Trends in the use of remand in Canada

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By Lindsay Porter and Donna Calverley

Over the last decade, the composition of Canada's correctional population has changed, most notably as a result of an increase in the number of adults admitted to custody on remand. Remand is the temporary detention of a person while awaiting trial, sentencing or the commencement of a custodial disposition. According to the Criminal Code, adults and youth can be admitted to remand for a variety of reasons, including to ensure attendance in court, for the protection or safety of the public or to maintain public confidence in the justice system.

An increase in the adult remand population can have a number of repercussions on the operations of correctional services. For example, correctional costs can increase as can the challenges for managing the safety and well-being of the remand population. Also, planning correctional space can become increasingly difficult since the length of time an individual spends in remand is not predictable (Johnson, 2003).

Using data drawn primarily from the Adult Correctional Services (ACS) Survey, the Youth Custody and Community Services (YCCS) Survey, the Integrated Correctional Services Survey (ICSS) and the Key Indicator Reports (KIR) for Adults and Youth, this Juristat article analyses recent trends in the use of remand in Canada. As the principles and legislation governing detainment differ for adults and youth, separate analyses are presented for each population group.

This article makes use of two basic indicators that describe the use of correctional services: the average number or count of individuals in correctional facilities on a daily basis and the number of annual admissions. Admissions are collected each time a person begins any type of custodial or community supervision, and describe and measure the case-flow in correctional agencies over time. The same person can be included several times in the admission counts where the individual moves from one type of legal status to another ( e.g. , from remand to sentenced custody) or re-enters the system in the same year.

It is important to note that the most recent year of data for the average number of those in correctional facilities is 2009/2010 whereas the most recent year of data for annual admissions is 2008/2009. Also, in some cases, not all jurisdictions were able to report complete data. Where this is the case, exclusions are noted.

Adults in remand

Average number of adults in remand outnumbers those in sentenced custody

In 2009/2010, there were, on average, about 13,600 adults in remand each day in Canada (excluding Nunavut) (Table 1). This number includes adults held in custody on dual status (remand and sentenced custody).1 The number of adults in remand has been steadily increasing since the mid-1980s, including a small increase (1%) in 2009/2010.

In more recent years, the increase in the remand population has coincided with a gradual decrease in the number of adults in sentenced custody (Chart 1).2 Specifically, the number of adults in remand has increased 84% since 2000/2001 while the number in sentenced custody has declined 9% (Table 1). As a result, there has been a shift in the composition of the custodial population from a predominantly sentenced population to a predominantly remand population. In 2009/2010, adults in remand accounted for 58% of the custodial population while those in sentenced custody comprised the remaining 42%. Ten years ago, the proportions were reversed, at 40% and 60%, respectively.3

Chart 1

Average counts of adults on any given day in provincial and territorial correctional facilities, by type of custody, selected provinces and territories, 2000/2001 to 2009/2010

Data table for chart 1

Notes: Excludes Prince Edward Island and Nunavut due to the unavailability of data for the full 10-year period. Data for 2009/2010 do not match information presented elsewhere due to differences in survey coverage.

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Adult Key Indicator Report.

The increase in the adult remand population over the past decade has occurred in all provinces and territories that reported comparable data (Table 1, Chart 2). Among the provinces, the increase from 10 years ago was greatest in Manitoba, at about two and a half times the number from 2000/2001.4

Chart 2

Average counts of adults on any given day in remand as a proportion of those in custody, selected provinces and territories, 2000/2001 and 2009/2010

Data table for chart 2

... not applicable

Notes: Remand includes