Youth correctional services: Key indicators

The average number of young people aged 12 to 17 in sentenced custody and on probation continued to decline in the second year following the implementation of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA).

In 2004/2005, 1,300 young people on average were in sentenced custody on any given day, down about 16% from 2003/2004 and down 50% since the YCJA went into effect.

About 700 of these individuals were in secure custody, down 14% from 2003/2004, while 600 were in open custody, a 20% decline.

The average number of young people in sentenced custody fell in all jurisdictions except in the Yukon and Nunavut, where it increased slightly.

Similarly, on any given day in 2004/2005, about 21,200 young people were on probation, compared to 27,900 the year before, a decline of almost 25%.

Since 2002/2003, prior to the implementation of the YCJA, the average number of young people on probation has declined by almost one-third.

The average number of young people held on remand while awaiting trial or sentencing declined 5% to about 800 on any given day in 2004/2005.

In 2004/2005, the incarceration rate was 8.3 per 10,000, a 12% decline from the previous year. The probation rate fell 24% to 83.7 per 10,000 during the same period.

The incarceration rate is the average daily number of young people in custody for every 10,000 youths aged 12 to 17 in the population. The probation rate is the number of young people on probation for every 10,000 youths. These rates permit analysis of the levels of incarceration and probation relative to the size of the youth population.

The YCJA introduced a number of new community sentences, including a deferred custody and supervision order and a community portion of a custody and supervision order.

Deferred custody and supervision allows a young person to serve a custody sentence in the community under a number of strict conditions and is comparable to conditional sentence for adults. Any breach of conditions may result in the young person being sent to custody.

In 2004/2005, about 450 young people on average were on deferred custody and supervision, up 87% from the previous year.

The community portion of a custody and supervision order requires that the final portion of most custody sentences be served under community supervision. On any given day in 2004/2005, about 400 young people were serving the community portion of their custody sentence, more than double the previous year.

Note: Average counts for sentenced custody, remand and probation in 2004/2005 include all jurisdictions except the Northwest Territories, where probation counts are not available. Due to missing data in previous years, Ontario and Nunavut were excluded from probation analysis when comparing 2004/2005 to 2002/2003. Ontario data include estimates for young people aged 12 to 15 for 2002/2003 and 2003/2004.

Available on CANSIM: table 251-0008.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3313.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, please contact Information and Client Services (toll-free 1-800-387-2231; 613-951-9023; fax: 613-951-6615), Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.