More on probation and parole as jail population declines

Community Action, Nov 22, 2004

OTTAWA -- For the second year in a row the number of offenders serving conditional sentences in the community on an average day surpassed the number of adults serving a sentence in a provincial or territorial jail, the Centre for Justice Statistics reports.

On an average day in the fiscal year 2002/03, just under 12,900 adults were serving a conditional sentence in Canada, 8% higher than in the previous year. This was nearly double the level in 1997/98, the first full year that data were available on this form of sentencing.

In contrast, the total number of sentenced offenders in either a provincial or territorial jail fell from 10,900 to 10,600, a 3% year-over-year decline. This level fell in every province and territory between 1993/94 and 2002/03. Canada's total incarceration rate-including both adults and young people-has been declining since the early 1990s in conjunction with the decreasing crime rate.

In comparison, incarceration rates in the United States and England and Wales have been rising. In Canada, the bulk of the decrease in incarceration rates occurred after conditional sentencing was implemented in 1997.

Canada's total incarceration rate-including both adults and young people-has been declining since the early 1990s in conjunction with the decreasing crime rate.

However, the number of adults held on remand, that is, court-ordered detention while awaiting a court appearance, has been rising steadily since the mid-1980s. Their share of the custodial population has also increased.