NCJ Number
75901
Date Published
1976
Length
200 pages
Annotation
This report presents a statistical picture of homicide in Canada, based on all cases reported as criminal homicide between 1961 and 1974, with murder and manslaughter being treated separately wherever the statistical data permit.
Abstract
It discusses the treatment of homicide under Canadian law and changes in the law since 1961. Statistical tables and narrative depict the incidents of homicide in Canada, the types and circumstances of murder, characteristics of persons involved in murder and manslaughter, and the type of legal proceedings and court dispositions of persons charged with murder. Additional information is presented on convicted murderers and persons suspected of murdering more than once. A summary section indicates that increases in the rate of murder and other kinds of homicide in recent years have been moderate in comparison with increases in other types of violent crime. Unsolved murder incidents have increased disproportionately, and the proportion of immediate family murder incidents has declined significantly. Moreover, homicide offenses appear to be less concentrated in Canada's largest urban centers and more dispersed across the country in other urban and rural areas. Other results pertaining to the types of criminal homicides committed and reasons for their growth or decline, the characteristics of suspects, and the types of court dispositions and sentences are also outlined. A glossary, 10 references, a homicide reporting form used by police, and a review of the law of homicide in Canada are appended. Charts, diagrams, and numerous tables are supplied.