2001, and then leveled off at approximately 150 women charged per 100,000 women in the
  population. In comparison, the rate of men charged with violent crime increased almost 2.5 times between 1980 and 1993 when it peaked at 930 men charged per 100,000 men in the
  population. The rate for men has since decreased to approximately 800 in 2004.

Note:
Violent crimes include homicide, attempted murder, assault, sexual offences, abduction, and robbery.
Property crimes include break and enter, motor vehicle thefts, other thefts, possession of stolen goods and fraud.
Total charged includes adults charged under the Criminal Code as well as adults charged under other Federal Statutes such as the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Fisheries Act, the Customs Act, the Indian Act and the Employment Insurance Act but excludes provincial statute offences and municipal by-laws.

Source: Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

Note:

* Examples of other Federal Statutes include: the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Fisheries Act, the Customs Act, the Indian Act and the Employment Insurance Act. ** Total charged excludes provincial statute offences and municipal by-laws.
Rates are based on 100,000 population, 18 years of age and older.
Due to rounding, rates may not add to Totals.

Administration of justice charges account for 21% of charges in adult courts

Figure A5

Source: Adult Criminal Court Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

• Administration of justice charges (offences related to case proceedings such as failure to appear in court, failure to comply with a court order, breach of probation, and unlawfully at large) account for 21.1% of charges before the courts.
• Apart from charges of administration of justice, impaired driving is the most frequent federal statute charge in adult courts.

Note:
Data from this survey are not nationally comprehensive as they do not include New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia and Nunavut for 2000-01, and do not include Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Nunavut for 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04. In addition, only Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon report superior court data to the Adult Criminal Court Survey.

Table A5

Criminal Code and Other Federal Statute Charges

2001-2002

2002-2003

2003-2004

#

%

#

%

#

%

227,085

22.88

236,544

23.20

236,437

22.98

Homicide and Related

645

0.07

629

0.06

660

0.06

Attempted Murder

747

0.08

740

0.07

748

0.07

Robbery

10,167

1.02

10,173

1.00

10,667

1.04

Sexual Assault

9,987

1.01

10,031

0.98

9,743

0.95

Other Sexual Offences

5,365

0.54

5,481

0.54

5,587

0.54

Major Assault (Levels 2 & 3)

41,005

4.13

44,063

4.32

44,154

4.29

Common Assault (Level 1)

79,307

7.99

81,056

7.95

78,597

7.64

Uttering Threats

42,309

4.26

42,991

4.22

42,738

4.15

Criminal Harassment

6,580

0.66

7,002

0.69

6,976

0.68

Weapons

23,914

2.41

26,820

2.63

28,944

2.81

Other Crimes Against Persons

7,059

0.71

7,558

0.74

7,623

0.74

Crimes Against Property

257,352

25.93

259,963

25.49

269,630

26.21

Theft

77,535

7.81

77,264

7.58

80,014

7.78

Break and Enter

29,469

2.97

29,882

2.93

31,660

3.08

Fraud

65,267

6.58

63,437

6.22

64,670

6.29

Mischief

32,050

3.23

32,545

3.19

33,036

3.21

Possession of Stolen Property

50,824

5.12

54,143

5.31

57,128

5.55

Other Property Crimes

2,207

0.22

2,692

0.26

3,122

0.30

Administration of Justice

197,120

19.86

206,270

20.23

216,614

21.06

Fail to Appear

23,038

2.32

23,114

2.27

23,830

2.32

Breach of probation

66,815

6.73

71,666

7.03

75,587

7.35

Unlawfully at large

7,424

0.75

7,461

0.73

7,466

0.73

Fail to Comply with Order

94,502

9.52

98,743

9.68

104,307

10.14

Other Admin. Justice

5,341

0.54

5,286

0.52

5,424

0.53

Other Criminal Code

63,166

6.36

66,703

6.54

67,590

6.57

Prostitution

4,069

0.41

4,121

0.40

4,041

0.39

Distributing the Peace

6,348

0.64

6,218

0.61

6,070

0.59

Residual Criminal Code

52,749

5.31

56,364

5.53

57,479

5.59

Criminal Code Traffic

129,270

13.02

126,363

12.39

123,209

11.98

Impaired Driving

110,118

11.09

107,755

10.57

104,152

10.12

Other CC Traffic

19,152

1.93

18,608

1.82

19,057

1.85

Other Federal Statutes

118,574

11.95

123,942

12.15

115,201

11.20

Drug Possession

32,794

3.30

33,150

3.25

30,112

2.93

Drug Trafficking

32,955

3.32

32,014

3.14

30,742

2.99

Residual Federal Statutes

52,825

5.32

58,778

5.76

54,347

5.28

Total Offences

992,567

100.00

1,019,785

100.00

1,028,681

100.00

Source: Adult Criminal Court Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

Note:
Weapons have been included under “Crimes Against the Person” in this report. The Adult Criminal Court Survey groups these offences under “Other Criminal Code”.
Due to rounding, percentages may not add to 100 percent.
Data from this survey are not nationally comprehensive as they do not include New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia and Nunavut for 2000-01, and do not include Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Nunavut for 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04. In addition, only Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon report superior court data to the Adult Criminal Court Survey.

Victimization rates for theft of personal property have increased

Figure A6

Source: General Social Survey, Statistics Canada, 1999 and 2004.

• Victimization rates for theft of personal property were higher in 2004 than in 1999.
• Rates of victimization for assault were slightly lower in 2004 than in 1999.

Note:
*Assault data includes incidents of spousal violence. In previous editions of this document, the victimization data excluded incidents of spousal violence.
Rates are based on 1,000 population, 15 years of age and older.

Table A6

Source: General Social Survey, Statistics Canada, 1999 and 2004.

Note:
*Assault data includes incidents of spousal violence. In previous editions of this document, the victimization data excluded incidents of spousal violence.
Rates are based on 1,000 population, 15 years of age and older.

The majority of victims of violent crime are under 30

Figure A7

• More than half (53.4%) of all victims of violent crime reported in 2004 were under the age of 30, whereas 38.3% of the Canadian population is under the age of 30.
• Canadians aged 65 and older who account for 13.0% of the general population, represent 2.0% of victims.
• Females aged 10 to 19 years were less likely to be victims of violent crime than males of the same age, while females aged 20 to 44 years were more likely than males of that age to be victims of a violent crime.

Note:
Violent crimes include homicide, attempted murder, assault, sexual offences, abduction, robbery and traffic offences causing bodily harm and death.
The data are not nationally representative. They were reported by 120 police departments as of December 31, 2004 and they represent 58% of the national volume of crime in 2004. The data excludes 5,161 cases where age was unknown, 1,438 cases where sex was unknown and 487 cases where both age and sex were unknown.
Due to rounding, totals may not add to 100 percent.

Table A7

Age of Victim

Males

Females

Total

#

%

#

%

#

%

1 to 4 years

1,207

1.1

1,207

1.1

2,414

1.1

5 to 9 years

2,999

2.7

2,649

2.4

5,648

2.5

10 to 14 years

10,586

9.4

9,177

8.4

19,763

8.9

15 to 19 years

17,966

16.0

16,655

15.2

34,621

15.6

20 to 24 years

15,083

13.4

16,271

14.8

31,354

14.1

25 to 29 years

12,205

10.8

12,756

11.6

24,961

11.2

30 to 34 years

11,030

9.8

11,679

10.6

22,709

10.2

35 to 39 years

10,513

9.3

11,433

10.4

21,946

9.9

40 to 44 years

10,349

9.2

10,701

9.7

21,050

9.5

45 to 49 years

7,749

6.9

7,144

6.5

14,893

6.7

50 to 54 years

5,222

4.6

4,261

3.9

9,483

4.3

55 to 59 years

3,390

3.0

2,463

2.2

5,853

2.6

60 to 64 years

1,852

1.6

1,268

1.2

3,120

1.4

65 to 69 years

1,100

1.0

717

0.7

1,817

0.8

70 to 74 years

591

0.5

532

0.5

1,123

0.5

75 and over

692

0.6

840

0.8

1,532

0.7

Total

112,534

100.0

109,753

100.0

222,287

100.0

Source: Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

Note:
The data are not nationally representative. They were reported by 120 police departments as of December 31, 2004 and they represent 58% of the national volume of crime in 2004.
Excludes 5,161 cases where age was unknown, 1,438 cases where sex was unknown and 487 cases where both age and sex were unknown.
Due to rounding, total may not add to 100 percent.

Most adult custodial sentences ordered by the court are short

Figure A8

Source: Adult Criminal Court Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

• Over half (57.1%) of all custodial sentences imposed by adult courts are less than one month.
• Prison sentences for men tend to be longer than for women. Almost three-quarters (72.8%) of women and just over half of men (55.4%) who are incarcerated upon conviction receive a sentence of one month or less, and 93.8% of women and 87.7% of men receive a sentence of six months or less.
• Of all convictions that result in custody, only 3.8% result in federal jurisdiction (i.e., a sentence of two years or more).

Note:
Excludes cases where length of prison sentence was not known.
Data from this survey are not nationally comprehensive as they do not include Manitoba, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut for 2003-04. In addition, only Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon report superior court data to the Adult Criminal Court Survey.

Table A8

Length of Prison Sentence

1999-00

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

%

%

%

%

%

1 Month or Less

Women

66.3

67.2

69.9

70.0

72.8

Men

49.1

50.7

52.5

54.5

55.4

Total

50.6

52.2

54.1

56.0

57.1

More Than 1 Month to 6 Months

Women

25.8

25.1

23.8

23.6

21.0

Men

37.3

35.7

34.4

33.2

32.3

Total

36.2

34.7

33.5

32.3

31.2

More Than 6 Months to 12 Months

Women

3.9

3.6

2.9

3.2

2.6

Men

6.2

6.2

5.9

5.7

5.5

Total

6.0

6.0

5.6

5.5

5.2

More Than 1 Year to Less Than 2 Years

Women

1.7

1.9

1.2

1.5

1.4

Men

3.2

3.4

3.0

2.8

2.8

Total

3.1

3.2

2.8

2.6

2.7

2 Years or More

Women

2.4

2.2

2.3

1.7

2.1

Men

4.2

4.0

4.2

3.8

4.0

Total

4.0

3.9

4.0

3.6

3.8

Source: Adult Criminal Court Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

Note:
Due to rounding, totals may not add to 100 percent.
Excludes cases where length of prison sentence was not known.
Data from this survey are not nationally comprehensive as they do not include New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut for 2000-01, and do not include Manitoba, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut for 2001-02, 2002-03, and 2003-04. In addition, only Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon report superior court data to the Adult Criminal Court Survey.

Relatively few crimes result in sentences to federal penitentiaries

Figure 9

Source: 1Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Adult Criminal Court Survey and Adult Corrections Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada; 2Correctional Service Canada.

• There were about 2.8 million crimes reported to police in 2004.
• During 2003-04, 4,230 offenders were sentenced to federal jurisdiction (i.e., two years or more).

Note:
*Data have been estimated in this report to represent 100% survey coverage (from an estimated 90% actual coverage), rounded to the nearest thousand. This figure only includes provincial court convictions and partial data from superior court.
Police data are reported on a calendar year basis whereas court and prison data are reported on a fiscal year basis (April 1 through March 31).

Table A9

1999-00

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

Total Number of Offences Reported to Police 1

2,587,891

2,622,453

2,667,918

2,819,346

2,822,427

Estimated Convictions in Adult Court 1*

284,000

282,000

302,000

304,000

286,000

Sentenced Admissions to Provincial/Territorial Custody 1

86,885

80,928

83,065

83,885

81,138

Warrant of Committal

Admissions to Federal Facilities 2

4,350

4,280

4,117

4,275

4,230

Source: 1Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Adult Criminal Court Survey and Adult Corrections Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada; 2Correctional Service Canada.

Note:
*Data have been estimated in this report to represent 100% survey coverage (from an estimated 90% actual coverage in 2001-02, 2002-03, and 2003-04 and 80% coverage in previous years), rounded to the nearest thousand.
Police data are reported on a calendar year basis whereas court and prison data are reported on a fiscal year basis (April 1 through March 31).

The rate of youth charged peaked in 1991

Figure A10

Source: Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

• The rate of youth* charged has decreased since 1991. The decrease in the charge rate has occurred for both males and females.
• In 2003, there was a notable decreased in all major crime categories, in part attributable to the implementation of the Youth Criminal Justice Act in April 2003, which places greater emphasis on diversion. The reduction continued in 2004.

Note:
*For criminal justice purposes, youth are defined under Canadian law as persons aged 12 to 17 years.
Violent crimes include homicide, attempted murder, assault, sexual offences, abduction, and robbery.
Property crimes include break and enter, motor vehicle thefts, other thefts, possession of stolen goods, and fraud.
In 2004, just under half (45%) of all youths charged with violent crimes were charged with assault level 1 (minor assault).

Table A10

Type of Offence

Year

Violent

Property

Other CCC

Total

Female

Male

Total

Female

Male

Total

Female

Male

Total

Female

Male

Total

1986

156

649

409

1,172

5,669

3,478

283

1,526

920

1,612

7,844

4,807

1987

170

717

450

1,009

5,419

3,312

322

1,662

1,008

1,591

7,798

4,770

1988

209

794

509

1,112

5,395

3,306

353

1,760

1,074

1,674

7,949

4,889

1989

246

964

614

1,239

5,455

3,401

387

1,880

1,153

1,872

8,299

5,168

1990

299

1,071

696

1,396

5,906

3,712

381

1,980

1,202

2,076

8,957

5,610

1991

349

1,290

832

1,564

6,367

4,031

473

2,270

1,396

2,386

9,926

6,258

1992

384

1,329

869

1,522

5,622

3,629

504

2,199

1,375

2,409

9,150

5,874

1993

450

1,369

923

1,392

4,951

3,221

484

2,086

1,307

2,326

8,406

5,450

1994

426

1,383

918

1,244

4,514

2,924

442

1,984

1,234

2,112

7,882

5,077

1995

444

1,411

941

1,307

4,323

2,856

493

1,992

1,263

2,244

7,727

5,061

1996

452

1,387

932

1,257

4,186

2,761

522

1,939

1,250

2,231

7,512

4,943

1997

473

1,321

908

1,068

3,640

2,389

535

1,911

1,242

2,076

6,871

4,539

1998

473

1,307

902

999

3,332

2,198

568

1,925

1,266

2,041

6,564

4,365

1999

441

1,247

855

900

2,935

1,945

537

1,875

1,224

1,878

6,056

4,025

2000

476

1,331

915

892

2,795

1,869

567

1,976

1,291

1,935

6,101

4,075

2001

502

1,369

947

902

2,673

1,811

628

2,053

1,359

2,032

6,095

4,117

2002

505

1,313

919

892

2,496

1,714

595

1,940

1,284

1,991

5,749

3,917

2003

428

1,168

806

583

2,080

1,349

497

1,719

1,122

1,507

4,967

3,277

2004

424

1,135

788

505

1,842

1,190

497

1,649

1,087

1,426

4,627

3,065

Source: Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

Note:
*For criminal justice purposes, youth are defined under Canadian law as persons aged 12 to 17 years.
Rates for “Total” are based on 100,000 youth population (12 to 17 years).
Rates for “Females” are based on 100,000 female youth population (12 to 17 years) and rates for “Males” are based on 100,000 male youth population (12 to 17 years).

The most common youth court case is theft

Figure A11

Source: Youth Court Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

• Theft is the most common case in youth court.
• Murders, homicides and related offences account for 0.06% of all youth cases.
• Females account for 21.2% of all cases, but for 32.9% of common assaults (Youth Court Survey, Statistics Canada).

Note:
*Youth Criminal Justice Act offences include failure to comply with a disposition or undertaking, contempt against youth court, assisting a youth to leave a place of custody, and harbouring a youth unlawfully at large. Also inlcuded are similar offences under the Young Offenders Act, which preceded the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
**“Administration of Justice” category includes the offences failure to appear, failure to comply, breach of recognizance, escape and unlawfully at large.

Table A11

Type of Case

Number of Youth Court Cases

1999-00

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

23,971

24,284

24,028

24,001

21,818

Common Assault

9,019

9,229

8,708

8,968

8,010

Major Assault

4,748

4,791

4,948

4,935

4,744

Robbery

3,032

2,714

2,789

2,932

2,500

Weapons / Firearms / Explosives

1,539

1,610

1,518

1,539

1,402

Sexual Assault / Sexual Offences

1,653

1,761

1,698

1,681

1,630

Homicide and Related Offences

51

38

31

44

42

Other Crimes Against the Person

3,929

4,141

4,336

3,902

3,490

35,518

34,694

33,086

32,465

25,663

Theft

13,667

13,611

13,103

12,913

9,172

Break and Enter

9,088

8,223

7,522

7,415

6,632

Possession of Stolen Goods

6,583

6,452

6,243

6,039

4,915

Mischief

3,994

4,213

4,128

4,247

3,258

Fraud

1,730

1,653

1,578

1,411

1,176

456

542

512

440

510

7,551

7,917

7,698

7,790

6,784

Escape / Unlawfully at Large

1,382

1,340

1,249

1,153

921

Other Administration of Justice*

6,169

6,577

6,449

6,637

5,863

Other Criminal Code

4,265

4,062

4,218

3,953

3,615

Prostitution

74

44

24

25

29

Disturbing the Peace

449

419

424

384

275

Impaired Driving / Other CC traffic

1,238

1,166

1,211

1,225

1,121

Residual Criminal Code

2,504

2,433

2,559

2,319

2,190

16,295

16,660

16,610

16,383

12,585

Drug Possession

3,107

3,773

4,058

4,137

2,413

Drug Trafficking

1,849

1,994

2,000

1,770

1,518

Youth Criminal Justice Act**

11,217

10,766

10,414

10,325

7,692

Residual Federal Statutes

122

127

138

151

962

Total

87,600

87,617

85,640

84,592

70,465

Source: Youth Court Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

Note:
*“Other Administration of Justice” includes the offences failure to appear, failure to comply, and breach of recognizance. **Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) offences include failure to comply with a disposition or undertaking, contempt against youth court, assisting a youth to leave a place of custody, and harbouring a youth unlawfully at large. Also inlcuded are similar offences under the Young Offenders Act, which preceded the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Probation is the most common youth court disposition

Figure A12

Source: Youth Court Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

• The use of probation for young offenders consistently accounted for over one-half of youth court dispositions from 1994-95 to 2002-03 and has been increasing in recent years.
• Female young offenders are more likely to receive a community disposition whereas males are more likely to receive a custody disposition.
• The percentage of female young offenders in open custody has been stable at approximately 12% since 1994-95, while the percentage in closed custody has increased from 7.7% to 11.4% in the same period. The percentage of male young offenders in open custody has decreased from 16.2% in 1994-95 to 13.3% in 2002-03, while the percentage in closed custody has remained stable at approximately 15% during the same period.

Note:
*“Other” includes community service order, compensation, pay purchaser of stolen goods, compensation in kind, absolute discharge, detain for treatment (until 1995-96), conditional discharge (as of 1997-98), restitution, prohibition/seizure/forfeiture, essays, apologies and counseling programs.
Custodial facilities for young offenders may be designated as either “open” or “secure”. Open custody facilities closely monitor the actions and whereabouts of young offenders, but residents are allowed to leave the facility for reasons such as attending school. In secure custody facilities, often called Youth Detention Centres, the premises are secured and the movement of young offenders is strictly controlled.
When a case has more than one charge, it is categorized according to the "most serious disposition” that results from the charges.

Table A12

Type of Disposition

Gender

Year

1998-99

1999-00

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

%

%

%

%

%

Probation

Women

56.7

56.6

57.6

57.5

60.6

Men

50.4

51.0

51.3

52.9

56.1

Total

51.7

52.1

52.6

53.8

57.1

Open Custody

Women

12.9

11.9

12.6

11.0

11.5

Men

15.4

14.8

14.9

13.5

13.3

Total

14.9

14.2

14.4

13.0

13.0

Secure Custody

Women

10.9

10.7

11.1

11.3

11.4

Men

15.9

15.5

15.9

15.8

15.2

Total

14.9

14.6

15.0

14.9

14.4

Fine

Women

4.7

5.3

4.7

4.7

4.6

Men

6.7

6.9

6.5

6.2

5.9

Total

6.3

6.6

6.1

5.9

5.6

Other*

Women

14.8

15.6

13.9

15.5

11.8

Men

11.5

11.8

11.4

11.6

9.4

Total

12.2

12.6

11.9

12.4

9.9

Source: Youth Court Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

Note:
*“Other” includes community service order, compensation, pay purchaser of stolen goods, compensation in kind, absolute discharge, detain for treatment (until 1995-96), conditional discharge (as of 1997-98), restitution, prohibition/seizure/forfeiture, essays, apologies and counseling programs.
Custodial facilities for young offenders may be designated as either “open” or “secure”. Open custody facilities closely monitor the actions and whereabouts of young offenders, but residents are allowed to leave the facility for reasons such as attending school. In secure custody facilities, often called Youth Detention Centres, the premises are secured and the movement of young offenders is strictly controlled.
Due to changes in sentences in accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act, comparable time series data are currently unavailable for 2003-04.