Fewer Canadian Youth Jailed For Minor Offenses

July 22, 2008 7:33 a.m. EST

Ottawa, Canada (AHN) - The 2003 implementation of the Youth Criminal Justice Act has resulted in fewer young Canadians spending time in jail for minor offenses, according to statistics compiled by the Canadian Center for Justice Statistics.

The data shows a 58 percent decline in 12- to 17-year-old youths sent to prison from 18 per 10,000 in 1996-97, to 7.5 for every 10,000 in 2005-06.

According to analyst Shelly Milligan, the drop in jail-time occurred even with a 100 percent increase in violent crimes committed by Canadian youth, compared to two decades ago. Youth crime as a whole was steady for the past 10 years. Most of the violent incidents involved common assaults.

Jane Sprott, criminology professor at Ryerson University, told the Ottawa Sun, that having fewer youth jailed for minor offenses is a positive development. "There was concern that historically we were overusing courts and custody for very minor offenses. It's expensive, it's slow, there are a variety of other ways you can deal with minor things."

In lieu of jail terms, Canadian juvenile delinquents were given police warnings, community sanctions, deferred custody and supervision orders and other forms of rehabilitation appropriate to their age.

Statistics Canada reported last week that in 2007 the crime rate dropped across the nation. Toronto City registered the lowest rate with 4,461 crimes for every 100,000 residents, followed closely by Quebec City with 4,524 crimes.