Statistics Canada Article on Young Adult Offenders

The Statistics Canada publication Juristat has published an article on Young adult offenders in Canada, 2014 that looks at crimes committed by people between the ages of 18 and 24:

"Together, young adults aged 18 to 24 and youth aged 12 to 17 account for over one-third of individuals accused in police-reported criminal incidents. While rates of youth accused of crime are higher than among adults in general, young adults—those adults aged 18 to 24—were accused of crime at higher rates than any other age group ... Since most offenders first commit crimes when they are young ..., understanding crime among youth and young adults is an important part of finding ways to reduce crime overall.'

"Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), youth aged 12 to 17 who are accused of crime are treated under the law in a manner that takes into account their reduced level of maturity and responsibility. Young people are considered adults under the law once they turn 18, and are entering a period of major life transitions. The Youth in Transition Survey found that, by age 26 to 28, 81% of young adults had participated in some form of postsecondary education and nearly 70% were employed full-time. In addition, about half of young adults aged 26 to 28 were in or had been in a relationship, and nearly a quarter (30% of females and 18% of males) had children ..."

"A number of studies have examined the relationship between age and crime, and the factors that influence whether young people continue to offend (persist), or stop offending (desist) as they enter adulthood ... As noted above, many life transitions reduce the likelihood of offending; however involvement in the justice system—particularly incarceration and long sentences—has been shown to disrupt transitions into the adult roles associated with desistence from crime and is associated with repeat offending ..."

"This Juristat uses police-reported data from the Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR) to examine the nature of crime committed by young adults, and how it compares to crime among youth and older adults. It also examines changes in rates of offending as young people develop from adolescence to young adulthood and transition through their 20s."