Police Screening Patterns in Five Western Canadian Cities: Looking at Data in a Different Way

• NCJ Number: 125278
• Author(s): J Hackler; D Cossins
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 29 pages
• Corporate Author: University of Alberta
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: Canada
• Note: Discussion Paper 20

Annotation

Police statistics on breaking and entering and theft in five western Canadian cities in 1984-86 formed the basis of this analysis of the way in which police screen juvenile cases out of the juvenile justice system.

Abstract

The data came from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, and Burnaby in Alberta and British Columbia. They were compared with data from Montreal, Quebec. The analysis focused on screening, recording of theft, screening after recording, charging, convictions, and sentences. Results showed wide variations among the jurisdictions. In addition, the five western cities record more crime than some eastern cities. They also process more minor cases than necessary, resulting in unnecessary burdens on the other components of the juvenile justice system. The use of alternative approaches should reduce the numbers of cases that are processed, however. Tables and 19 references.