NCJ Number
73906
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: (October 1980) Pages: 476-482
Date Published
1980
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article examines juvenile delinquency rates and juvenile court statistics and procedures in three Canadian provinces. Suggestions are made for standardized reporting.
Abstract
Due to varying data collection criteria and reporting procedures, the juvenile justice statistics in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta are meaningless without some knowledge of their juvenile court systems. Juvenile delinquency statistics are derived from court case dispositions; however, local juvenile court systems respond differently to juvenile delinquency. For example, according to Statistics Canada figures, Manitoba finds 30 percent of the juveniles charged with petty theft 'not delinquent,' while Alberta finds only 7 percent 'not delinquent.' The 4 percent 'not delinquent' juveniles in Saskatchewan reflect, perhaps, the small number of cases that are actually sent to juvenile court and not referred as are most cases to the child welfare system. In contrast, Manitoba seems to bring more cases into the justice system formally and then eliminates a larger portion using formal procedures. It is probably safest to assume that patterns of juvenile delinquency are similar in the provinces but the administrative procedures are different. If welfare and childcare data were also available and could be coordinated with juvenile court data, a better description of provincial activities might be possible. In addition to more uniform reporting, suggested changes include separation of the data for the five major cities in the region in order to contrast these with smaller towns and rural areas. A more realistic recording of juveniles sent to institutions should also be established. Tabular data and two references are included.