FORUM on Corrections Research

Adult male offenders in Canada: Recent trends (R-79, 1998)

Colleen A. Dell, Roberta L. Sinclair, and Roger Boe

The focus of this report is a summary and presentation of recent trends involving adult male offenders in Canada and is an integral part of similar studies addressing crime trends. To allow for comparison, it adheres to the same format of Research Brief B-18, Female young offenders in Canada: Recent trends; Research Brief B-21, Adult female offenders in Canada: Recent trends, and Research Brief B-22, Male young offenders in Canada: Recent trends. This report completes the series.

The data used to compile this report is derived from two sources: the Uniform Crime Report Survey and the Adult Criminal Court Survey, both published by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. The analyses in this report examine adult male offender trends over the past 5 years and were directed toward five questions:

1. Has there been an increase in adult males charged by the police, 1992-1997?
   At the national level, no. By offence category, there was a substantial decrease in property crimes, there was also a decrease in violent crimes and drug offences.
   
2. Has there been an increase in adult males processed through the court system, 1994/95-1996/97?
   At the national level, there was a decrease. By offence category, there was a decrease in violent crimes, property crimes, and other crimes. Drug crimes remained relatively stable.
   
3. Are adult males getting involved with crime at a younger age?
   At the national level, no.
   
4. Are adult males getting more violent?
   The national rate of violent crime among adult males has declined from 107 to 88 per 10,000 adult male population.
   
5. Are adult males getting more serious dispositions?
   At the national level, dispositions remained relatively stable from 1994/95 to 1996/97.

To contextualize the Uniform Crime Report findings in this report, the rate of adult males and females, and youth males and females charged by police declined from 1991 to 1996.