NCJ Number
168434
Date Published
1997
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This report presents information on the demographic characteristics of accused persons, the numbers and types of cases, and the sanctions for cases heard in provincial criminal courts in Canada for the 1995-96 fiscal year.
Abstract
The data came from the Adult Criminal Court Survey. The primary unit of analysis is the case. The data revealed that a large number of the cases heard in adult court involved relatively minor offenses such as impaired driving (15 percent of all cases), common assault (12 percent), and theft (11 percent). Approximately 80 percent of the cases involved males and 65 percent involved adults between ages 18 and 34 years. Two-thirds of the cases resulted in a finding of guilt for at least one charge. The highest conviction rates involved impaired driving (79 percent), morals and sex offenses (76 percent), and drug possession (75 percent). Almost 50 percent of the cases resulting in a prison sentence received terms of 1 month or less, while 3 percent had sentences of 2 years or more. Thirty-seven percent of the cases resulting in conviction received a sentence of probation; the median length of probation was 1 year. Forty-five percent of the cases resulting in conviction involved a fine. Approximately 20 percent of the cases required one appearance to reach completion, while nearly one in five took more than 8 months. The median elapsed time from the first to last appearance was 77 days. Tables, figures, and footnotes