Youth crime and justice

Key indicators

Changing any selection will automatically update the page content.

Selected geographical area: Canada

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: Canada

Selected geographical area: Newfoundland and Labrador

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: Newfoundland and Labrador

Selected geographical area: Prince Edward Island

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: Prince Edward Island

Selected geographical area: Nova Scotia

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: Nova Scotia

Selected geographical area: New Brunswick

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: New Brunswick

Selected geographical area: Quebec

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: Quebec

Selected geographical area: Ontario

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: Ontario

Selected geographical area: Manitoba

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: Manitoba

Selected geographical area: Saskatchewan

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: Saskatchewan

Selected geographical area: Alberta

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: Alberta

Selected geographical area: British Columbia

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: British Columbia

Selected geographical area: Yukon

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: Yukon

Selected geographical area: Northwest Territories

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: Northwest Territories

Selected geographical area: Nunavut

More youth crime and justice indicators

Selected geographical area: Nunavut

Filter results by

Search Help
Currently selected filters that can be removed

Keyword(s)

Type

1 facets displayed. 0 facets selected.

Geography

1 facets displayed. 0 facets selected.

Survey or statistical program

2 facets displayed. 0 facets selected.
Sort Help
entries

Results

All (2)

All (2) ((2 results))

  • Articles and reports: 85-561-M2005006
    Geography: Province or territory
    Description:

    This is the first quasi-national Canadian study of the criminal careers of a birth cohort. It uses linked data from the Youth Court Survey and Adult Criminal Court Survey to describe the court careers up to the 22nd birthday of Canadians born in 1979/80. The study includes six provinces - Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta - accounting for approximately 78% of the population of Canada.

    Eighteen per 100 members of the cohort were referred to court for a criminal offence allegedly committed before their 22nd birthday. Thirteen were found guilty of at least one offence, and ten received a sentence which put them under the supervision of correctional or probation authorities. The peak age of referral to court is 18 years. On average, between the ages of 12 and 21 inclusive, alleged offenders were referred to court in connection with 3.1 criminal incidents' or 2.4, if administrative offences are excluded. Just over half of alleged offenders had only one incident in their court career. Seventeen percent of alleged offenders were classified as chronic offenders, who were responsible for 58% of all alleged criminal incidents.

    Individuals whose contact with the court system begins later in adolescence tend to be involved in fewer criminal incidents. The lengths of court careers vary widely, but the mean and median lengths are 20 months and 13 months respectively. Age-specific annual rates of alleged offending are similar for accused males and females, and peak at 15 years of age. There is no particular tendency to escalation, de-escalation, or stability in the seriousness of repeated court referrals: all three patterns occur frequently. Thirty-seven percent of individuals with multiple court referrals have adolescent-limited careers (i.e. no incidents after the 18th birthday which resulted in court referral), 43% have adult-onset careers (no incidents before the 18th birthday), and 20% are persistent offenders (with incidents both as youths and as adults). The latter have many more criminal incidents in their careers and are much more likely than the others to have been referred to court for an offence against the person; however, the incidents in their careers are not more serious on average, and they are not more likely to have had an early onset of contact with the court system.

    The file from which these results were derived could support much more detailed analyses of the topics which are touched on by this report, as well as other topics which have not been addressed, such as the timing of incidents during the career, the processing of cases through the courts, the sequence of case outcomes and sentences, and the interactions between sentencing and future offending, including the impact on careers of incapacitation. As additional years of court data become available, future research should follow court careers past the 22nd birthday. This will result in a more complete picture of the court careers of chronic, persistent offenders, as well as a more thorough investigation of the court careers of "adult-onset " offenders, who had no contact with the court system during adolescence.

    Release date: 2005-12-09

  • Articles and reports: 85-002-X20050047948
    Geography: Province or territory
    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.

    Release date: 2005-06-24
Data (0)

Data (0) (0 results)

No content available at this time.

Analysis (2)

Analysis (2) ((2 results))

  • Articles and reports: 85-561-M2005006
    Geography: Province or territory
    Description:

    This is the first quasi-national Canadian study of the criminal careers of a birth cohort. It uses linked data from the Youth Court Survey and Adult Criminal Court Survey to describe the court careers up to the 22nd birthday of Canadians born in 1979/80. The study includes six provinces - Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta - accounting for approximately 78% of the population of Canada.

    Eighteen per 100 members of the cohort were referred to court for a criminal offence allegedly committed before their 22nd birthday. Thirteen were found guilty of at least one offence, and ten received a sentence which put them under the supervision of correctional or probation authorities. The peak age of referral to court is 18 years. On average, between the ages of 12 and 21 inclusive, alleged offenders were referred to court in connection with 3.1 criminal incidents' or 2.4, if administrative offences are excluded. Just over half of alleged offenders had only one incident in their court career. Seventeen percent of alleged offenders were classified as chronic offenders, who were responsible for 58% of all alleged criminal incidents.

    Individuals whose contact with the court system begins later in adolescence tend to be involved in fewer criminal incidents. The lengths of court careers vary widely, but the mean and median lengths are 20 months and 13 months respectively. Age-specific annual rates of alleged offending are similar for accused males and females, and peak at 15 years of age. There is no particular tendency to escalation, de-escalation, or stability in the seriousness of repeated court referrals: all three patterns occur frequently. Thirty-seven percent of individuals with multiple court referrals have adolescent-limited careers (i.e. no incidents after the 18th birthday which resulted in court referral), 43% have adult-onset careers (no incidents before the 18th birthday), and 20% are persistent offenders (with incidents both as youths and as adults). The latter have many more criminal incidents in their careers and are much more likely than the others to have been referred to court for an offence against the person; however, the incidents in their careers are not more serious on average, and they are not more likely to have had an early onset of contact with the court system.

    The file from which these results were derived could support much more detailed analyses of the topics which are touched on by this report, as well as other topics which have not been addressed, such as the timing of incidents during the career, the processing of cases through the courts, the sequence of case outcomes and sentences, and the interactions between sentencing and future offending, including the impact on careers of incapacitation. As additional years of court data become available, future research should follow court careers past the 22nd birthday. This will result in a more complete picture of the court careers of chronic, persistent offenders, as well as a more thorough investigation of the court careers of "adult-onset " offenders, who had no contact with the court system during adolescence.

    Release date: 2005-12-09

  • Articles and reports: 85-002-X20050047948
    Geography: Province or territory
    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.

    Release date: 2005-06-24
Reference (0)

Reference (0) (0 results)

No content available at this time.

Date modified: