Sentencing provisions

Amendments to the sentencing provisions of the Criminal Code in 1996 included the creation of a new sanction designed to reduce the number of offenders sentenced to prison. Judges in Canada may now allow some offenders who would otherwise be imprisoned to serve a supervised conditional sentence within the community. The offender who receives such a sentence must abide by certain conditions, and may be sent to prison if the conditions are violated.

	©2003 ICN-RCI / Hemera

In 2001/02, a total of 60% of adult criminal cases resulted in a conviction—a rate that differs little from the previous five years. The conviction rate for criminal cases involving youth was similar to that of adults (61%). For both adults and youth, conviction rates were the highest in New Brunswick (74% for adults, 87% for youth), Quebec (73%, 71%), and Newfoundland and Labrador (70%, 71%). For adults, these rates were significantly higher than in Nova Scotia (53%), British Columbia (55%) and Ontario (55%), whereas the lowest conviction rates for youth were in the Yukon (38%), Nunavut (55%), and Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan (all three provinces at 56%).

Why the large regional variation in conviction rates and sentencing trends? Police charging practices vary across the country, including how the police make use of diversion programs and alternative measures. Also, some jurisdictions rely more on the use of stays and withdrawals of charges. For example, 42% of cases were stayed or withdrawn in Ontario, while only 11% were terminated this way in Quebec. Pre- and post-charge screening by the police or the Crown may also affect the percentage of convictions.

	©2003 ICN-RCI / Hemera

According to an analysis of seven provinces and two territories (data for British Columbia, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Nunavut were unavailable at the time of the study), probation was the most frequently occurring sentence for adults convicted of a crime in 2001/02, imposed in 44% of all cases with a conviction. A fine was imposed in 34% of all convicted adult cases, and a prison term in 34%.

Convicted youth were even more likely to receive probation. In fact, in 2001/02, probation was ordered in about two-thirds of all convicted cases involving youth. A sentence of secure custody was ordered in 15% of convicted cases and open custody in 14%. Other sentences for youth included community service orders, fines, restitution and conditional discharges.