NCJ Number
173097
Date Published
1998
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report provides data on the Canadian adult correctional population for 1996-97.
Abstract
After nearly a decade of rapid growth, Canada's adult correctional population has stabilized since 1993-94. On any given day, nearly 152,000 adults were incarcerated or under some form of community supervision in 1996-97, down almost 2 percent from a year earlier. Nearly 8 in every 10 of these people were on probation or parole. Despite the marginal decrease, the average daily caseload in 1996-97 remained 38 percent higher than a decade ago. On any given day in 1996-97, approximately 34,167 adults were incarcerated, an increase of just 1 percent over the previous year. An average of 20,024 adults were in Provincial/Territorial institutions at any time during 1996-97, up 1.5 percent from the previous year. The typical offender serving a Provincial/Territorial sentence (under 2 years) was male, aged 31 years, convicted of a property offense, and serving a 1-month sentence. The typical Federal offender (sentences of 2 years of more) was male, aged 36 years, convicted of robbery, and serving a 43-month sentence. The majority of parolees serve their parole terms without committing another criminal offense. Among Federal parolees, less than 2 percent of parole terms were terminated for a violent criminal charge. Of the 92 inmate deaths in 1996-97, nearly one-half were suicides. The proportion of admissions to Federal institutions who are Aboriginal peoples is increasing; it was 15 percent in 1996-97, compared to 11 percent in 1991-92. Although the custodial population remained virtually the same, the cost of housing an inmate for 1 year increased 3 percent to an average $43,643 per inmate. 8 figures and 5 tables