Statistics Canada Article on Trends in Remand Over Past Decade

The Statistics Canada publication Juristat yesterday published an article entitled Trends in the use of remand in Canada, 2004/2005 to 2014/2015.

It looks at trends in the number of adults and youth being held in remand (pre-trial detention) in the period from 2004/2005 to 2014/2015.

Among the highlights:

• In 2014/2015, on an average day, there were more adults in custody awaiting trial than there were convicted offenders serving time in sentenced custody. Provincial and territorial correctional facilities across the country supervised an average of 24,014 adults per day in sentenced custody and pre-trial detention; 13,650 of them, or 57%, were in pre-trial custody (remand).
• In provincial and territorial correctional facilities, the average daily number of adults awaiting trial in remand has exceeded the number in sentenced custody since 2004/2005.
• In comparison to ten years earlier, the number of adults in remand has grown almost six times more than the number in sentenced custody. From 2004/2005 to 2014/2015, the average daily adult remand population increased 39%, while the average daily sentenced custody population was up 7%.
• All provinces and territories saw their adult remand numbers climb between 2004/2005 and 2014/2015. There have been particularly large increases in average daily counts in Nova Scotia (+192%), Northwest Territories (+139%), Manitoba (+134%) and Alberta (+109%).
• One in four adults (25%) admitted to remand in 2014/2015 were Aboriginal persons (excluding Alberta and Prince Edward Island). This is about 8 times greater than the representation of Aboriginal persons in the overall population (3%).
• Similar to the situation for adults, on an average day in 2014/2015, there were more youth aged 12 to 17 in pre-trial detention (561 or 56%) than were in sentenced custody (448 or 44%) (excluding Quebec). There have been, on average, more youth in pre-trial detention than sentenced custody since 2007/2008.
• Unlike the findings for adults, the average number of youth in pre-trial detention has been declining, mirroring the notable drop in the number of youth charged with a crime in recent years.
• In 2014/2015, more than one-third (36%) of youth admissions to pre-trial detention (in the eight jurisdictions where information was available) was an Aboriginal youth. This was about five times their representation in the general population (7%). In 2004/2005, Aboriginal youth accounted for 21% of admissions to pre-trial detention. In comparison to pre-trial detention, Aboriginal youth accounted for a larger share of admissions to sentenced custody in both 2004/2005 (26%) and 2014/2015 (40%).