NCJ Number
185852
Journal
Forum on Corrections Research Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2000 Pages: 29-34
Editor(s)
Larry Motiuk
Date Published
September 2000
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The "baby boom" had a significant impact on Canada's criminal justice system in that baby boomers passed through their high crime risk years between 1960 and 1996; since the 1990's, baby boomers have aged beyond 30 years and crime rates in Canada have been declining.
Abstract
Canada's prison population grew significantly from the 1960's through the 1980's. The adult incarceration rate started to increase in 1960 and continued upward, with the exception of a lull between 1970 and 1980 due to the introduction of a new parole system, for the next three decades. The incarceration rate peaked at 114 adult inmates per 100,000 population in 1995, at which point the rate was 52 percent higher than the 75 per 100,000 recorded in 1960. Now that crime rates in Canada have been declining for several years, incarceration rates will likely decline as well. The aging of the baby boomer population will continue to be the central demographic trend dominating Canadian society for the coming decade, and there is no new high risk demographic wave waiting in the wings. In addition, Federal custody admissions will continue to decline over the next 10 years and baby boomer aging will lead to a different mix of crimes being committed. 15 footnotes, 1 table, and 3 figures