NCJ Number
152231
Date Published
1994
Length
119 pages
Annotation
This report analyzes over 600,000 Criminal Code and other Federal statutes charges resulting in conviction in adult provincial/territorial courts in six Canadian jurisdictions, including Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Alberta, Quebec, Ontario, and Yukon. The study covers 15 months during 1991 and 1992, and analyzes a caseload representing approximately two-thirds of the provincial/territorial caseload for that period.
Abstract
The findings showed that men accounted for 81 percent of total convictions under the Criminal Code and close to 90 percent of all convictions for firearms offenses, personal violence crimes, and motor vehicle offenses. Imprisonment was imposed for 29 percent of these convictions, probation in 27 percent, fines in 21 percent, and a combination of prohibitions, community service, and confiscation in 19 percent; 3 percent of cases ended in absolute discharges. Fines were the most common sanction, imposed in 51 percent of cases. Seven offenses showed an imprisonment rate of over 80 percent included robbery, sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, use of firearm during commission of an offense, escaping custody, unlawfully at large, and drug trafficking. The median length for all convictions was 30 days; only 3 percent of sentences were imposed for 2 years or more and maximum penalties were imposed very rarely. Among the six jurisdictions, sentencing patterns were very similar with regard to sexual assault and breaking and entering convictions. 21 figures, 13 notes, and 5 appendixes