Table 4
Proportion of accused youth cleared by means other than a formal charge by selected Criminal Code offences1, Canada, 2002, 2003 and 2006

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  2006 2003 2002
Total youth accused of a crime Accused youth cleared otherwise4 First year of the YCJA2 Last year of the YOA3
Accused youth cleared otherwise4 Accused youth cleared otherwise4
number percentage percentage
Homicide 85 2 2 0
Attempted murder 74 7 0 2
Assault - level 1 23,148 61 60 48
Assault with weapon or causing bodily harm - level 2 7,296 34 29 23
Aggravated assault - level 3 461 10 7 7
Other assaults 1,423 19 20 15
Sexual assault - total 2,151 45 49 34
Robbery 4,521 18 15 11
Other violent offences 313 54 55 45
Breaking and entering 12,833 42 38 31
Motor vehicle theft 5,112 41 32 28
Theft over $5,000 315 52 41 34
Theft $5,000 and under 36,969 75 74 56
Possession of stolen goods 7,811 37 29 16
Fraud 2,421 54 49 38
Mischief $5,000 and under 25,470 80 78 66
Mischief over $5,000 1,585 64 61 51
Bail violations 12,652 10 7 4
Disturb the peace 8,873 94 91 87
Offensive weapons 3,618 51 55 43
Arson 1,492 65 61 59
Obstruct public peace officer 954 30 24 19
Other Criminal Code offences 18,288 61 55 46
Total Criminal Code offences (excluding traffic)5 177,865 58 55 44
  1. Figures presented include a small number of accused under the age of 12.
  2. Youth Criminal Justice Act .
  3. Youth Offenders Act .
  4. An incident is "cleared otherwise" when police have identified at least one accused and there is sufficient evidence to lay a charge in connection with the incident, but the accused is processed by other means. In the case of youth, this could include formal measures such as a Crown caution or extrajudicial sanctions, or informal measures such as a police warning or diversion to a community program. Processing by other means could refer to the committal to a mental hospital or the death of an accused..
  5. Only selected offences are shown and therefore, will not add up to equal 'Total Criminal Code offences (excluding traffic)'.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.