Highlights

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• The rate of youth admitted to remand remained relatively stable in 2007/2008 (+1%) and has changed little since 2004/2005 (+2%), the earliest comparable year since the implementation of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). Among the 10 jurisdictions that reported data in 2007/2008, only in Ontario did the rate of youth admitted to remand decrease from the previous year (-3%).

• The rate of youth admitted to the community under a deferred custody and supervision order has grown 15% since 2003/2004, according to the nine jurisdictions that have reported data. In 2007/2008, Nova Scotia, Ontario and the Northwest Territories were the only jurisdictions to report a decrease in their rate. The order did not exist prior to the YCJA and it is similar to the adult conditional sentence and allows a youth who would otherwise be sentenced to custody to serve the sentence in the community under a number of strict conditions. Any breach of conditions may result in the youth being sent to custody.

• The rate of youth aged 12 to 17 years entering sentenced custody declined 5% from the previous year and 30% from 2003/2004.

• Since 2003/2004, the number of youth admitted to sentenced custody for property offences had decreased by over half. As a result, the composition of youth entering sentenced custody has shifted whereby the largest proportion (39%) was admitted for violent offences.

• Aboriginal youth continue to be highly represented in youth corrections. In 2007/2008, Aboriginal youth accounted for 25% of youth admitted to remand, 33% admitted to sentenced custody and 21% admitted to probation. These proportions are much higher than their representation in the general population (6%).

• While the rate of youth entering probation in nine reporting jurisdictions decreased notably between 2003/2004 and 2004/2005, rates have since stabilized. In 2007/2008, 70 per 10,000 youth in the general population entered probation.